Back in April, it was announced that TheWB, the TV network from Warner Brothers which merged with UPN to form The CW, was coming back in a new format with TheWB.com being a website hosting archived content.
The site, which will also become the home for shows produced purely for the Web, and will be partnered by KidsWB.com focussing on the entertainment of children, has now launched in beta mode.
In Private Beta
The beta is private, and only open to people who register, although Liz Gannes over at NewTeeVee was one of the first to get a look. She wrote a piece detailing her initial impressions of the site.
There seems to be a lot of stuff only half finished, and the layout is described as “less clean and clear”. Bigger initial problems are a lack of any original shows, and only a limited number of episodes of the network’s offerings.
Similar To Hulu
Features are said to be similar to Hulu, with full embeds available. However, the embed of the pilot episode of Friends doesn’t seem to be working at the moment, but that could be because I’m outside of the States.
Apart from Friends, shows such as All Of Us, Blue Water High, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dangerous, Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Smallville, The OC and The Wayans Bros. are all available, but at the moment there are only six episodes of each to view.
It seems that TheWB.com shows promise, and with a full release due in August or thereabouts, Warner Bros. has a few months to sort the early issues out.
