CBS and iWon Launch TV Loyalty Program

CBS and iWon.com, the portal in which the TV network has a majority stake, on Tuesday launched “Club CBS”, a loyalty program that rewards viewers of CBS television shows that answer questions about the programs on the iWon.com site.

Viewers that correctly answer questions, including identifying the “Star of the Day”, get entered into a sweepstakes for CBS-themed prizes. For January, the grand prize is a trip to the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Future prizes will include trips, behind-the-scenes access, and merchandise.

The company looks at the promotion as an opportunity to build a one-to-one relationship with its viewers. The “Club CBS” sweepstakes will be promoted in print advertising, on the Internet and email and in on-air announcements on CBS.

IWon.com itself, which launched in October, is basically a loyalty program in itself. It rewards visitors to the site by entering them into a sweepstakes to win $10,000 every day and $1 million a month. Although the site’s traffic has grown dramatically since its inception, industry-watchers wonder whether it would continue the growth without paying users to visit.