This week, Belmont announced that she would be leaving Revision3 to explore other projects, which seemed like a great opportunity to ask her what she’s learned from her years as a host and producer, and how the industry has evolved since she began working in the space.

Your origins are very much of the web. When you first started at CNET, what was your perception of the idea of “web video”?

When I came to CNET in 2004, YouTube wasn’t even a thing yet. Most of my experience with web video were short Flash clips floating around in the dark recesses of the internet. Anything over a minute tended to be laggy and horrible. But CNET was taking a lot of cues from it’s previous experience in the television world, which included very high production values. We were creating content that worked within the technical confines of early web TV, but would also look at home on a network.

What was the toughest part of diving into the web video world?

Personally, it was all completely new for me. My background was audio/radio production, so I was trying to take those skills and translate them into TV/video. Working on-camera was an even bigger transition, since I’d never done anything even remotely close to that. Fortunately, I had very good teachers at CNET, and I was talking about topics that I was personally interested in, which went a long way in making me more comfortable on-camera.

What’s the biggest thing you feel has changed since those early days?

Competition. There are so many people creating web content these days that it’s very difficult to break yourself away from the pack to attract the attention of your target audience. People have never had more choice when it comes to media these days, and web video is just one segment of that. It seems like everyone is trying new gimicks, but even having one video go viral doesn’t mean that they’ll stick around for the rest of your shows. You have to build a community.

Of all the shows you’ve gotten to create/host, what’s the one you remember most fondly?

Prizefight at CNET was one of my early favorites. I would pit two gadgets in the same category against one another in a cage match, of sorts. It always did well because the viewers LOVED disagreeing with my choice of winner, so the feedback was great (and sometimes horrifying). People take their gadgets very seriously.

More recently, Fact or Fictional was my favorite. We looked at the science and technology behind pop culture, like movies, TV shows, comic books, etc. I was able to interview so many incredible guests, and I never knew which way the conversation would go. I’d still like to do another show like that in the future.

Of all the shows you’ve gotten to create/host, what’s the one you wish you could do all over again?

Game On, for the TWiT Network. I loved working with that team, and I think if we had more time we could have done something truely awesome. [Game On ran from January to April 2012, but was canceled when it wasn't able to reach the necessary viewership numbers.]

A popular theory regarding digital vs. mainstream content is that we’re not far away from total convergence — but YouTube and web original content (that’s not on Netflix, (NFLX) anyway) currently struggle to penetrate the mass market. Is a dramatic change/event of some sort required for the playing field to truly become equal? And if so, what do you think that change/event might be?

It’s becoming easier and easier for people to watch web video from the comfort of their couch, which I think has been one of the main sticking points. There are so many different set top boxes right now, and I feel like only a few of them are integrating web video with their other offerings in the kind of way that makes it seamless for viewers to find and discover. When it becomes just as easy to find and watch Tekzilla as it is to watch Top Gear, then I think we’ll be seeing a bigger uptake.

What’s the biggest mistake you think people are making when it comes to creating content for the web today?

I think people underestimate their audience. Everyone says that the viewers don’t have the attention span to watch anything over 4 minutes or so, but I think the content has to deserve to be watched. Long-form content can survive in the web video world, and people will watch it.

Season 2 of Belmont’s “Sword and Laser” will begin production soon, and she also co-hosts the “drunk romance book club” series “Vaginal Fantasy”.

The CEA supports Dish in the ongoing litigation with CBS, and in a press release it decried CBS’s policy of forbidding coverage of companies it’s in litigation with. ”We are concerned the new review policy will have a negative impact on our brand should we continue the awards relationship as currently constructed,” Karen Chupka, SVP of CEA’s events and conferences, said in a statement. “We look forward to receiving new ideas to recognize the ‘best of the best’ products introduced at the International CES.” Meanwhile, Gary Shapiro, CEA president and CEO, said, “We are shocked that the ‘Tiffany’ network, which is known for its high journalistic standards would bar all its reporters from favorably describing classes of technology the network does not like.”

CNET SVP and general manager Mark Larkin said CNET “is committed to delivering in-depth coverage of consumer electronics.  We look forward to covering CES and the latest developments from the show as we have for well over a decade.” A CBS spokesperson told The Verge that the network had already decided it wouldn’t partner with CES again.

Dish, too, weighed in with a statement. President and CEO Joseph Clayton said, “I regret that the award has come in the face of CBS’ undermining of CNET’s editorial independence. We look forward to continuing our longstanding relationship with CNET’s editorial staff and hope they are able return to their long tradition of unbiased evaluation and commentary of the industry’s products and services.”

This post was updated with comments from CNET and Dish.

CNET was ready to give the Hopper with Sling DVR, a set-top box from Dish Network, a spot in the finals of its “Best in CES” awards at the Consumer Electronics Show — until a directive came through from the site’s corporate parent CBS that the Hopper couldn’t win the award, because CBS is suing the company over its AutoHop commercial-skipping feature.

Not only was the Hopper disqualified from the award, but CNET added an editor’s note to its review of the device saying it would no longer be reviewing any products that were the subject of litigation with its parent company — a list that would include both the Hopper and Aereo, the over-the-net video broadcasting startup backed by Barry Diller, which CBS is also suing.

As John Hermann of BuzzFeed noted, this is probably every tech journalist’s nightmare: being told by a corporate parent that they can’t do their jobs because the parent co. is involved in a a lawsuit. But it’s more than just a journalist’s nightmare — it could be a serious problem for CNET when it comes to maintaining the trust of their readers. The site noted that the restrictions only affects its reviews and not its news reporting, but will readers make that distinction?

Presumably, when someone goes to the CNET site looking for information about set-top boxes or video-streaming hardware, they want the most complete information they can find. If they know that certain products aren’t going to be reviewed because CBS doesn’t like them for some reason, that’s going to color their impressions of the site’s thoroughness in doing its reviews — and it might also make them wonder about what else is being left out.

The more cynical might wonder whether anyone will even notice once the CES decision blows over, but for media entities — even large ones — in times like these, the trust of their readers is more valuable than ever, and it should probably not be squandered lightly.

Post and thumbnail images courtesy of Flickr user Hans Gerwitz

As CEO of CNET Networks, Ashe helped engineer the sale of the tech media company to CBS with impeccable timing — selling in mid-2008 for $1.8 billion ahead of the market shift. He spent six years at CNET, including the last two as CEO while the public company was under tremendous pressure. He managed the integration into CBS Interactive, sticking through his original commitment to CBS CEO Leslie Moonves into what he called “an operating job.”

This new job promises a mix as Walmart pushes ahead with what CEO Mike Duke calls “a long-term vision to win.” Walmart has yet to achieve the kind of success with digital content that some think it should have. His background at CNET and CBS could be a major plus.

Working for Walmart (the job is effective immediately) marks the first time Ashe has been on the retail side but his last two jobs included international aspects, something Walmart played up in the late Monday announcement.

He joined the board of LivingSocial during his break, so is familiar with the volatile daily deal space. LivingSocial’s investors include e-tailer Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN), among Walmart’s largest online competitors.

FilmOn says it will be offering the content in partnership with XOS Digital, a company that provides digital asset management services to college sports organizations. It already offers its own sports on-demand service, XOS Sports, in which it offers paid rentals and full downloads of college games.

FilmOn’s channels, already live, offer viewers live games as well as archived fixtures. Users also have the option of recording programs to watch later either over TV, Internet or mobile devices using iOS or Android apps, or to subscribe to HD versions of the channels for a monthly fee. FilmOn offers a combination of free channels and those that require a subscription to watch.

It’s not clear just how extensive FilmOn’s coverage of NCAA fixtures will be — will it include the championships and all divisions? — or how FilmOn’s services work in conjunction with other rights deals between the NCAA and other media outlets: ESPN (NYSE: DIS), for example, extended its rights for NCAA Basketball in the U.S. and internationally earlier this month. That deal included both broadcast and streaming rights.

We have contacted FilmOn for further clarification and will update this post as we learn more.

At the very least, the equal content offering seems to be something that FilmOn is trying to exploit for its own marketing purposes: “We are going head to head with the industry’s top sports programmers,” the company’s outspoken founder Alki David boasts in the news release announcing the deal.

Frankfurt-based, UK/Beverly Hills-operated FilmOn has steadily been building up its catalog of premium sports content: earlier this year the company launched an international soccer channel with the UK Premiership and the Football Association, which will kick off (pun!) with football games from the Russian Premier League.

Last year, it came under some controversy when it was accused by the four major broadcasters in the U.S. of violating copyright by showing their programs. It was served at the time with a temporary restraining order. It then fought back against CBS and CNET with suits of its own (later dropped “put on hold” until November, David tells us.)

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UK-based FilmOn also claims that it has reached the number-one spot on the “European” Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) App Store with its free iPhone and iPad app. Recently it has additionally launched an HDi player, available as a free download on its site.

FilmOn says it has deals with some 120 content providers for its service, with Paramount, Associated Press and Bloomberg among the bigger names. Although it offers a fair whack of free content — including several terrestrial channels in the UK — it also has around 120 subscription and pay-per-view channels on offer.

No stats offered today on takeup of those services, although now that the company is listed we may start to see more transparent reporting on these details.

In July, FilmOn dropped a lawsuit it had filed against CBS’s tech site CNET, after finding only six examples of the content that it claimed CNET infringed by distributing Limewire file-sharing software. FilmOn founder Alki David says he is preparing a further action against CBS (NYSE: CBS), with which it has been sparring over unlicensed content since last year.

The initial market capitalization for FilmOn’s current listing is €43 million ($62 million). That’s a far cry from the €500 million valuation it had when it first listed in 2009. Between then and now the company has been personally funded by David, a producer, actor and musician.

The company says it will be buying back shares sold in 2009 from any investor, taking 10 percent interest paid on the price at which the stock was bought.

David had sued CBS and CNET, saying that CNET’s Download.com had facilitated the distribution of Limewire, a popular file-sharing program that was hit by an injunction last year. In May, Limewire and its creator, Mark Gorton, agreed to pay $105 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the major record labels against the service.

David, a producer, actor and musician, has a history of bad blood with CBS. His company, UK-based FilmOn, was sued by CBS and other major networks after he started broadcasting their programming over the internet without a license. Last November, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against the company.

One month later, David lashed out at CBS in a YouTube (NSDQ: GOOG) video, saying “we’re not going anywhere, we’re going to fight you,” and calling senior company executives including CBS CEO Les Moonves, “a bunch of hypocritical, thieving liars.”

In May, David made good on his threat and sued CBS, which dismissed the lawsuit, calling it “a desperate attempt to distract copyright holders like us from continuing our rightful claims.” Monday, David dropped the suit, as first reported by Wired.com.

But David isn’t done. In the court filling, David said he has been approached by “numerous artists and other copyright owners” about joining the lawsuit. As a result, the plaintiffs intend to “substantially expand and change the current suit” and “proceed on the basis of the amended suit instead of the current complaint.”

Alki David et al. vs. CBS, CNET –

Even six infringed works can amount to sizeable copyright damages, since awards can range up to $150,000 per infringed work. But if the judge is interested in seeing some evidence about the market for these works, it’s hard to imagine he’ll allow damage figures like that to ever be awarded. And of course, the plaintiffs might not win at all.

David has a history with CBS. His company, FilmOn, was sued by CBS and other major U.S. television networks after he started broadcasting TV over the open internet without a license. A federal judge quickly shut down FilmOn’s unauthorized broadcasts.

But David seems to have kept a grudge against CBS. He’s accused CBS of hypocrisy. David’s theory is that because CBS owns CNET-which was the main distributor of the Limewire file-sharing software-CBS has made a major contribution to online piracy. (Limewire’s software has now been banned and the service was shut down by a court injunction-but it was perfectly legal to use Limewire until last year, as long as the use didn’t break copyright law.) While he originally floated the idea of a class-action lawsuit against CBS, his current suit has several named plaintiffs but is not seeking class-action status.

CBS told Wired.com, which reported on this filing earlier today, that it is “confident that we will prevail” in the lawsuit. Lawyers for David didn’t return calls.

Limewire and its founder recently agreed to pay the major record labels a $105 million settlement to remedy the copyright infringement that Limewire was found to have illegally encouraged. The idea of piling on to Limewire while it was on the ropes legally isn’t actually a bad one, from a strictly economic viewpoint-the music publishers did it with some success, after all.

But with a list of one movie and five songs-and the movie isn’t exactly an Academy Award winner-David and his lawyers don’t have a lot to work with here.

Interestingly, several of the plaintiffs named in the complaint have no works listed at all, including De’Angelo Holmes, Anthony Round, Corey Johnson, and Jonathan Shinhoster. Those plaintiffs may have to drop off the case if they can’t produce valid copyright registrations (or pending copyright applications).

The full list of works follows. Only Fishtales is registered at the copyright office; the others have their registrations pending. (Not having a registration number yet doesn’t mean one can’t file a lawsuit.)

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»  Tipsy in Dis Club, a song by the same artists as Topless.

»  Sex Drive, a song by Dennis Round.

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