By Sunshine Mugrabi and Andrea Quong

Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS put together an attention-getting and splashy presentation at CES to prove that the network isn’t being left behind by the digital revolution. Yet, it’s still unclear whether big media is getting into the game fast enough to be able to capitalize on the user generated content craze.

Big media is now extending the olive branch to YouTube—CBS and NBC both have hosting deals with the popular video sharing site YouTube, now part of Google. The major networks are also mulling the possibility of launching their own rival site. (See: Media Giants Plan YouTube Rival)

Here are some of things the networks are doing to get hip to Web 2.0:

CBS

The Tiffany Network is apparently hard at work on a deal with Google to broker radio and possibly television advertising. On a smaller scale, it plans a contest to determine which 15-second YouTube video will be broadcast on Super Bowl Sunday on the network. This will become an ongoing contest for other network opportunities. The network is also planning a partnership with virtual world Second Life designed to make use of the CBS’s Star Trek franchise, and has also hooked up with San Mateo, California-based Sling Media, which sells the Slingbox TV-Internet connector.

“It’s no longer a one-way street,” said Shannon Jacobs, a CBS spokeswoman, who says the network is embracing the user-generated model on a number of levels.

For example, Slingbox users will now be able to post TV content to a CBS-branded Web site, among other options. CBS is also pushing to deepen its grip on fans of popular shows, having launched OurChart.com, a web site on which viewers of the Showtime series “The L Word” can keep track of characters’ entanglements. Finally, listeners of CBS’s show “Opie & Anthony” will launch a new feature allowing fans to send in clips that may be heard on the show and uploaded to the site.

NBC

With its webisodes of the “The Office” NBC was one of the first to run segments from popular shows on the Web that were not also appearing on TV. The Peacock Network took another risk when it placed an uncensored SNL skit featuring Justin Timberlake on YouTube. That video is now the ninth most popular in YouTube’s history, with 10.2 million viewings. And, along with CBS, the network has a hosting deal in place with YouTube.

Last October, NBC, whose corporate parent is GE, announced a plan to go digital "NBCU 2.0." This included 700 layoffs and a restructuring initiative that was intended to streamline operations and get more digitally connected. NBC also recently acquired web property iVillage, and projected that by 2009 its digital revenues will exceed $1 billion.

CW

CBS and Warner Bros. joined forces to launch a new network last fall, CW. The network’s site has a mash-up feature that allows viewers to put together their own promos for their favorite shows. The mash has garnered over 50,000 such user-generated videos, said Rick Haskins, executive vice president of marketing and brand strategy at the network. Another promo utilizing user feedback: the network is running a contest in which fans of the show “One Tree Hill” send in videos to the web site promoting their town as the place to film the next episode. The CW is also working with Artificial Life to create a launch the first avatar-based mobile game tied to a major TV show, “America’s Next Top Model.” (See: Pocketing America’s Next Top Model)

ABC

Still struggling to shed its reputation as the worst TV web site due to its disastrous Go.com partnership, ABC is waking up to the Web 2.0 reality these days. Its gutsiest move: it has launched a wiki for its highly popular show “Lost.” On the site, users can write in an opening scene to an episode and link it to the page. The network also plans to aggressively build online communities around several of the network’s shows, said ABC spokesperson Karen Hobson.

For now, the main ABC site has built in some interactivity—for example show producers’ blogs allow viewers to ask them direct questions. The company is also pursuing a mobile content strategy. Meanwhile, an expanded agreement with Yahoo! has increased the visibility and availability of ABC News video on the Yahoo! News site, and fee-paying iTunes users can now download ABC-owned news clips and archival footage, in addition to entertainment programming.