CBS Local has launched an auto shopping guide on the website of WCCO-TV Minneapolis, using vertical content and services from High Gear Media, a Palo Alto-based auto specialist publisher launched two years ago by Daily Shopper founder Hesky Kutscher.
The CBS Local deal marks the first local effort for High Gear, which has 90 car-related vertical sites, and also has distribution on outside sites isuch as NASCAR.com, Yahoo Autos and Huffington Post. Its own vertical sites include TheCarConnection.com, MotorAuthority.com, GreenCarReports.com, AllCarsElecrtric.com and FamilyCarGuide.com.
VP of Product Management Jeff Birkeland tells us that the CBS Local site will launch with 1.2 million pages of “very curated” content including content from a six person full time staff, free lance auto writers and more than 200 community sources. He believes the level of specific, high-level auto writing is much higher from general content creators such as Associated Content and Demand Media.