Dive Brief:

• CBS Interactive has joined the ranks of media companies with in-house ad production services with Studio 61. 
• The in-house studio will offer advertisers creative ideas, production capabilities, and research on what appeals to CBS Interactive media properties like CNET, CBS News, and GameSpot. 
• Studio 61 has partnered with MEC —a WPP Group media buying unit —to find agency partners to produce customer video for CBS advertisers across different outlets. 

Dive Insight: 

CBS is joining a long list of media companies—BuzzFeed, The Guardian, and Huffington Post—that have created in-house studios for sponsored content. The list is becoming so long that it may become necessary for media companies to create in-house teams just to be competitive. The trend doesn't look good for agencies, but that can be combated by forging relationships—like Studio 61 teaming up with MEC. As in-house studios continue to grow in popularity with media companies, the role of agencies is going to continue to evolve—a trend worth keeping an eye on.