Production: Scripps Networks has put itself at the forefront of the ?how-to? Web video surge. The media company?s interactive division has been profitable since 2003, and now pulls in more sales than some of its cable networks such as DIY. Together, its Web properties pull in about 15 million visitors a month, traffic that is monitored to see what users are interested in. That scanning revealed reader interest in the subject of kitchen backsplashes, the decorative treatments that protect walls from moisture. Scripps reached out to Banyan Productions to create a series of Web videos on how to make backsplashes. Each of the eight segments cost about $7,000 to produce and the company posted them on HGTV.com in October 2006.

Result: In the year after they were posted, the backsplash videos had garnered 1 million views. Scripps declined to provide details on advertising deals associated with the segments.

-Greg Baumann and Daisy Whitney