Gaming is the fifth network

The messy and very public late-night fight involving Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and NBC didn't just offer interesting insight into the inner workings of network television. It reminded everyone that the TV isn't used only for watching shows anymore.

Video games, right behind bad programming and bad decisions, are TV networks' biggest threat these days.

And the big three of gaming -- Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony -- aren't content to usurp television with video games alone. They're starting to replace the need for network TV with their own form of programming.

It started with the ability to rent and purchase videos through the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 online networks. Next came Netflix and the ability for the rental service's customers to stream movies to the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and, this spring, Nintendo's Wii.

And now the video game console makers are expanding their reach with interesting takes on what used to be found on a network channel.

Microsoft is testing a video game remake of the TV game show "1 vs. 100." The Xbox Live version is entirely populated by live players nationwide, depicted by 3-D avatars in a replica of the game show's set.

The game takes place over the course of a two-hour live episode hosted by comedian Chris Cashman. Winners take home Microsoft Points, which can be used to purchase videos and games on the console.

Sony's take on console television includes two video-game-themed shows, "Qore" and "Pulse," and the upcoming reality show "The Tester," in which 11 contestants will battle to land a job as a tester for PlayStation games.

"It's highly entertaining -- think 'Wipeout' meets 'The Apprentice,'" said Susan Panico, senior director of PlayStation Network. "We're slowly building up our stable of original content, which will premiere on PlayStation Network and then have a reverse syndication model where content can make its way to the Web, or even 'traditional' TV."

Nintendo's Wii is also home to exclusive video content through the console's Nintendo Channel, said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales and marketing. The channel includes trailers, commercials and interviews with game developers and Nintendo executives. But Dunaway doesn't think the console's impact on TV watching is as deep as some say.

"People don't consume their television the same way they did 20 years ago," she said. "If your favorite TV show is on at 8 p.m. and you're playing a Wii game, you can keep playing and watch the show later on your DVR, on your own timetable."

A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that children today spend an average of seven hours, 38 minutes a day consuming "entertainment media" and that television remains at the top of the heap at four hours, 29 minutes a day. Video games take up just one hour, 13 minutes a day, according to the study. That's an increase of 38 minutes a day over the past five years for television and 24 minutes for video games.

"When you look at PlayStation 3 and all the different types of content you can get through PlayStation Network, there is more choice via our gaming platform than a broadcast TV channel," she said.