Since drawing a mere 253,000 unique visitors in its February launch month, Bud.TV now has even fewer viewers, having lost 40 percent viewership in March - down to 152,000, according to Ad Age.

The declining figures may in part confirm concerns that A-B's age-verification measures are an obstacle to reaching a mass audience. However, videos from the site placed on YouTube also failed to draw crowds; one received only 384 views.

Ratings service Quantcast pegged the site as the 49,303rd-busiest site on the web, just behind www.rubber-cal.com, which bills itself as a "comprehensive source for sheet rubber." That's down steeply from February's 29,840th-place showing - and an even further cry from the top-100 ranking A-B executives hope to ultimately achieve.

Bud.TV's performance is the subject of widespread interest among media and marketing professionals because it is the first attempt by a marketer to launch a full-scale TV network online.