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ABC Leads The Ad-Supported Way

from the desperate-lost-grey-housewives dept

Mon, Apr 10th 2006 10:13am — Carlo Longino

Last month, ABC said it planned to offer ad-supported versions of its shows on its web site, and it's now offering more details: a new version of ABC.com will launch April 30, featuring episodes of several popular shows that users can watch online. They'll be able to pause, fast-forward and rewind -- but won't be able to skip the three built-in ad breaks. They will, however, be able to choose if they want to see a normal video ad, or a more interactive one, like a game. Shows will be available the morning after they've aired, and eventually ABC will store archives of episodes so users can watch an entire season. This sounds like a pretty solid plan (despite some miggling faults), and ABC deserves some kudos for being the first to step into the breach. Of course, some stakeholders will get upset, like retailers concerned about the service undermining DVD sales. But those worries are unfounded. ABC is just grabbing the low-hanging fruit, essentially translating their broadcast content to the web. By adding additional services -- like the removal of ads on DVD versions, or formatting the content for portable devices -- there's still a market for paid content. What ABC is doing, and rightly so, is offering consumers the choice of how they want to receive content, and how it should be paid for, either by purchase, or by advertising.

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16 Comments

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Randdickson, 10 Apr 2006 @ 11:47am

Sounds reasonable ....
but I wonder if the content will be universally available to all users regardless of operating system or if it will be 'Windows Media Player 9 ..etc etc.
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- anon, 10 Apr 2006 @ 12:00pm
  
  Re: Sounds reasonable ....
  If I had to guess, I'd say WMP. On the up side, as long as you legally own a copy of Windows, you can use the codecs on another system. I run Debian at the house (and keep an old Windows XP CD that I bought before I used linux), and have no problem running any video or audio format using VLC or MPlayer and the plugin for Firefox.
  
  I wish people would go to an open format, but you know what they say: wish in one hand.....
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- HotGarbage, 9 May 2006 @ 4:24am
  
  Re: Sounds reasonable ....
  What will probably happen is it will be available first for Media Player X then someone will develop codecs for the *nixs so that the rest of the world can watch them. But that of course will take time.
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Nick Threlkeld, 10 Apr 2006 @ 11:48am

THIS IS CRAP
I cannot believe you typed this. I am horrified and disgusted. I should go back in time and give your mother a brochure on contraception, idiot. We are all dumber for reading your article.

Thank you.

With love,

Mr. T ^_^
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- jamie, 12 Sep 2007 @ 10:04am
  
  question
  which nick threlkled is this??
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Hannah Rhine, 10 Apr 2006 @ 11:52am

Sounds irrational...
like omg, wat the heck is like, wrong, with this like, article???
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Kassie Jamison, 10 Apr 2006 @ 11:54am

o really?
sad story!!!!
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dani, 10 Apr 2006 @ 11:56am

Grow up kiddies
interactive advertising...that sounds like a good idea! Marketers should pay attention to the outcome of that one!
Are the programs going to stay free? CNN money's coverage says a "two-month trial" of the program.
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Neal, 10 Apr 2006 @ 12:00pm

Lead the Way
This is great! In my area ABC comes in like crap and I don't feel I need to buy cable or dish for programming that is free. Lost is one of my favorite shows and I wouldn't mind being able to watch it on demand with a few commercials. That will also save me $2 from buying a DRM copy from iTunes.
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jimbo, 10 Apr 2006 @ 12:30pm

Flash based video?
I think they'd probably offer like flash based video, that would allow many platforms to access the content PLUS it would be easy to add in those interactive ads.
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Waste o Space, 10 Apr 2006 @ 12:45pm

Good Times, TV sucks
They are not the first to do this sort of thing, but folks really like their content so it'll get lots of hype.

I'd say most likely they'll require WMP 10, and have the content DRM protected to force you into thier advertising. But.. Content is one thing, what about delivery and qualtiy? "DVD Quality" is more than bits. and how long with a straight download take for a 1 Gig Episode of a 30 minute show?...
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Waste o Space, 10 Apr 2006 @ 12:45pm

Good Times, TV sucks
They are not the first to do this sort of thing, but folks really like their content so it'll get lots of hype.

I'd say most likely they'll require WMP 10, and have the content DRM protected to force you into thier advertising. But.. Content is one thing, what about delivery and qualtiy? "DVD Quality" is more than bits. and how long with a straight download take for a 1 Gig Episode of a 30 minute show?...
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Lee, 10 Apr 2006 @ 12:54pm

If I am reading this corrctly, these programs are not going to be "downloaded", you will have to watch from the ABC.com website.
I could be wrong, but nothing in that article indicates more than "on demand" programming, meaning you can watch it, rewind it, fast-forward it, but you can't "save" it.

Lee
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Alex C, 10 Apr 2006 @ 3:28pm

I wonder if this content will be available to Europe. I see it as a viable option if the advertising shown is selected according to which country you are in.

On demand content via the internet and targeted advertising should be the future all together. Shouldn't it?

This is also gonna reduce the pirated copies found on the net. ABC doesn't really care about selling DVDs if they're getting advertising revenue.

Besides, timeless shows will be bought on DVD anyway.

The question is, when are movies gonna be released with regulated advertisement content free and on demand over the internet. The possibilities for this sort of thing are endless.
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Siggy, 10 Apr 2006 @ 4:14pm

TV shows over the net
I do not watch regular TV now, why would I want to watch it on my computer? There is to much crap on TV now and ain't worth watching. Maybe Public TV programs like Nova once and a great while.
Siggy
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Syed Ali, 10 Apr 2006 @ 4:21pm

Applause for ABC
ABC deserves a pat on the shoulder. It's doing a great job and this is just a new addition to the list of their good points. ABC is perhaps the best Broadcast Television station.
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