In the latest sign that the rules of television are being turned on their head, the two divisions of Time Warner Inc. have formed a partnership to offer "vintage" shows, including "Welcome Back Kotter," "Wonder Woman" and "Kung Fu," free online. The venture is believed to be the first time a major TV studio has made prime-time entertainment programs available over the Internet at no charge. Read more (WSJ.com)
CBS has agreed - in markets where it owns its own TV stations to let Comcast digital cable subscribers buy episodes of four top shows, including "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," from within hours of their initial broadcast until the next episode is broadcast a week later. NBC Universal is offering a total of six shows, including "Law & Order: SVU," in a similar fashion on DirecTV. Unlike the CBS shows on Comcast, NBC's shows on DirecTV will initially be free of advertisements; but to buy them on demand, a DirecTV subscriber will need a new version of a digital video recorder that is about to hit stores.
This new video-on-demand window, they say, is simply a way to capture easy money from people who either don't have DVR's or forgot to record a show. Even better, the networks say, the water-cooler buzz about a great episode the previous night may spur some people to buy a show they wouldn't have watched in the first place, get hooked and then tune in for the next episode. Read more (NY Times)
Comments