NBC
and CBS think viewers are willing to pay if they miss some primetime television. Yesterday, both networks announced
different plans to offer some programming on-demand to viewers for 99 cents a pop. NBC will offer commercial-free
episodes of Law and Order: SVU, The Office, Battlestar Galactica and Monk to DirecTV customers who
have the company's new digital satellite recorder. Several hours after the shows air, they will also be available to
DirecTV Plus DVRs.CBS's offer is through Comcast, where on-demand customers can watch CSI, NCIS, Survivor and The Amazing Race. CBS's service starts in January and the shows are not commercial-free.
What does this do to ratings? If I know I can pay 99 cents to see Survivor later, then I can watch The O.C. at 8 pm on Thursdays.
Seven greatest hand cannons in TV history
TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 1)
TV 101: How ESPN controls the world and what the other networks can learn from it
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-08-2005 @ 2:15PM
Fred said...
Could this be an (arguably much-needed) death-knell for ratings as we know them?
Reply
11-08-2005 @ 3:48PM
Ferley said...
Just get a tivo or DVR and blam it is free, or find it on the internet. Why pay for tv shows and watch it on an ipod screen and/or computer. To maybe help out the eyewear peps. Stupid and a waste of money.
and that is all I have to say about that.
Reply
11-08-2005 @ 11:10PM
Jason Anderson said...
I would love ratings to die. Despite what the so-called experts say, Ratings are NOT an exact science! Only morons would think that putting one box in every few homes will create an accurate coverage example. It DOESN'T! And I will not rest until Neilson is dead.
The only way to get 100% accurate ratings is to tie every cable box, TiVo, DVR and TV itself into a giant network that constantly monitors every device at once.
DOWN WITH NEILSON'S!
Reply
11-10-2005 @ 11:10AM
JJ said...
99 cents for a on-demand just to skip the commercials? I am sorry but that is ridiculous. And isn't the point of having a TiVo (or any other DVR) that you don't have to worry about when a show is on or whether it's just a rerun?
Besides, I can already fast-forward through commercials and, in fact, I usually do unless I see something that catches my eye (advertisers: how about you make your commercials interesting because that is literally the only way you'll get us viewers to watch them).
Charging me for something I have already paid for with my monthly subscription? Not a good idea and, frankly, not very likely to work.
Hell, give me a $2 a month option for free, no-commercial shows to-go (in either the new iPod or the PSP format) and I might think about it. But even that is a little steep considering that you can easily convert your shows to your handheld's video format yourself.
Reply