There is an interesting tidbit over at Broadcasting and Cable today. It seems CBS has announced that next fall they will make most or all shows available online ahead of their broadcast premieres. Added to that, the network is looking for ways to more aggressively promote the online shows, as well as additional content to support them. I think it's a great idea. One could argue that if everyone is able to watch the show online, they won't come back when it debuts on the network. I think the positives outweigh that negative though. As the fall season gets into gear that prime time window gets awfully crowded. And since most viewers don't have dual tuner Tivo, 2 VCRs, and a PC at the ready to catch everything they could possibly want to see, giving them the ability to watch your shows at their convenience can only increase exposure. If the show is good, they'll be back for more.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-17-2007 @ 6:23PM
Diana said...
Brett I completely agree. If I hadn't of been able to preview a lot of shows prior to their premieres this year I never would have made the time to watch them.
I really like how CBS is developing their online content, first with innertube and now with things like this and the fun content like they've done with The Class and their table read/rehearsals.
Diana
http://www.mediaobsessed.com
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1-16-2007 @ 2:45PM
Dusty T said...
What does this do to the Nielsen ratings?
On one hand -- the network will have pretty good "data" for how many people are "streaming" each show and at what time they are doing it. (I assume they would figure 1 viewer per stream?) So this data is much more accurate than Nielsen (sic) Ratings.
On the other hand -- When the shows actually air over regular TV and the regular ratings are much less (because of all of the people that have already watched it online)...How are the online views going to get merged into the ratings to show how many people actually watched the show.
Plus -- at this point the "target demographics", "timeslot", "lead ins", etc... all go out the window. Everything becomes apples and oranges.
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1-16-2007 @ 4:45PM
Marissa said...
I agree that CBS's plans to air the premieres online ahead of time is a good idea. This season fox aired all of its shows around a week earlier that most of its competition. As a result I watched a number of Fox's premieres and became hooked to a number of shows. If CBS airs its premieres ahead of schedule I'll most likely watch them as well and will be more likely to tune in through out the season.
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3-10-2007 @ 9:36AM
Lisa said...
Why aren't all networks putting the full episodes online? I don't understand why only some shows are available?
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