Emma
10-18-2006, 08:25 PM
<img src="http://www.fanbolt.com/forums/images/avatars/heroes/101806heroes08.jpg" width="85" height="85" vspace="5" hspace="5" align="right" border="0" alt="Heroes, NBC"> Millions of television show episodes have been streamed over the Web by broadcast networks over the past month, with "Heroes" and "Jericho" emerging as favorites among people who watch TV on their computers.
Within the past month, ABC, CBS and NBC have begun making some of their entertainment programs available for free download. Fox is set to begin after the World Series . They all claim a rapidly growing appetite for news and entertainment on the Web, but are reluctant to release specific details.
For prime-time shows, the bulk of computer viewing is done to catch up on an episode missed on TV, and is often done within a day of when the shows air, said Albert Cheng, ABC‘s digital chief.
ABC last fall began selling episodes of some of its popular shows through iTunes, setting off a rapid transformation that networks are still in the midst of. This Sept. 22, it began making video streams of six of its most popular shows — including "Grey‘s Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" — available on ABC.com the day after the episodes air. Individual episodes remain available for four weeks.
While the networks know how much each of their shows are being watched online, none will divulge the details. CBS and NBC revealed which of their shows rank No. 1 online — "Jericho" and "Heroes," respectively. ABC wouldn‘t even go that far. Cheng claimed cryptically that online viewing habits were similar to TV, which indicates top-rated "Grey‘s Anatomy" led online, too.
"It‘s a new business, and you‘re hesitant to give out too much information," said Jeff Gaspin, head of NBC‘s digital unit. "Partly it‘s for competitive reasons, and it‘s so early you don‘t want to make general conclusions about things."
The new "NBC Rewind" feature streamed more than 2 million videos during its first week up in late September, making NBC‘s Web site the most visited one of all the networks, NBC said. It has since hit the 5 million mark in total downloads, the network said.
Many online viewers don‘t have the patience to sit through an entire program. NBC said the average amount of time a visitor spent on "NBC Rewind" was 20 minutes, with one quarter of the visits over 30 minutes.
<a href="http://www.onelocalnews.com/whiterockreviewer/ViewArticle.aspx?id=16978&source=2" target="_blank">Click here for more!</a>
Within the past month, ABC, CBS and NBC have begun making some of their entertainment programs available for free download. Fox is set to begin after the World Series . They all claim a rapidly growing appetite for news and entertainment on the Web, but are reluctant to release specific details.
For prime-time shows, the bulk of computer viewing is done to catch up on an episode missed on TV, and is often done within a day of when the shows air, said Albert Cheng, ABC‘s digital chief.
ABC last fall began selling episodes of some of its popular shows through iTunes, setting off a rapid transformation that networks are still in the midst of. This Sept. 22, it began making video streams of six of its most popular shows — including "Grey‘s Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" — available on ABC.com the day after the episodes air. Individual episodes remain available for four weeks.
While the networks know how much each of their shows are being watched online, none will divulge the details. CBS and NBC revealed which of their shows rank No. 1 online — "Jericho" and "Heroes," respectively. ABC wouldn‘t even go that far. Cheng claimed cryptically that online viewing habits were similar to TV, which indicates top-rated "Grey‘s Anatomy" led online, too.
"It‘s a new business, and you‘re hesitant to give out too much information," said Jeff Gaspin, head of NBC‘s digital unit. "Partly it‘s for competitive reasons, and it‘s so early you don‘t want to make general conclusions about things."
The new "NBC Rewind" feature streamed more than 2 million videos during its first week up in late September, making NBC‘s Web site the most visited one of all the networks, NBC said. It has since hit the 5 million mark in total downloads, the network said.
Many online viewers don‘t have the patience to sit through an entire program. NBC said the average amount of time a visitor spent on "NBC Rewind" was 20 minutes, with one quarter of the visits over 30 minutes.
<a href="http://www.onelocalnews.com/whiterockreviewer/ViewArticle.aspx?id=16978&source=2" target="_blank">Click here for more!</a>