• Ad Age, Friday, February 10, 2006 10:47 AM

When Disney announced late last year that some of its hit television shows would be available at $1.99 a pop at Apple's iTunes store, the deal was hailed as a smart move by the entertainment company and a decent deal for consumers, but it left advertisers out in the cold.  Now a new plan has been hatched, and advertisers will likely appreciate this one more.  Disney-owned ABC is planning to offer some of its shows for download at its own Web site.  "We are looking at the technology and how many shows we could do," says Mike Shaw, president of sales and marketing at ABC.  Another concern is the network's affiliates.  How will they take to the notion of alternative means of delivery of shows that normally are available exclusively on TV? Once that's ironed out, says Shaw, the network will begin conversations with several media agencies. "We are very interested in growing secondary or tertiary revenue.  But we can only repurpose 25 percent of our schedule," Shaw says.  According to Ad Age, "Potential video-on-demand distribution could mean ABC would alter where and when ads would be inserted to accommodate, say, five 60-second spots as opposed to the way ads appear on TV now."

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