• Mediaweek, Tuesday, May 9, 2006 12 PM

A.J. Frutkin of Mediaweek nicely summarizes the competition between the major television networks to get their programming onto so-called third screens—cell phones, iPods, and other mobile devices.  A year ago, this was a subject of secondary interest to the networks, but suddenly everyone is in on the action and the race is on.  ABC is in the lead, Frutkin says, but the situation is fluid and the outcome, in terms of revenue, still unknown.  Mediaweek: "ABC is widely recognized as the industry leader in presenting digital content, having been the first network last fall to offer fee-based video downloads through Apple’s iTunes of ‘Lost’ and ‘Desperate Housewives.’ Continuing to forge new ground with its free streaming of series this spring, the network now hopes to raise standards for the consumer experience, maximizing the size and encoding quality of its video streams, and upping the bandwidth needed to deliver that video. 'I think the question is, How do you do it right?’ said Albert Cheng, executive vice president of digital media for the Disney/ABC Television Group. 'If it’s a horrible experience, users won’t come back.'"

Read the whole story at Mediaweek »