• by Wayne Friedman , August 4, 2006

Want results? Go the Web. ABC.com grabbed more young viewers for ABC shows than their original network run. The overall response was so positive that Disney-ABC Television Group says it will re-launch the video service full-time this fall.

During the month of May and June, ABC.com ran a streaming video test garnering 5.7 million episode requests for shows such as "Lost," "Desperate Housewives," "Commander in Chief," and "Alias." ABC had a total of 16 million video streams. The streams were ad-supported, and free to Internet users.

ABC reported that the average age of its users was 29--far below the 46-year-old median age of its linear TV network. But like the linear network, the broadband player skews more to females than males: 53 percent females to 47 percent males.

"What is surprising is that the viewership patterns were strong throughout the day," says Albert Cheng, executive vice president, digital media, Disney-ABC Television Group. "For me it was surprising that females' viewership is that high. But then the TV people reminded me that female viewers are at a higher percentage than male viewers on network. It proves to me it's all about the content."

"This points out what everyone has known. The viewers are younger online," says Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate research director for Horizon Media. "It also shows, again, that women--not just men--use the Internet."

Other research from ABC's trial showed that viewing on ABC.com occurred within the first 24 hours of a show's broadcast on ABC. Two-thirds of users watched complete episodes. The remaining one-third watched only part, since they had seen some of the show on TV. Most of the viewing took place at home on a desktop computer.

Ten national advertisers were in the trial: AT&T, Cingular Wireless, Ford Motor Co., Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Toyota Motor Sales, Unilever's Suave, Universal Pictures, and Walt Disney Pictures. Five ABC affiliates' promotional messages also ran with links to their own Web sites. ABC says 87 percent of users could recall the advertiser that sponsored the episode viewed.

ABC did not disclose any programming or advertisers' details for the fall re-launch, but Cheng said in a statement: "When we re-launch, the basic concept of ad-supported, free to the consumer full-length episodes will return along with some added features to enhance the consumer experience."

Adgate says this finding bodes well for streaming news programming on the Internet. CBS EyeBox, for example--a new broadband CBS news service--hopes to drop the average age of its linear network TV news viewer from 60 to around 45. "That means they can sell to more than just pharmaceutical advertisers," adds Adgate.

ABC.com's broadband player recently won an Interactive Television Emmy Award.