With both feet, and a lot of their primetime programming, the major broadcast networks have finally - if a bit nervously - stepped into the business of offering free,
on-demand, ad-supported programming on the Web. And now the real work begins.
There are plenty of issues to consider. How should various media platforms, particularly
the emerging, on-demand ones, be priced? How will advertisers negotiate pricing with content providers for the TV run versus the Web run? And what about those TV ratings? How do they apply to the Web
world of TV programming? Will they be quite as important in a world where consumers are niche-ifying their viewing, consuming so many slivers of content that the prospects for audience aggregation
(and achieving ratings) are dicey at best.
For consumers, the benefits of TV content via the Web are obvious: They can access programming any time, anywhere, and on any
media platform. But what value should be assigned to consumers watching programming in shorter spurts on the Web with fewer commercials, and generally on smaller screens?
Over the last several months, the networks have raced to make content available on an on-demand basis, mostly at no charge and with ad support. In August, CBS began streaming episodes of new and
existing primetime shows for free on its Innertube Web portal the morning after their traditional linear network run. Internet airings sport fewer and shorter ads than on TV, but they're not
skippable.
CBS is simulcasting the live broadcast of "The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" on the Web and selling advertising for the TV version of the news separately
from the Webcast. The network is also streaming free clips of its primetime shows to New York City commuters' Bluetooth-enabled wireless phones and devices. By beaming their wireless gadgets at
digital billboards in Grand Central Station, commuters can download half-minute clips of four of the network's new shows. It's a pretty cool idea.
Fox is streaming
ad-supported episodes of selected primetime shows on the Web sites of nine of its local stations. This spring, ABC tested streaming free, ad-supported episodes of four of its top shows on the Web and
is set to relaunch abc.com with a primetime lineup. Recently, the CW joined msn to stream the first episodes of three of its primetime series for a week leading up to their respective debuts. And NBC
teamed up with AOL to stream, commercial-free, two new primetime shows prior to their network premieres.
The scramble by networks to move programming online signifies a
profound shift. The question remains: How will they monetize all these slivers of TV content? Will, for example, CBS still be able to cajole advertisers into buying TV spots at top dollar - $300,000 a
commercial for a fresh episode of "CSI: Miami" if the same episode is made available 24 hours later or earlier on the Web? Stay tuned.