What is Digg?Warning: The Content in this Article May be Inaccurate
Readers have reported that this story contains information that may not be accurate.90 Comments
- kevinrosesmom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6The headline is misleading. ABC will be offering their shows on abc.com free of charge with ads. iTunes downloads will still cost you $1.99.
- duzins, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6NEW YORK (AdAge.com) –- Walt Disney Co. is expanding the availability of its hit shows via ABC.com as part of its plans to create the "network of the future." CEO Bob Iger detailed the soon-to-launch product called My ABC, which will provide consumers with the opportunity to download shows free of charge.
(this is text from the SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED link at the bottom of the article) - frequeniquity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4NEW YORK (AdAge.com) –- Walt Disney Co. is expanding the availability of its hit shows via ABC.com as part of its plans to create the "network of the future." CEO Bob Iger detailed the soon-to-launch product called My ABC, which will provide consumers with the opportunity to download shows free of charge.
Bear Stearns conference
“Mike Shaw [ABC's president ad sales and marketing] announced today we are going to take a product to market in May," Mr. Iger said at the Bear Stearns media conference in Florida this week. "Viewers will have the ability to access shows such as 'Lost,' 'Desperate Housewives' and 'Grey’s Anatomy' on ABC.com. They will be ad supported, free to the consumer.”
Ads that accompany the video offering would not necessarily be the same as those that appeared during the show's broadcast, he said.
Mr. Iger said Disney wanted to try a variety of business models for its product, whether subscription or advertising supported. ABC shows are also offered via Apple iTunes and iPod platforms for $1.99 a pop. Those shows come without ad involvement.
'New direct commerce opportunities'
Mr. Iger said Disney was looking to create a number of revenue models but because the company did not wish to turn its back on the ad community, it would create new opportunities for them.
“There is so much greater consumption of media, the opportunity for advertisers are greater; look at what Google has managed to do,” Mr. Iger said. “Our job is to create the new networks and new direct commerce opportunities.”
So far greater availability of ABC's shows via Apple’s iTunes does not appear to have dented the shows' ratings, something advertisers had feared might happen if consumers could find them elsewhere at anytime. For the week of Feb. 20, “Grey’s Anatomy” ranked No. 6 in the Nielsen Media Research ratings, watched by 24.7 million households, just behind coverage of the Winter Olympics Feb. 23.
Gary Carr, senior VP-director of national broadcast at TargetCast TCM, New York, said: “The one thing advertisers are worried about is whether people are watching the commercials and are they watching the shows?”
Not yet selling new platform
He said ABC not yet started selling the new platform, but noted that CBS, which has a deal to offer its hit shows via Comcast’s video-on-demand platform, does so with the advertising that runs on the linear network intact.
“Its good that they’re all trying different things. They’re testing a lot of models that can generate additional revenues,” he concluded.
NBC also offers many of its network shows on the iTunes platform -- "The Office" is one of the top performers -- while Fox is offering two network shows, "Prison Break" and "24," through satellite sibling DirecTV's VOD system for 99 cents. - digitalblues, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Somebody finally work up to the fact that if you let us download tv shows for free we will accept some adds but if you want us to buy an episode of something that you brodcast for free were not going to do it and will download it illegally first!
- h2d2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Thanks but no thanks...
I still prefer DRM-free Divx encoded HD episodes from BitTorrent over tiny screen DRMed versions with ads from iTunes. - OsakaWilson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Apple offers TV content to those in America who can watch it for free, BUT they won't allow people who live outside the U.S. to even PAY for content. We can't see the content for free on TV, so are far more willing to pay for it than people inside the U.S. From a company that makes inconceivable decisions like this, what can we expect.
- birch25, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1free, on-demand tv means i will give more shows a chance. ads are annoying, but i can live with them. what i hate is having to watch at a certain time of day, every week to see my shows. it's much easier for me to set aside an hour to watch grey's anatomy when it's convenient for me, not when abc decides.
- Strangers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I hope it'll be available outside the states.
And the subscription required will also be free, and they won't just charge you there instead. - planksconstant, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1the title is misleading at best, the service will be through abc.com, not iTunes.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I want to OWN my shows. I don't want to subscribe to a show, even if it's free, and have to put up with ads. I love owning the episodes of Lost and The Office. I would never use My ABC.
- scanman20, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Where's this supposed announcement? This site says "Their latest announcement indicates ABC will soon be offering free TV shows, for download, supported only by advertising." Indicates isn't concrete.
- tim949, on 10/12/2007, -0/+124 and Grey's Anatomy are not offered on iTunes. "frequeniquity" posting the full adage.com source article shows the report isn't even referring to iTunes. This will be a new service on ABC.com
- vypergts, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Trying to fast forward on an iPod sucks anyway...
Maybe this is how companies will compete with place shifting?
I've decided that I won't watch a movie on a screen smaller than 12" so for now I'll stick with DVDs and commercial/DRM-free divx files at a resolution I can see on my laptop thank you very much...
Lost Season 1 DVDs on Amazon = $31.50
Lost Season 1 in bad resolution on ITMS = $34.99
Lost Season 1 on Bittorrent = $0.00
Why pay more for less? - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This report says nothing about these shows on iTunes. It merely says the iTunes version will be ad-free and $1.99, and My ABC will be ad-supported and free. So it seems to COMPETE with iTunes. Furthermore, this does not seem to say that something like Grey's Anatomy is coming to iTunes any time soon. Although the report references its strong ratings in the light of concern over iTunes, Grey's Anatomy isn't even on iTunes!
There is no Steve Jobs/Disney connection here either, folks. ABC was sold. It is a seperate entitity. - astrotrain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1LOL!.. Free ABC shows? When did free shows become paid then become free?
If I wanted a tv show on a mobile device, I would record via le video card, and dump to
thumb drive and plug it into my laptop.
BTW, "This is the death of TV".... TV died a while ago with the airing of the reality shows.
"Music.... will be the future!"
-Aerosmith's - Revolution X - foxhoundadmin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1reported: inaccurate. no digg.
--peace - ZarZax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0sweet!
- JTMON, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0holy *****, I may actuallu download and use itunes now!
- Danny, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0So I can finally get rid of my TV with rabbit ear antennas. All I need to replace it is a computer, Ipod, and high speed internet connection. This is stupid, who cares?
- aggies11, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Sounds great.
at $1.99 an episode, I can't afford to watch all the TV that I like.
Make it free, but add supported, and I will watch way more TV than I should.
Fastforwarding on the PC with any accuracy is difficult. It's just easier to watch the 30seconds, rather than get up, go to the computer, fiddle around, and then go back to your seat.
Sure there will be edited versions, but even if you release it in plain XVID through an official source, and the public will rather download it instantly and fast, than wait a few hrs for an edited version to show up on the pirate networks.
I am just waiting for when they start to bundle Paid content WITH advertising. That is absolute hell. But people will tolerate it, sadly, (Look at the movie theatres! You pay to watch commercials!)
Aggies - elpayo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The Real Reason Why ABC Is Doing This?
I think this is actually a way for ABC to avoid having to deal with the union issues that have come up as a result of selling shows on iTunes. By giving them away free, with ads in them, the unions profit-sharing demands on iTMS sales is made moot. ABC can charge more to its advertisers and continue to pay the standard union rates to actors and crew members. "Pretty sneaky, sis." - kitykity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0There are several programs out there that can convert files for free into ipod-playable format; so even if they are only on the ABC website, you can still convert them easily. I think one of the programs is from xilisoft.com .
- lifesun1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I just want to read the article so I know what I am talking about.
Since I can't, would this be the first foray of Apple into CABLE? I would love to not have cable and just watch ala carte shows. Then I could purchase the DVD's when they come out. That would hold me over until then.
Plus, with the right adaptor, i watch video podcasts on my TV right now. Sure it's not HD, but MOST PEOPLE DON'T HAVE HD BROADCASTS YET! I still have junk cable that distorts like hell. Most of the podcasts and TV shows I have downloaded have been BETTER than cable.
It's a new model for a new century. - b-dizzle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"holy *****, I may actuallu download and use itunes now!"
Same here.
Btw, the link doesnt go anywhere but to a "not found page". Alternate? - middy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Not perfect, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
- blackbelt88, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0how do they force us to watch the ads? disable fast forward or something? This sounds awesome as long as they play within itunes and we don't have to download some proprietary player or some crap like that. I can't wait.
- archer75, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I don't know why anyone would pay for a TV show that you can legally record and put on a portable device.
At any rate it's a step in the right direction for ABC. - borntobedown, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Disney shareholders will own approximately 52% of Citadel Communications", Citadel is the company that "bought" ABC radio and the ABC Network. ABC is still Disney folks. ABC and Citadel "merged". Link still broken. I think it's a super shrewd move on the part of Disney/Pixar(/Apple?).
- ChazyChaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0accurate article and full story is here guys:
http://digg.com/movies/ABC_to_offer_Lost_ad-supported_episodes_free_for_download
go digg it! - saadiq, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Do people even try to read the article? The link's been dead for a while now and the number of diggs is still going up.
- skologinczak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0am i the only one getting this as a bad link, i wanna read the damn story, what the hell....
- Leftyshields, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0way dugg!
- duzins, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0yes, digg crashed the servers... it's down. I put the actual article up here http://podcast.podcastpublishing.com/diggeffect.html
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"I don't know why anyone would pay for a TV show that you can legally record and put on a portable device.
"
some of us are lazy bastards that don't want to sit there editing out the tv spots. :) - imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Seriously... have you guys tried to FF commercials, or even parts you don't like, with podcasts on the iPod? It's not that easy to hit your target. Depending on the length of the show, a 30sec to 1min FF could be just a flick of the thumb, or a longer 'swipe' of the thumb.. either way, it sucks so bad I usually just end up listening for the min or so instead of fumbling with having to find where to FF to.
This is a great idea btw. They discussed it on the most entertaining tech podcast ever, CNET's Buzz Out Loud. (my opinion of course :) - JSJ2K, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0IT HAS BEGUN!
I believe this signals the death of TV as we know it- This is what the world needed to begin the momentum toward user demanded TV.
Mark my words- - Bishoco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I hope this catches on. I'd love to be able to download shows for free. I don't mind having some ads. This is the future of TV folks.
- devoinregress, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Finally, all stations should stream and upload their shows. I don't care if they have ad's but paying for TV unless its Family Guy is ridiculous.
- chrism1128, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Maybe it's good, maybe not.
It's choice.
And a content provider is at least giving "some" choice. Hopefully this is the start of them actually getting it. - afpunk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"I want to OWN my shows. I don't want to subscribe to a show, even if it's free, and have to put up with ads. I love owning the episodes of Lost and The Office. I would never use My ABC."
I agree completely with the ownership point. I have more TV DVDs than I know what to do with. I just prefer physical ownership rather than digital ownership. I rather not spend money on something I'll only own digitally (buying Half-Life 2 this way was tough for me). While I will still spend money to own the episodes of Lost at some point, if I happen to miss an episode, I will gladly use this service if done well rather than torrent it. - allarise, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0sum everything up...
1) step in the right direction, however things we don't know yet.
2) we've yet to see size/ratio details.. might be crap.
3) what DRM are we talking about?.. only prop. "abc player" support?
4) until they can best the hd rips off bittorrent, it will still be a second class experience.
honestly, w/ ad support I don't see why they'd put any DRM on the files. At the lower rez i doubt copies of these shows would start flying around the net, leaving ABC without proper numbers in terms of who's watching the downloads. (which is of top importance to them)
Sure you could burn it on DVD, but you still have ads all over it. And if you edit out the ads you're retarted because you could have dl'd the HD rips a lot easier.
the whole thing is pretty interesting. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You just want your story dugg.
- imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0sabarsky... I'd TRULY rather have targeted ads, then see more ads for tampons and "pads" during my shows. PLEASE.
- RobotCitizen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The media cartels only act sensibly as a last resort.
- Newbie01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0********Again, to those who read comments and can not get to this link. It is INACCURATE! This has nothing to do with downloading them free from iTunes. You will have to download them from a new service called "My ABC".... and those shows will somehow have Ads in them. *********
- Newbie01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0God bless it. Is it me or is Digg becoming the playground of the misleading headline. I should not have to read anything more than the headline to get to gist of the story and the truth.
These will NOT be (ad)Free on iTunes.
Reported as Inaccurate. - Sal42, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0one of two ways this will happen:
1) they will use Windows Media Player or Flash streaming so the file cannot be downloaded or fast forwarded through commercials. this means no iTunes, however
2) they will put banner ads instead of commercial breaks. this way we can't skip the commercials at all unless we actually crop them out of the video. - joeyjojo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"There is no Steve Jobs/Disney connection here either, folks. ABC was sold. It is a seperate entitity."
I believe it's still owned by Disney...just look at their web site and you will see connections (for instance ABC employment is handled by disneycareers.com) - vinny, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Their video quality is ***** anyway so who cares"
jnorris, have you actually watched an episode from iTunes? While it's not DVD quality it's certainly good enough for television shows. Until we get higher bandwidth, I doubt the quality will increase much. - WarPirate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0http://www.adotas.com/2006/03/abc-to-offer-ad-supported-tv-show-downloads/
-
Show 51 - 88 of 88 discussions
Browsing Digg on your phone just got easier with our enhancements to the 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is