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ABC To Offer Full Shows Online
vitaly.friedman writes to mention an Ars Technica story on the ABC's newest bid to stay relevant in the Information Age. As of the end of this month the network will be airing certain popular television shows on the ABC website, starting the morning after their first broadcast. From the article: "All programs will be shown in their entirety, including commercials which cannot be avoided. That's a smart move on ABC's part, as it ensures that advertisers will get another shot at hawking their wares to an audience that might otherwise change channels during commercial breaks or fast-forward through them if recorded. Aside from being unable to avoid commercials, watching the programs will be similar to watching timeshifted content in that viewers will be able to pause, fast forward, and rewind."
If ABC is really looking to make a splash, maybe they should offer some of these episodes the day *before* they air. Given how quickly buzz becomes stale after the fact, people would jump at a chance to get a preview of their favorite show.
Jim http://www.runfatboy.net/ -- A workout plan that doesn't feel like homework.
What exactly does "Cannot be avoided" mean? do they actually think they can prevent people from skipping the commercials?
>>viewers will be able to pause, fast forward, and rewind
What's this about not being able to skip commercials? Any commercials?
Say I want to watch just the final ten minutes of something, does that mean I must sit through SEVENTEEN minutes of commercials first before I'm "allowed" to view the ending?
No thanks. I (and everyone else, I suspect) will just wait for the Torrent.
In many ways, it's a no-brainer, as viewers have demonstrated by their viewing habits that they want more control over where, when, and how they watch programming. ....
All programs will be shown in their entirety, including commercials which cannot be avoided.
So, basically I should still use netflix if I don't want to see commercials.
Your sig(k) has been stolen. There is a puff of smoke!
Maybe if advertisers stopped making commercials that are crap, they wouldn't need to lock us out of fast forward during commercials.
It can be done. How many Super Bowls have had commercials better than the game?
Before we jump all over ABC here - "What?! Only 4 shows?! And they all suck!" - this is a huge step forward. I hope this program is successful, as it would mean people like myself without a clear OTA signal will be able to legally download broadcast television.
The bigger concern here is what will the laws say about my ripping the forced commercials out? Given the industry's history in developing copy protection schemes, this will likely be a trivial matter. Now, it's perfectly legal for me to do this with the OTA signal - will the DMCA be invoked against people who do this with the downloads?
Anyway, let's congratulate ABC on this leap of faith. I am appreciative of it, and may sit through a few of those awful shows just to support their new distribution model.
Windows media.
Disney to put TV shows onlines ney.reut/index.htm?section=cnn_topstories
http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/10/news/companies/di
Like the constant ads we see in every tv show and movie? Want a COKE? It's the taste of the new generation! No Thanks, I'll just have a water,but have you seen my new Timex watch and Converse All stars? Or, do they mean little flashes of "buy crap now,buy crap now" in the fast forwarded ads. I wonder what subliminal brokerage ads or 90's style jeans ads would be like. You have this irresistable urge to go do...something or wear maybe pants? Unavoidable ads! Yeah!
Forget the morons above when they complain about "oh, it's the day after? WAH WAH WAH" or "Can't skip the commercials WAH WAH WAH".
They're trying to embrace a new delivery medium and you these idiots are fricken complaining about it. Come on, ABC should be congratulated for thinking outside the standard line that RIAA and the MPAA have been harping on. The net will make a great delivery service and they're heading out into it full steam ahead.
But no, months ago people were saying this is what they should do, and now that they're doing it, it's not enough. Give them what they want, and you get a big "fuck you" in return.
I welcome this.
"Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
I wonder if Apple will still be charging a couple bucks an episode when viewers now have the choice of getting a commercial-loaded copy for free instead.
It'd be nice if the ad-supported version were available for free through iTMS, but that would probably require ABC to actually pay APPLE per download to cover bandwidth costs and overhead, which might be problematic.
Anyway, if Apple doesn't work out SOME kind of new deal, it seems safe to say their $2 iTMS episodes aren't gonna be selling very well anymore, except among the video iPod loyalists.
This is an excellent step. I, for one, will be watching Lost in this manner. I cancelled cable TV earlier this year, because I'm a busy person who doesn't need the cost overhead in my day. However, this will rope me back in, guaranteed.
Then i read:
Hmm, so my high quality HDTV rips finish downloading at the same time their low quality flash/rm/wmv video files are "available" for streaming*, and they have commercials?
Sorry abc, your not quite there yet. good try though.
*i would never believe they would let me download and archive the copies. if thats true ill eat my hat.
I'll just use my special getting high powers one more time...
This is probably ok for those whe don't get good TV signal over the air. For everyone else, there is MythTv. More functionality, no commercials.
One thing no one has touched on is the fact that this is free. The article mentions that viewers can order the same shows via iTunes for $1.99 (no commercials), via OnDemand for $1 with no commericials, or for free via their website with commercials. Personally, I'd still go for the free version; I pay enough per month for my cable and DVR as it is.
Then again, ABC doesn't really have any shows that I'd actually be interested in this feature for. I do hope that NBC and CBS follow this lead, as well as Fox (for 24)
I agree to a certain extent, why should we pay for cable AND watch the commercials too, but television shows are costing ten's of millions to make, and many of them are sad sad failures. I would rather watch some commercials that generate revenue to create both the good and bad television then to have to pay $500 a month for 100 commercial free channels that are still filled with lots of garbage and I can't possibly watch all the content anyways.
Also, ABC doesn't get a dime from your cable bill. Cable companies are making huge profits by charging you to view ABC in digital or HD. Only those specialty channels like HBO that you pay extra for get revenue from your cable bill. Again, I would prefer if MOST television was not a premium channel because I don't think 100 HBO like channels would survive or offer the same quality of content as HBO.
Do what I do. I never watch TV in real time anymore. I record all the shows I want to watch on my PVR, and this way I can fast forward through the commercials. It saves me time (up to 12 minutes per hour of programming), and I am not annoyed by all the advertising.
If you don't like commercials, then don't watch TV. Its almost hypocritical to complain about commercials but expect to still watch television for free or cheap. The two have gone hand in hand since the beginning. Pick up a book or rent movies or play video games if you want cheap commercial free entertainment.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
I see a huge backlash from companies when they start catching their employees watching these shows at work.
....and see Slashdot headlines of "Study claims Billions of lost revenue weekly from staff watching streaming TV at work"
An easy to use access system (a web page) will mean anyone will be able to find and watch them with no software install (p2p etc.). This could be hard for IT administrators to stamp out.
I gaze into my crystal ball....
I don't know how many times I have heard people complaining about iTunes selling television shows. How many people are in an uproar because ABC is making money first from commericals aired during their shows on television AND by selling the show on iTMS. Guess what, they also sell their shows on DVD AND make money off syndication.
What is the purpose of your complaining?
First, you don't have to buy the shows on iTMS, most of you complaining probably don't even own an iPod let alone the iPod that works with this service.
Second, many people actually enjoy the shows that are being sold on iTMS, that is, they want to watch it more then once. I would jump on the bandwagon with you if iTMS sold shows for $1.99 per view, but you are buying a video file you can watch over again. It may not be within the same month, or year, but many people do enjoy watching a full season of TV over a few days or weeks.
Why is it that some people are so jealous or fanatical about companies that make money? Why bother to complain. If a company or entity forced you to contribute to their profit, then that is reason for complaining (i.e. the government and taxes or gas companies). But some corporation that sells television shows is really no target for the kind of criticism and whining people are doing. Your just wasting your breath and straining your fingers.
When someone complains about a product or service they have no intention of buying or participating in, then that is just moronic. It is a classic definition of an idiot.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
Maybe if advertisers stopped making commercials that are crap, they wouldn't need to lock us out of fast forward during commercials.
You whiny bastard. Seriously. These companies can't do anything right, can they?
All I see here is people complaining and getting modded up for it. As far as I'm concerned this is a great step in a great direction.
I think what it boils down to is that most people here just want shit for free, and will say anything to pretend that they have some valid objection with the system and that it warrants theft (or "copyright infringement" for the pedants).
Free/opensource software falls victim to the same tripe -- people pretend that they stand by the ideologies but really just want stuff for free -- and use the ideology as a guise to pirate non-free software like photoshop or Windows.
bleh.
Also, ABC doesn't get a dime from your cable bill.
I hate to nitpick, but that's (probably) inaccurate. Almost all channels carried by cable get a chunk of the bill. It's true that premium channels like HBO, Cinemax, and so forth get a lot more, but even basic cable channels usually take between 10 cents and $2 per subscriber. For example, BusinessWeek reported in 2003 that ESPN charges an average of $1.93 per subscriber per month.
Now, ABC itself usually doesn't get paid by your cable company, but the local broadcast affiliate that carries ABC probably does. Federal law provides both "must carry" and "retransmission consent" provisions that cable companies have to abide by. In essence, a local broadcaster can try to negotiate with the cable company to permit transmission in exchange for a fee. If the cable company refuses to pay, the broadcaster has the choice to block the cable company from transmitting its signal, or to demand that it do so for free. Early this year, a dispute with an ABC affiliate caused the cable company to pull the station off the cable system at the station's request.
With these provisions, the amount of money a broadcaster can get from the cable company depends on how popular the station is. Local affiliates of the "big 5" networks usually have bargaining power to compel the cable companies to pay. Independent broadcasters and religious stations, on the other hand, usually opt for more viewers through asserting the "must carry" rule.
I agree with the rest of your post; I just wanted to point out these facts, which most people don't seem to know about.
Honestly, as with all security, this needs a cost benifit analysis. I suspect that if ABC were to offer all of their shows WITH commercials in an unrestricted free fashion, the majority of people would not bother spending the time and effort to look for illegal copies of shows on p2p networks. I suspect that most people would not even bother to keep a copy of the shows if they knew that they could always go get it again directly from the source. You also would see very few people downloading and cutting commercials themselves, as that would be a bigger inconveniance than just watching the commercials.
There will always be a certain percentage of people that will download and strip commercials, but as illicit demand drops, p2p becomes less effective. This means more ads watched, and more revenue. The Media Barons have been tripping over dollars to pick up dimes for a long time now. They will never stop copyright violation, but they could probably reduce it by removing the primary motivators.
As for what is being offered ABC...we will see how it turns out, but it sounds like a good step.
I haven't seen TIVO mentioned yet.
/.
Since around 1959, when I got my shiny new Norelco Carrycorder, I have been recording broadcasts to play back at my leisure. I can fast forward, rewind and with some systems even edit the content.
My Mac now does that for me. I record TV to my hard drive. Weekly shows are easily preprogrammed and a special show that I discover tonight can be recorded with a single click. I can watch live TV and pause, back up, and fast forward even as it is streaming onto my drive. I can put the TV in a corner of my monitor and continue typing messages to
The software allows me to edit those programs worth preserving--removing commercials and boring parts... Then I can save the edited file in a number of compressed formats.
I assume that many readers can do most of this with their TIVO or their computer. Don't know why it hasn't been mentioned.
Now why would I want this ABC service?
...omphaloskepsis often...