Hot diggity dog!
Posted on 11/14/2005 11:01:44 PM PST by kingattax
LOS ANGELES - Dozens of old television shows including "Welcome Back Kotter" will be available online and free-of-charge under a deal between America Online Inc. and Warner Bros.
In the latest alternative to traditional TV viewing, a new broadband network called In2TV will be launched in early 2006 by AOL and Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution, the companies said Monday.
Besides the TV shows, In2TV will include games, polls and other interactive features.
"Welcome Back Kotter," "Sisters" and "Growing Pains" are among the 30 series to be offered initially. They will be grouped on channels by genre, including comedy, drama, animation, sci-fi and horror, action-adventure and "vintage TV."
In2TV plans to offer more than 100 TV series and at least 300 episodes per month in the first year, the companies said.
The shows will be delivered through AOL Video on Demand, AOL Video Search and AOL Television. At the time of launch, the programs will be available exclusively on AOL and will not be in syndication on TV, AOL official said.
Some of the shows will be offered in a new video format, "AOL Hi-Q," that AOL promises will offer DVD quality on a full computer screen. Users will be directed to a plug-in to install the technology on their computer.
The shows will include advertising, although it's not certain at this point how it will be displayed. Alternatives include an ad that streams before the programming starts or ads at the traditional commercial breaks when the shows aired on television.
In2TV will offer an early test of whether consumers can be persuaded to watch longer-form programming on their computer screens. Currently, much successful Internet programming runs only a few minutes long on the theory that many viewers don't have the patience to sit through longer shows at their desktop or laptop.
About 35 million U.S. homes now have broadband access, compared to 110 million homes with TV. About half of those Internet users say they have watched video online, according to industry analysts.
Several alternates to traditional TV viewing have been announced in recent weeks, including a deal between Apple Computer Inc. and Walt Disney Co. that makes reruns of "Lost" and other programs available as individual $1.99 downloads for viewing on computers or video-capable iPods.
CBS and NBC have also decided to allow video-on-demand of some of their primetime shows
The television audience will further disintegrate.
I watched a Live Keith Urban Concert tonight on AOL Music...and then spent an hour watching other videos they have. Sometimes a funny 15 second commercial pops up....but not as annoying as watching TV.
If they have "Star Trek" the original "Battlestar Galactica" and "The Incredible Hulk," I may never leave my computer again!
Who cares comes to mind.
Ill believe it when I see Amos N' Andy.
Hot diggity dog!
This will be challenging since AOL is essentially "Computing For Dummies".
If people weren't interested in long-format video on their PCs and laptops, they wouldn't have DVD drives built into them. The questions are 1) what programming do they want to see? 2) how much are they willing to pay? 3) how do they copy-protect it to reduce the number of pirated copies going around?
You can buy ALL of the old AMOS AND ANDY shows on tape. :-)
On DVDs too, :-)
I've seen the Amos & Andy DVD's in the overstock bin at the local Wal-Mart. :)
You think that there is that big of a market for pirate copies of Welcome Back Kotter?
And Doby Gillis....Times they are changing.
Of course there are! The RIAA/MPAA told me so!
Those evil pirates are killing the industry! Why, pirating is so bad that movies like Gigli may never show a profit.
Every day, millions of eye-patch wearin', peg-legged people steal money right out the mouths of poor, hardworking people like Madonna, Barbra Streisand and Michael Moore.
We need to take away your ability to make a backup copy of a DVD to ensure that those poor people can afford their limousines and mansions.
DRM forevah!
Why bother? You can get'em all on Netflix already.
The most effective DRM would be pricing to market. Most folks would probably pay a slight premimum for high quality, safe, convenient, and legal digital downloads or disks. (Apple's experience suggests that this is true).
Of course, in the case of Sony, using pirated content is a matter of self preservation, since their material can't be trusted.
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