When ABC announced the two month video streaming test now going on at ABC.com, there was little talk about what role, if any, the affiliates would play. Which seemed kind of odd, seeing as how without the affiliates, "Desperate Housewives" would be the most buzzed-about show ... on cable.
Since then, Fox and CBS have both developed streaming plans that substantially involve their affiliates. Today, though, ABC announced that it is cutting its largest affiliate chains a piece of the action in the May-June online test.
ABC AND
AFFILIATES UNITE FOR ABC.COM STREAMING TEST
Local
Affiliates in Five Markets Participate in Network’s
Two-Month Online Trial
Dedicated to expanding its network and channel brands across multiple platforms and connecting viewers with their favorite shows anytime and anywhere, Disney-ABC Television Group announced today that ABC Television Network has come to an arrangement with four of its affiliate station groups to participate in the current ABC.com streaming video test. Five stations, including Belo Corporation’s WFAA in Dallas, Cox Broadcasting’s WFTV in Orlando, Hearst-Argyle Television’s WISN in Milwaukee and Young Broadcasting’s WATE in Knoxville, along with the ABC-owned Los Angeles affiliate KABC, will all feature promotional messages and links to ABC.com’s test on their own websites.
“We are open to exploring ways to work with our local broadcast affiliates as we experiment in the digital media arena,” said John Rouse, senior vice president, Affiliate Relations, ABC Television Network. “Having these affiliates participate in and share research from this experiment will help us to best determine a successful model for all of our businesses, as they continue to evolve.”
ABC.com’s streaming video trial runs through June 30, 2006 and features ad-supported, full-length episodes of “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Commander In Chief” and “Alias.” Participating national advertisers include AT&T, Cingular, Ford, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever’s Suave, Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures.
Combining
an all-new sleek, modern design with user-friendly functionality, ABC.com
offers episodes the day after they premiere on the linear channel. Consumers
can pause and move back and forth between “chapters” within each
episode, but do not have the ability to fast-forward through advertisements.
Episodes are streamed in 16x9 formatting, which offers a cinema-like
feel to the viewing experience. Encoded and streamed in Flash 8, which
offers the best video quality and allows users on both Mac and PC platforms
to watch the video, episodes are viewable in two different sizes: The
standard viewing size is 500x282 pixels (streamed at 400kbs), and the
larger viewing size is 700x394 pixels (streamed 700 kbps).
Disney-ABC Television Group is home to all of The Walt Disney Company’s worldwide entertainment and news television properties. The Group includes the ABC Television Network, Disney Channel’s worldwide portfolio of kids channels, ABC Family and SOAPnet; as well as television production and syndication divisions Touchstone Television, Walt Disney Television Animation, Buena Vista Worldwide Television and Walt Disney Television International. Disney-ABC Television Group also manages the Company’s equity interest in Lifetime Entertainment Services, A&E Television Networks and E! Networks.
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