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From Time.com: Wanna Buy A Slice of Sitcom?
(from Time.com)
Selling episodes on cable, online and on iPods, the networks change the face--and price--of prime time
For nearly half a century, watching network TV was like eating at a school cafeteria. You chose from the limited options that day, take 'em or leave 'em, and you ate when they were served. If you missed Taco Tuesday, you were out of luck until next time it came around.
Sure, there were VCRs and, more recently, TiVos, but most people built their evening around the prime-time schedule, watching series at their appointed time or waiting for reruns or video. But suddenly, the cafeteria workers who run network TV are loosening their hairnets and offering viewers vending machines and takeout. ABC, CBS and NBC Universal struck deals to sell shows, hours after their airing, via video on demand. ABC is already doing with iTunes; CBS and NBC start their offerings in early 2006, while Fox is currently testing its options.
Why would people pay to watch shows they can get for free? For the same reasons, networks hope, that they buy DVDs of shows: convenience, instant gratification and the ability to skip ads.
full article
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, November 24, 2005,
