As the fall television season fast approaches, the four major broadcast networks are betting big that a lot of their viewers will be parked in front a computer screen instead of a TV.
ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox this year will offer more free full-length shows than ever via on-demand streaming through their own Web sites as well as through a network of third-party sites, with revenue coming from advertising.
That’s on top of established tactics of distributing short clips and teasers on sites like YouTube, or selling full-length episodes as downloads through iTunes.
The push to deliver more shows through the Web comes as networks have started seeing dollars roll in from this new type of broadcasting.
James McQuivey, an analyst with Forrester Research, said revenue from downloads and ad-supported video streaming could reach around $800 million this year.
Adams Media Research forecasts that number could grow to around $6 billion by 2011.
The ad-supported strategy builds off a series of experiments started by the networks last season, when episodes of hit shows like ABC’s “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” and NBC’s “Heroes” were offered as free video streams.
This season Fox and NBC are launching a service called Hulu, which will make more than a dozen hit NBC and Fox shows and related clips available for full-length viewing on Yahoo!, AOL, MSN, Comcast and MySpace. Fox and NBC will also offer free video streaming through their Web sites as well as through the Hulu site, which begins testing next month.
Meanwhile, CBS will offer a mix of full-length shows and clips from the likes of “CSI,” “Late Show With David Letterman” and “The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric” through its CBS Interactive Audience Network. In addition to CBS’ Web site, content can be viewed via large third-party sites as well as smaller players like Joost, Bebo and Sling Media.
ABC will be offering its shows as streams based exclusively through ABC.com and the sites of some of its broadcast affiliates.
The networks are also ramping up their efforts to sell downloadable video as well.
But as some TV networks grow increasingly dissatisfied with the pricing terms offered by Apple for iTunes, they are looking for alternatives like Amazon and Microsoft’s Xbox to serve as retail partners for buying shows a la carte.