June 27, 2009
TV Everywhere wants commercials everywhere too
One perk to watching TV shows online is that there are few commercials. On Hulu, you usually have to sit through only a handful of spots from a single sponsor in a 30-minute show. It's great for viewers, but it's another reason why the site isn't making any money. The LA Times reports.
That's one thing Comcast and Time Warner are hoping to change with their online venture TV Everywhere. The service, which will be tested next year with an eye toward a fourth quarter roll-out, wants to carry the same load of commercials shown on television.
... Once Comcast and Time Warner take the plunge, Hulu and other sites will likely feel they have a greenlight to jump on board as well. The reality is that the only way content online works economically for big media is either with a pay wall (good luck) or more ads. While it's true that some advertisers pay a premium to be a sole sponsor of a show online, that money alone is probably not significant enough to solve the problem of -- to overuse NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker's quote -- trading analog dollars for digital dimes.
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