Fox strikes deal for free shows on iTunes
With NBC and ABC both making free downloads of their shows available this week, Fox jumped on the trend with free downloads of new shows available on iTunes.
(Credit: Fox)The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that Fox and Apple have reached an agreement to offer free downloads of the shows Fox is trying to promote this sweeps season: that is, the ones people aren't watching as much as they'd like. No Simpsons or Family Guy clips are among the five shows currently available for free on the iTunes Store. But episodes of shows sure to be forgotten in the sands of time, like Back To You, Til' Death and K-Ville, are currently available for free at the iTunes Store.
It's a strange time to be in the television business, as new strategies for reaching fickle television viewers are being trotted out. NBC decided it was done with Apple's iTunes Store earlier this year, and is now planning to offer shows like Heroes on its own Web site. ABC is putting shows like Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty on AOL Video.
The Times quoted Fox's William Bradford, senior vice president of content strategy, as saying, "I wouldn't call it fumbling around. We are trying a lot of different things and there is a lot of learning that the TV industry is going through." The traditional ads-on-the-show method isn't working as well these days with the popularity of DVRs, but it's not clear where the answer lies.
The Fox shows are commercial-free, unlike the NBC shows which force you to watch commercials as part of the free download. The idea, according to the Times report, is to get people interested in the shows, so they'll tune in at the regularly scheduled time or pay to download later episodes of the show from Apple.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom.
Of course Mac users need not apply.
Sorry Amazon. I will not buy from Unbox until you support the Mac or at least the iPod.
Apple+Fox- commercial free.
NBC content expires in one week,
Apple+Fox- keep it as long as you like.
NBC content excludes 25 million Mac users,
Apple+Fox-viewable on any platform capable of running iTunes.
NBC content excludes the #1 MP3 player on the planet (it's not
compatible with the iPod line)
Apple+Fox- iPod friendly.
Apple+Fox? Find a way to expand on this, and let NBC join the
ever-growing list of failed "wannabees".
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by liberalbasher03
September 21, 2007 11:37 PM PDT
- Fox news..... fair and balanced. Luv'em.
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- uhh...
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by pjhenry1216
September 22, 2007 1:24 PM PDT
- Fox News is as relevant to the real world as your comment is to this story.
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(7 Comments)