ABC, NBC accelerates TV on the Web moves

By Kenneth Li

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. television networks ABC and NBC plan to make their shows more widely available on the Internet, accelerating a strategy to court viewers wherever they spend time.

Walt Disney Co's ABC TV Group, the first of the major networks to offer its top shows for free viewing on its own Web site last year, said on Thursday its shows will now also be available for the first time on a third-party Web property, Time Warner Inc's AOL.

The move comes on the heels of General Electric's NBC TV network, which on Wednesday said it will make its top shows available for download to view for free, and plans to create two new original series for the Web.

Taken together, these moves, including NBC and News Corp's upcoming online video joint venture Hulu, appear to be an acknowledgment that consumers -- not networks -- now have more control over their programming schedules.

The top three U.S. TV networks, including CBS Corp, have been encouraged by early tests of making their shows available to watch for free on their own Web sites.

These tests have helped boost viewership on traditional television rather than siphon off chunks of their audience, networks have said.

"They're overwhelmed to find out people still want to watch their shows," Forrester analyst James McQuivey said of the networks. Now, "They're crawling over each other to see where else they can put their shows where people spend time."

McQuivey said the bump up in traditional viewership from offering shows for free on the Internet shortly after they air live on TV has been one of the first pieces of good news in the last decade. The big networks have watched viewership erode from a combination of forces -- cable, Internet and video games.

EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME

Networks have tweaked their strategies to address business issues these new technologies have created.

ABC's initial plans last year stoked concerns among its affiliate stations that the Internet would hurt ad sales at the stations.

Since then, special Web video software players for ABC's shows are now available on the television group's affiliate stations and ABC.com, which display local ads based on where the viewer logs in.

AOL will now carry a co-branded version of the same player, which will carry local ads alongside national promotions.

Meanwhile, NBC, which said it did not plan to renew its contract to sell TV shows on Apple Inc's iTunes site, now plans to make downloads of its shows available for free.

NBC.com will also debut two new original series: "Coastal Dreams" on October 2 and an animated comedy series "Pale Force" on September 24.