ABC is leading the way in its online TV ambitions. Having already released an iPad app, it’s now doubling the adverts which appear alongside each show. Although this may force a collective groan, it’s actually a good thing, especially longterm.
ABC iPad App
ABC was the first U.S. television network to release a dedicated app for the iPad, with the company endeavoring to complete it in five weeks so it would be available as soon as the Apple tablet went on sale.
The ABC Player is free, which led half of all early iPad buyers to download it in the first couple of weeks. Big-name advertisers mean that the five 30-second spots were helping to pay for the streaming of content.
Increased Advertising
It was helping, but it obviously wasn’t paying out in any big way, as ABC has now doubled the spots to around 10 per show. According to VideoNuze, the iPad app is just the beginning, with the increased ad loads due to also be rolled out to the ABC.com website.
Five 30-second ads only add up to 2 and a half minutes total. 10 add up to 5 minutes total. So it’s a 100 percent increase, which some people won’t be happy with, but it still compares very favorably with the 20 minutes of ads per hour ABC enforces on broadcast television.
Adverts Are Good, In Moderation
I actually see this as a good thing for online video, as advertising is essential if TV networks are going to move to the Web and keep offering programming online for free rather than charging for it.
ABC believes this will become the standard for premium online video, and that does look likely. Online TV advertising is more profitable than broadcast TV advertising, especially if it is targeted by content and demographics.
Conclusions
TV and online video is converging ever closer thanks to the connected TV platforms such as Google TV, and we need the networks to see profits if they are to continue spreading onto the Web.
Now, if we could just sort out the international rights licensing to make online video global rather than local, we’d be getting somewhere.
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