Broadcasters enhance online TV offerings
Ninemsn and the Nine Network have launched FIXPlay, their new online video service offering content from Channel 9 and GO!, and the ABC prepares to debut Doctor Who content on iView prior to its TV broadcast.
These new services are the result of an increased demand for traditional TV content online, as broadcasters try to offer their programming legally and solidify their online business models.
ABC’s iView offers content from the public broadcaster’s three channels, and reached 471,000 unique visitors and 1.6m visits last month, for content such as The IT Crowd, Hungry Beast and Peep Show.
This week, the ABC will experiment with one of their flagship series, as the new Doctor Whoseries will premiere on iView on Friday night at midnight, before its ABC1 screening on Sunday 18 April.
On the commercial arena, Nine’s revamped service debuts today on ninemsn.com, offering their local titles such as Underbelly: The Golden Mile and RPA, and back-catalogue content including McLeod’s Daughters. The service will also show content from international partners such as BBC Worldwide, (Doctor Who, Little Britain) Warner Bros (Two and a Half Men, V, Big Bang Theory) and Digital Rights Group (Shameless, Balls of Steel, Father Ted).
FIXPlay is the latest stage of evolution for Nine’s online catchup services, which started in 2006 with McLeod’s Daughters. The service expanded over the years, with Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities reaching almost 300,000 downloads last year, and the Vancouver Olympic Games offering generating more than 1.6m streams.
Ninemsn expects the third Underbelly to draw a large audience online.
