More people watch free ABC stream than download from iTunes

I liked them, until I got to the season finale of desperate housewives, and the stream stopped every time at the 44 minute mark (where the normal show would normally end, but it's a double episode). Ended up downloading that episode using bittorrent.

....and the 44 before that one.

USA only ... oh well looks like I will have to stick with Bittorent even though this is probably a much more efficient way to view the latest episodes.

Gee, free vs. $1.99. Whichever should I choose?

ABC: Stop blowing your own horn. Just. Blow.

imo, people want two things: free content, and be able to watch it whenver they want.

putting up with a few commercials is not a big deal, as long as the overall experience doesn't detract consumers from watching the show, such as breaks in the streaming, etc.. the attractiveness of tivo is never about being able to fast forward commercials (commercials have been around for a long time, and people have found ways to deal with them), but able to watch any show, any time you want conveniently.

I have a lot of problems with viewing the ABC streams on a fast network connection. I have a good feeling that a lot of those so-called viewings consisted of a person starting to watch it and then getting fed up as the stream stops and refuses to start up again. Or gets stuck while going to the commercial break.

The commercials are fairly noninvasive though. There's usually one or two sponsors for the stream, and the 30 second commercials pop up maybe 2 or 3 times per stream.

I use to find commercials better scripted and more entertaining than regular programming. That was over ten years ago, the last time I spent more than three minutes watching TV "entertainment".

Perhaps I don't know enough about the econmics involced, but I agree with Yamarnez.

Even if the studios didn't want to get their funds directly from advertisers, Apple could still pay them per download as usual and the advertisers could pay Apple directly. The free version would still be Protected, be tied to the user's account and only be allowed once per account holder.

I imagine that an advertiser could agree to pay for X amount of advertisements, not an unlimited number for that show. So despite the kazillion "Lost" downloads the advert is only placed in certain type shows until that many downloads are complete. They could even go so far as to analyze the customer's previous iTunes purchases and other demographics (ie: age, gender, location) to dynamically input adverts into the video prior to downloading, in this way creating a advertising campaign that is more likely to appeal to the viewer and therefor be more lucrative.

If there is a reason this model wouldn't work, please explain it to me as I'd really like to know.

I'd like to see the 2 formulas in iTunes, with commercials (free) and without (pay). If Apple could have a deal with the add agencies, why not? So you have the choice (if you have the money...) ;

No they wouldn't care about commercials so long as they could guarantee that they wouldn't be remmoved and then given to other people to use. DRM will surely be in place just as the ABC site doesn't allow for downloads.

This study is purely a marketing technique that informs the reader of nothing comparable. As mentioned, I'm sure a partial viewing counts with ABC and they did well to make a fast and user friendly site that allows you jump to a slected timeframe. The Front Row-like interface is also very slick. Plus, 6 million Downloads can be watched over and over, and if you want to include how many of those iTunes downloads were only watched a fraction of it's time the number would surely exceed ABC's site.

The thing is, it worked on me a I actually went to the site and realized that there are shows I'd like to see. I tried find it months ago but ABC doesn't make it very obvoious fromt heir main site. That part does need work.

works for me. i'd much rather watch a few commercials than pay to see a tv show. now, where was Grey's Anatomy and 'All My Children' (lol) on that list? i just wish the networks would offer up everythig instead of the piecemeal helpings.