News: NBC made a major announcement today: starting in November, it will offer NBC shows for free downloading online for a 1 week period after airing on TV. The free videos will have commercials. Viewers can pay extra for a commercial-free version. “With the creation of this new service, we are acknowledging that now, more than ever, viewers want to be in control of how, when and where they consumer their favorite entertainment,” said Vivi Zigler, executive vice president of NBC Digital Entertainment. (More)
Analysis: Tech Crunch blog wonders whether NBC’s decision will hurt its joint effort to launch the Hulu site with News Corp, the so-called “YouTube killer.” Regardless, NBC’s decision is of huge significance. I expect CBS and ABC to follow suit. This may be the beginning of TV’s migration to the Internet.
