Disney's Iger Sketches Web Plans For TV Classics; No Decision On Ad-Support Vs. Subscription
David Kaplan 03.07.08, 4:17 PM ET
With DVD shelf space at retailers becoming increasingly crowded, Walt Disney Co. (nyse: DIS - news - people ) chief executive Bob Igerhopes to move some of its TV shows from the past 50 years to its website, Bloomberg reported.
Iger’s remarks were made during the Q&A portion of Disney’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday in Albuquerque.
His thoughts were conceptual in nature and didn’t appear to reflect a clear plan for how Disney would distribute its TV programs.
So while Iger presented no time-frame on when a vintage TV web initiative would be launched, or what shows would be selected, the choice of revenue model is fairly clear-cut: “In the near future, you’ll see more of that product available on Disney.com, either for free or through some sort of subscription.”
Combing the Disney vaults for classic TV shows that would appear online is a natural progression from the entertainment giant’s current digital strategy.
At the moment, ABC and Disney Channel programs are available on those properties’ respective sites as ad-supported streams. Their shows are also available for paid download on iTunes.
Most media companies remain in the early stages, with both CBS (nyse: CBS - news - people ) and General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people )'s NBC Universal experimenting with a mixture of syndication and media players on their own sites.
Those efforts mainly concentrate on recent or current TV shows, though NBC has recently added old warhorses such as Miami Vice and The A Team to its own site and to Hulu.
David Kaplan 03.07.08, 4:17 PM ET
With DVD shelf space at retailers becoming increasingly crowded, Walt Disney Co. (nyse: DIS - news - people ) chief executive Bob Igerhopes to move some of its TV shows from the past 50 years to its website, Bloomberg reported.
Iger’s remarks were made during the Q&A portion of Disney’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday in Albuquerque.
His thoughts were conceptual in nature and didn’t appear to reflect a clear plan for how Disney would distribute its TV programs.
So while Iger presented no time-frame on when a vintage TV web initiative would be launched, or what shows would be selected, the choice of revenue model is fairly clear-cut: “In the near future, you’ll see more of that product available on Disney.com, either for free or through some sort of subscription.”
Combing the Disney vaults for classic TV shows that would appear online is a natural progression from the entertainment giant’s current digital strategy.
At the moment, ABC and Disney Channel programs are available on those properties’ respective sites as ad-supported streams. Their shows are also available for paid download on iTunes.
Most media companies remain in the early stages, with both CBS (nyse: CBS - news - people ) and General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people )'s NBC Universal experimenting with a mixture of syndication and media players on their own sites.
Those efforts mainly concentrate on recent or current TV shows, though NBC has recently added old warhorses such as Miami Vice and The A Team to its own site and to Hulu.
