Nothing But Net
Are recent online ventures by major cable networks clicking with viewers?
By Jen Jones

To the Netizens go the spoilers – if they take advantage of exclusive online programming that is becoming a common strategy for forward-thinking television networks. The trend gained steam in February when Showtime teamed with Yahoo! TV to give viewers an online sneak peek at “Fat Actress,” which ultimately buoyed the show’s onscreen debut as the network’s highest-rated series premiere in several years. More recently, the WB followed suit by providing early Yahoo! TV viewing opportunities of “Supernatural,” which consequently garnered a respectable 5.49 million viewers for the on-air bow.

For MTV, such initiatives are part of a much larger undertaking: MTV Overdrive, a broadband channel offering exclusive show footage, videos-on-demand, and interviews. Network president Brian Graden says that one million viewers took advantage of Overdrive’s online premiere of the “Unplugged: Alicia Keys” episode in the week before it hit the air. For the recent “My VMA’s” promotion, as many people experienced the show online as on the air within 72 hours.

“The cool thing about Overdrive is that you’re liberated to do different kinds of viewing experiences,” says Graden. “Music is such a personal thing, and now we can indulge all sorts of sensibilities that may not have had mass appeal before.”

Graden adds that features providing a look at the behind-the-scenes process or into the characters’ lives are especially popular with visitors. “The after-show model is working very well,” he says. “The site gets a tremendous amount of traffic right after each show when the unique content is made available.”

Cartoon Network is hoping to experience the same kind of success with its new “Adult Swim Friday Night Fix.” For viewers who lament the programming block’s six-nights-per-week on the air, current episodes and previews of upcoming shows are now being made available online on Friday nights.

Paul Condolora, VP and General Manager of Cartoon Network New Media, feels that such online advances are a logical strategy for growing cable networks. “Cable networks are well-positioned in the new media space since both are niche-oriented and target-focused,” says Condolora. “New media is complimentary to television; it’s not cannibalistic of ratings. When you look at the growth chart of Adult Swim’s online and onscreen ratings, they are very much in sync.”