Warner Bros. and AOL Team-Up for All-New Channel on the INTERNET!

Monday, November 14, 2005

Warner Bros. and AOL Team-Up for All-New Channel on the INTERNET!

Ever wanted a TV channel on the internet showcasing your favorite shows? Well, you are in luck starting in January! Warner Bros. and AOL have teamed up for an all-new channel available only on the internet. If you are a high speed user, this is great news for you! AOL.com will bring you 30 classic TV series with 10 episodes each at start in January. They want to expand to over 100 series by the end of 2006, that is over 3400 hours worth of programming! So you miss Alice, Perfect Strangers, Lois & Clark, Head of the Class, Growing Pains, on TV? Not to fear you can start watching them again in January on the internet whenever you want to! We hope if the downloads for the most popular ones that are not on DVD, such as Perfect Strangers and Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, are popular enough to warrant their own DVD season sets. All in all, this is just wonderful news. The service will be called "In2TV" -- these series will be offered in a new DVD quality video format called "AOL Hi-Q." This new technology, which builds upon AOL's industry-leading online video experience, enables high resolution, full-screen viewing. It will be made available free to any broadband user (along with standard-quality streaming). AOL.com is the first major portal to offer this kind of high quality video experience to consumers.

In2TV will provide AOL's advertisers with compelling video inventory for instream broadband advertising as well as opportunities for sponsorships and accompanying banner ads. Video ads, 15-second and 30-second spots, will be limited to a total of 1-2 minutes within each 30-minute episode as compared to 8 minutes of advertising on broadcast television.

They will create six channels. Here they are with details:

LOL TV: Laugh out Loud with this channel that will feature Welcome Back Kotter, the Emmy-nominated series that launched the career of John Travolta and outperformed The Mary Tyler Moore Show and 60 Minutes. Even its theme song by John Sebastian climbed to #1. Fans will also find Chico and the Man, where Freddie Prinze broke new ground for Latinos on TV alongside Emmy-winner Jack Albertson, as well as Perfect Strangers, featuring the foibles of cousins Balki and Larry, in a show that helped to establish ABC's "TGIF" lineup and ranked #1 in every time period it aired. Plus, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, an ABC hit which ranked #1 in its time period on Tuesdays and again when it moved to Fridays, as well as Head of the Class, which debuted on ABC as a Top 10 sitcom.
Dramarama TV: This channel will showcase great dramatic series ranging from the five-time Emmy-nominated Sisters, starring Emmy winner Sela Ward, to Falcon Crest, one of primetime's juiciest soaps that was a Friday night staple on CBS for nine seasons. Drama fans will also find Scarecrow and Mrs. King, the Golden Globe-nominated and Emmy-winning series co-starring Bruce Boxleitner and former "Angel" Kate Jackson, along with TV icon Robert Urich in Spenser: For Hire, which was so beloved by fans that it spun off four made-for-cable movies. Plus, Eight is Enough, the Emmy-nominated series starring Dick Van Patten that ranked in ABC's Top 10 for season after successful season.

Toontopia TV: Top-rated animation comes to life with Beetlejuice, the animated adaptation of Tim Burton's hit movie that ran successfully for multiple seasons on both Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. The channel will also feature animated favorites such as Daytime Emmy-winning Freakazoid, as well as fellow Daytime Emmy-winners Pinky and the Brain and Histeria!, both executive produced by the legendary Steven Spielberg. Plus, there's The New Adventures of Batman, featuring the voices of Adam West and Burt Ward from the live action series.
Heroes and Horrors TV: Sci-fi and horror fans will be riveted by this channel that includes Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which was a Top 10 program on ABC for three seasons, starring Dean Cain and Golden Globe-winner Teri Hatcher of Desperate Housewives, along with every episode of Babylon 5, the Emmy Award-winning syndicated science fiction series so popular that stations aired it twice a day. Plus, there's Freddy's Nightmares hosted by the maniacal Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), the star of the hit film series "Nightmare on Elm Street," and the adventures of Wonder Woman starring Lynda Carter, which was consistently a Top 20 series across two networks, airing on both ABC and then on CBS. Plus V, where resistance fighters must stop "Visitors" from invading Earth.

Rush TV: This channel will feature action-adventure favorites such as La Femme Nikita, which enjoyed an enormous cult following as witnessed by over 300 websites dedicated to its star, Peta Wilson, and the show. Fans will also find the Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-nominated series Kung Fu, which dominated Thursday nights in its broadcast run catapulting ABC to #1 in the time period with key demos. In addition, fans can re-discover The Adventures of Brisco County Jr, a fan favorite that built its time period on FOX and went on to be a Top 10 series on TNT for three consecutive seasons. Other series in Rush TV will include 2001's The Fugitive, Dark Justice and more.

Vintage TV: This channel will feature Growing Pains, the Emmy-winning sitcom that lasted an incredible seven seasons, turning Kirk Cameron into a teenage heartthrob (receiving 10,000 fan letters a month) and featuring a young actor by the name of Leonardo DiCaprio. Plus, there's Alice, which ranks among an elite group of sitcoms to air for nine successful seasons. Honored with multiple Golden Globe Awards, it consistently ranked as a Top 10 network series on broadcast and attracted a broad audience of both men and women. Plus, fans will also find F Troop, which became a top rated hit on Nick@Nite after a successful run on ABC, as well as Emmy-nominated Maverick, which was voted "The Best Western of the 1950s" by TV Guide. Other Vintage TV series will include fan favorite The F.B.I.

Read the entire press release, FULL list of the 30 initial shows, and what Warner/AOL have planned for these shows HERE. This is one of those must reads.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, January 15

Shifting Gears - "Accommodations" (ABC, 8:20PM ET/PT)
Matt joins Riley at Carter’s high school open house, where he’s unsettled to learn about the “accommodations” made for his grandson’s anxiety. Meanwhile, Riley reconnects with Caitlin, a former classmate, and sets her up with Gabriel.

Abbott Elementary - "Testing" (ABC, 8:50PM ET/PT)
Janine must rethink her lesson plans after her class performs poorly on a practice test, while Jacob struggles to engage a disinterested student. The district sends a new custodian to train under Mr. Johnson.

Poppa's House - "Podcast" (CBS, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)

Junior enlists Nina’s help to film a documentary of Poppa’s iconic career, but the direction of the film takes a detour when the radio station begins using AI promos with Poppa’s and Ivy’s voices.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 13)

Wednesday, January 15

Tim Allen (Shifting Gears/Last Man Standing/Home Improvement) - Watch Tim on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Nicole Byer (Grand Crew/Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Adam appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. He also talks about Severance on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Ben is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Severance on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Pauline Chalamet (The Sex Lives of College Girls) - Pauline stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Denis Leary (Going Dutch/No Good Deed/Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/The Job) - NBC's Today catches up with Denis in the 10am hour. He chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke talks about One of Them Days on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. She also co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/The Mick) - Kaitlin talks about High Potential on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Gabriel Basso (The Big C) - Gabriel talks about The Night Agent on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) - NBC's Today catches up with Britt in the 9am hour.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved by the Bell/Nobodies/Truth Be Told/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - NBC's Today catches up with Mark-Paul in the 10am hour.
Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - NBC's Today catches up with Andrew in the 10am hour.
Jennifer Lopez (South Central) - Jennifer talks about her film Unstoppable on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Jim talks about his Hulu comedy special Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny on a repeat Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Jay Pharoah (White Famous/Champaign ILL) - Jay talks about his new virtual reality series Soapstone Comedy Presents on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony discusses his Fox special The Real Full Monty on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Da'Vinchi (grown-ish) - Da'Vinchi is a guest on New York Livng on WPIX in New York at 10:30am.