Shows Head Online on ABC.com, DotComedy.com, NBC.com and Google Video

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Shows Head Online on ABC.com, DotComedy.com, NBC.com and Google Video

ABC has announced its shows on its free broadband player on ABC.com for this season. They all will be Touchstone Television shows, except The Nine, which comes from Warner Bros. ABC will once again offer ad-supported, full-length episodes of several ABC primetime series online at www.ABC.com, beginning Saturday, September 23. ABC and its Affiliate Association have reached an arrangement which allows local affiliates to participate in the player through local advertising sales, branding opportunities and website links.
New episodes of returning series Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy, as well as episodes of the new series Six Degrees, Ugly Betty, The Knights of Prosperity and The Nine will be offered free to consumers on ABC’s website the day after their broadcast premieres. Generally, four episodes per series will be available at any given time. When the player relaunches, half-hour promotional programs of Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy, created to help viewers follow the ongoing stories in these series, will also be available.
Under the new arrangement, affiliates will be able to feature the broadband player on their own websites. Stations will have the opportunity to sell local advertisements for episodes and will retain all revenue associated to those specific sales, marking the first time that local ad insertion on a nationally operated broadband video player has been accomplished. The ABC affiliates will also be promoting the broadband player on-air and online.
All content will be streamed in 16x9 formatting which offers a cinema-like feel to the viewing experience.

NBC's DotComedy.com has quietly launched. You will find trailers, previews of NBC comedies, and classic full length episodes of Universal-owned shows such as The Munsters, Leave it to Beaver, Weird Science and Significant Others. They are found on the channel called "Sitcom Flashback." We will have more details when available.

Also at NBC, they will create a broadband player on NBC.com. They will stream full episodes of its new Fall primetime shows on www.nbc.com for free. The ad-supported model will allow viewers to watch episodes of their favorite NBC primetime shows on NBC 24/7, NBC Universal's video player which will re-launch on October 1st with a new enhanced high-resolution, large-format version. Additionally, nbc.com will feature live premiere blogs from the creators, producers or cast members for every show on the air (such as Deal or No Deal and The Office). The shows are: The first four episodes of 30 Rock and 20 Good Years; eight episodes of the new dramas Kidnapped, Friday Night Lights, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and Heroes.

CBS has made yet another deal for shows online. Google Video will now carry a few CBS series starting today. CBS will stream the premieres of three series on Google Video before they air on TV. New series Smith and The Class, and the sophomore show The New Adventures of Old Christine will be available for free streaming for four days starting today.
I'm starting to forget how many ways we can watch The Class now. Let's see Google Video, innertube, TiVo, anything else? Oh yes, CBS Mondays at 8 p.m., but that's on TV. Speaking of The Class, we will have the pilot review of that sitcom in a few days. So check back with us.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Monday, August 19

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Climb" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Gemma decides to fire a teacher at her school, she’s unprepared for the aftermath. Also, Calvin gets a surprise when he faces off with his newspaper carrier.

The Big Bang Theory - "The D&D Vortex" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the gang finds out Wil Wheaton hosts a celebrity Dungeons and Dragons game involving William Shatner, Joe Manganiello, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kevin Smith, deception and betrayal are the path to make it to the one open seat.

The Big Bang Theory - "The Conference Valuation" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Penny and Bernadette go to San Diego for a pharmaceutical sales convention, Wolowitz is in charge of the kids. Also, Sheldon finds a book on experimenting on kids, and the guys plus Amy make a day of it.

Mom - "Jell-O Shots and the Truth About Santa" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bonnie pushes Christy to mend her relationship with Violet (Sadie Calvano), and Adam prepares for the grand opening of his bar.

I Ship It - "Somewhere Magical" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Ella seizes the opportunity to work as a personal assistant to a writer for "Superstition," her favorite TV show; Ella's fantasies begin to collide with reality in unexpected ways, in both her creative life and love life.

In The Cut - "Lucky Charmed" (Bounce TV, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Jay buys Cheryl a necklace for her birthday, not knowing it was stolen; when the police want it back, Jay must devise a plan to return it before she finds out.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 19)

Monday, August 19

Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People) - Watch Billy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Issa Rae (Insecure) - Issa appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Dax is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
D'Arcy Carden (The Good Place/Barry), Henry Winkler (Barry/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) and Bill Hader (Barry) - D'Arcy, Henry and Bill are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Bryton James (Family Matters) - Bryton appears on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll) - Charlie is a guest on a repeat of The Real, so check your local listings.
Bella Thorne (Shake It Up) - Bella appears on a repeat of ABC's Strahan & Sara at 1pm.
Donald Faison (The Exes/Scrubs/Clueless) - Donald talks about Emergence on Access Live, so check your local listings.
Melissa Peterman (Reba/Working Class/Baby Daddy) - Melissa guest co-hosts Access Live, so check your local listings.
Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti opens up about her 22-year battle with diabetes on a repeat of The Dr. Oz Show, so check your local listings.