NBC, CBS to Offer Shows for 99 Cents
In two separate deals announced late Monday, both CBS and NBC plan to offer on-demand versions of their hit shows through cable provider Comcast, and satellite provider DirecTV, respectively. Both will charge 99 cents per episode to access the recorded versions of programs.
In the CBS deal, commercials will remain intact, however NBC's offering will cut out the commercials much like the agreement ABC has with Apple's iTunes for its programming.
"We're offering hit programming that is extremely well-suited for this new medium, and we’re confident the lure of watching these shows at one's own convenience, will make this feature wildly popular," CBS chairman Les Moonves said in a statement.
Programming available through Comcast On Demand will include "CSI," "NCIS," "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race." Viewers would have a window of 24 hours after purchase to view the recordings. In some select areas, customers would have the option of purchasing "CSI" and "NCIS" in high-definition format.
NBC's programming will include "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Law & Order: SVU," "Surface" and "The Office" from its broadcast network. USA Network's "Monk" and the Sci-Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" would also be made available, as the network's sister studio, NBC Universal, produces those shows.
To be able to purchase the content, DirecTV subscribers would need to buy the company's new Interactive DVR unit that is slated to be made available within the next few months.
Analysts, however, have expressed some confusion as to why such a service is necessary.
"Of course, I might ask if you own a DirectTV DVR, why don't you just record the show for free and skip the fee? Did anyone even think of that? Is this some sort of play for folks who have DVRs but don't know how to use them?" Jupiter Research vice president and analyst Michael Gartenberg asked.
However, others said that consumers have the ABC/Apple deal to thank for these new services. "The iPod video player doesn't matter," Forrester Research analyst Jim Nail said.
"What does matter is the crack in the traditional television business model opened by the Apple/ABC deal to allow consumers on-demand access to current hit TV shows. Unwittingly, Apple is building the proof of concept for the video-on-demand (VOD) business model."