Thursday, September 20, 2007

Disney-ABC Television, AOL Team On Online Distribution

Burbank-based Disney-ABC Television Group and AoL said this morning that they have inked a deal to offer full-length episodes of ABC's popular primetime shows on AOL Video, AOL's online video site. The firms said that they will deliver the video via co-branded version of ABC.com's broadband player. According to the companies, ABC will offer its new episodes on AOL the day after their broadcast premiere; the series include new series The Bachelor, Big Shots, Brothers & Sisters, Carpoolers, Cavemen, Dancing with the Stars, Desperate Housewives; and other new programming. ABC said that this is the first time its primetime programming has been made available on a major portal. The deal also includes short-form programming, which the companies said will include both original and derivative content from ABC. ABC said that local ABC affiliate stations will be featured depending on a user's geographic location, and the episodes will feature advertisements from both national and local ad sponsors.

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