Recognizing that Major League Baseball may strike out with some TV viewers, Fox on Tuesday put several of its prime-time shows online to tide fans over while baseball playoffs preempt regular programming.
Fox executives said they hoped the Internet broadcasts of such shows as "Bones" and "Prison Break" would help viewers keep an interest in a show while it's off the air -- and, potentially, win new fans. Toyota Motor Corp., Burger King Holdings Inc. and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. will sponsor the programs, which will be repeats of this season's episodes.
Beyond Fox, the just-started fall television season marks a turning point for the major broadcast networks, which are blowing up their traditional business model as ratings erode.
ABC, CBS and NBC have moved many new series and prime-time favorites to the Internet, either in the form of $1.99 downloads or advertising-supported free streams.
The experiments stem from the recognition that huge audiences are increasingly comfortable watching videos on computers and mobile devices -- and that advertisers are following.
"MySpace, in any typical 24-hour period, blows away any prime-time ratings you'd get on any broadcast network," said David Cohen, an executive vice president at ad-buyer Universal McCann. "There comes a point -- call it a tipping point or whatever you'd like -- at which it becomes an undeniable fact that the way we've been thinking about things and doing business for the past 50 years isn't the way we should do things anymore."
Television is still an enormous industry, pulling in about $60 billion in advertising revenue a year. That's more than triple all advertising spending on the Web.
But advertisers are increasing their budgets for the Internet much faster than for television as viewers discover the convenience of watching shows on computers and iPods. Plus, TV executives are realizing that the Internet unchains broadcasting from the traditional linear programming model.
"You can see the Fox people thinking through how to parallel program across the Fox properties," said Tim Hanlon, a senior vice president with Denuo, the media consulting arm of ad giant Publicis Group. "Ten or 20 years ago, going to baseball effectively blew a hole in your prime-time schedule. Now Fox is thinking more progressively."
For example, if someone would rather watch "Prison Break" than baseball, they can head online. The Fox shows are available on myspace.com/fox and on the websites of 24 affiliates, such as Los Angeles' KTTV-TV Channel 11, www.myfoxla.com.
