ABC blazes own trail online

Its media rivals have struck a flurry of deals with online players, and one another, to try to get their TV shows on as many websites and in front of as many people as possible. Disney, by contrast, is relying on the strength of such popular ABC shows as "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy" to draw viewers to the network's online destination.

This week in New York, the broadcast networks will take turns unveiling their new fall shows to thousands of advertisers who are prepared to spend as much as $9 billion combined for prime-time commercial spots for the coming TV season. As part of its offerings, ABC will announce plans to make available full-length streams of its top shows online in high definition.

The move is a further indication that Disney is treating the computer monitor as just another screen -- as important as the one in the family room. And it is betting that advertisers feel the same way.

"Our goal is to really redefine the whole idea of 'network,' " said Anne Sweeney, president of Disney-ABC Television Group. Technology, she said, "has improved our relationship with viewers by allowing us to be more accessible to them. We can now put our shows in their hands when they want them."

ABC also is expected this week to announce a separate deal to offer full-length episodes to mobile phone users, said people close to the negotiations who requested anonymity because the talks were not completed.

Disney and its ABC Television Group have been Web trailblazers among the major broadcast networks. ABC was the first to offer full-length episodes of its popular shows for sale through Apple Inc.'s iTunes store. It also was the first major network to offer on-demand replays of its shows, including "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy," online. In October 2005, the network began offering $1.99 downloads of "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" episodes on iTunes. That portability appealed to a specific niche: affluent geeks who are voracious consumers of all types of media -- and gadgets.

Forrester Research, in a report expected to be released today, predicts that paid video downloads will generate $279 million this year, nearly triple last year's amount. The research firm expects much bigger money to be made through advertising sponsorships.