--Also Relaunches E4.com as Social Networking/UGC Site
This Wednesday, UK terrestrial broadcaster, Channel 4, will launch a branded broadband VOD/catch-up service, called 4oD (www.channel4.com/4od), making it the first UK broadcaster to make all its commissioned programming available on-demand. The service will allow UK viewers to catch up with any Channel 4 shows they have missed: registered 4oD users will have up to 30 days after a program's initial broadcast to access it on the new service. In addition, the service will provide viewers with hundreds of hours of classic Channel 4 programs, such as "Queer as Folk," "Trigger Happy TV," and "Drop the Dead Donkey." The launch of the 4oD service follows on the heels of an agreement Channel 4 signed with ntl Telewest in October to offer its programming on the latter's cable VOD service, and a deal it signed last month with incumbent telco, BT, to offer on-demand programming on the latter's new BT Vision platform (note: Channel 4's programming is offered under the 4oD brand on both digital cable and BT Vision).
According to Channel 4's new business director, Rod Henwood, the business model for 4oD has yet to be finalized: "As a commercial broadcaster we need our new media services to be commercially viable and over time we expect 4oD to become profitable and play a key role in addressing Channel 4's long-term funding gap," he said in a prepared statement. "We are deliberately experimenting with a variety of business models from pay-per-view, subscription and ad-funded to free in order to build a truly compelling on-demand service for our viewers. We want 4oD to lead the way in video-on-demand and ensure its commercial success benefits our independent suppliers as well as Channel 4." While 4oD will initially offer content on a pay-per-view basis, a £3.99-per-month subscription is expected to be available in February, that will provide all-you-can-eat access to TV programs on the service. Channel 4 is also expected to offer a £4.99-per-month subscription, that will give consumers unlimited access to on-demand m*ovies from its FilmFour channel (note: the broadcaster will bundle the two subscriptions for £5.99). In addition, the broadcaster is expected to begin offering a selection of content on an advertising-supported basis in the spring.
At launch, 4oD will charge £0.99 for TV programs downloaded on a rental basis and £1.99 for download-to-own programs (movie rentals will cost £1.99): viewers will be able to store their selections in a personalized library, and, once they begin playing content downloaded for rental, they will have 48 hours to watch it (they will be able to view it an unlimited number of times within that 48-hour period). In addition, Channel 4 will offer two pieces of free promotional content on 4oD each week. The broadcaster says that it has reached agreements with nearly 100 independent production companies--including Endemol, RDF Media and Hat Trick Productions--to supply content to the new service. All original British content commissioned by Channel 4 after June 2006 will automatically be available on 4oD for at least 30 days after its first broadcast.
In order to access the new service, consumers will have to install a new desktop application to which they can then download content. Channel 4 is cautioning users that downloads will take up to one and a half times the duration of a program, in order to ensure "high-quality, full-screen playback." The broadcaster also says that it is in "advanced negotiations" to secure VOD rights to its acquired series (it has already secured the rights to "Desperate Housewives" and a number of other acquired shows), and that it will launch "music and film sub-brands of 4oD" in the future.
In other Channel 4 news: the broadcaster is launching a standalone social networking site, E4.com, and says that it will give visitors to the site the chance to audition for an upcoming series of its flagship reality TV series, "Big Brother." The E4.com domain name was originally used by the Web site of its digital sister channel, E4, but has been mothballed since 2002, when the E4 site was integrated into Channel4.com. "E4 already has a powerful connection with younger audiences and looms large in their media consumption habits," Channel 4 CEO, Andy Duncan, said in a prepared statement. "These viewers are the first generation to grow up with the Internet and they are driving the phenomenal growth of social networking online and of user-generated content as a mainstream entertainment medium. 'Big Brother' is also a global phenomenon and we think it's a perfect platform to launch this initiative and propel Channel 4 into one of digital media's fastest growing marketplaces."
Starting early next year, aspiring "Big Brother" contestants will be invited to upload videoclips to E4.com, explaining why they think they should star in the eighth series of the show. The videoclips will be viewed and rated by other visitors to the site, and studied by producers at Endemol and by Channel 4's own commissioning editors. According to Channel 4, at least one online applicant will be guaranteed to be a contestant on the show next year. In addition to "Big Brother" audition clips, E4.com will offer programming information, and news and gossip from E4-commissioned or acquired shows such as "Skins," "Fonejacker," "Desperate Housewives," and "Ugly Betty." Users will be able to create personalized Web pages, where they can chat to other users, upload their own videoclips, and rate clips and other content submitted by other users.
Originally Published: December 5, 2006 in [itvt] Issue 7.08 Part 2
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