In late July 2011, the Fox Network made a statement announcing that it would no longer be posting new episodes of its popular shows for online viewing the next day, instead delaying the availability of shows for eight days.
This delay in web access has raised the ire of many ISP services in your area customers, some of whom have vowed never to return to the Fox web site to watch their favourite programs.
Fox’s goal with delaying web access was to give cable and satellite television companies greater exclusivity with their programming. As well, Fox stated that subscribers have the ability to view their shows on a next-day basis, but only if they are currently subscribed to a specific video distributor.
Pay television distributors appear to be having a rough time recently, mostly due to the fact that virtually all TV programs and movies are available for very little or no cost online. As such, Fox hopes their efforts will help assist pay television companies with elevating the value of their offerings to clients.
As suspected by many, the illegal acquisition of popular television programs has increased since Fox established the 8-day delay. TorrentFreak, a news web site, monitored the downloads of a number of popular programs including Glee and Master Chef over a wone-week period, and found a 114% increase in downloads for a single show’s new episode.
Scott Grogin, senior vice president of communications for Fox defends the delay and the requirement for user authentication that allows for next-day viewing of shows, as he feels that it meets the endeavours of the provider to offer a ‘television everywhere’ feature to its subscribers.
This facet of the service would allow subscriber access of programming via several applications, including live, via DVR, VOD, and a number of tablet applications. Meetings are currently in session with other major providers that would require authentication, and several agreements are slated to be complete by the time the new television season begins in September.
Media giant ABC has also recently made a similar decision, also announcing an eight-day online delay of its new episodes to the public. Partner cable subscribers, however, will not be subjected to the eight day waiting period.
Regardless of the outcome, major media providers are setting a precedent that promises to change online television access as we know it. And whether they stand to gain or lose revenue from this new endeavour remains to be seen.
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