August 28, 2010

ABC "exclusive VoD on BT Vision"

It is reported both in Saturday's Guardian and Telegraph:
"ABC TV On Demand will launch on September 15; it's ABC's first VoD service outside the US. It will feature shows including Cougar Town, with new episodes coming onto the VoD service around two and a half months after its first broadcast on Living. Archive shows including Lost and Grey's Anatomy will also be available to view on the service."
But that's playing with the truth a little: Lost, Grey's Anatomy and that other ABC mainstay Desperate Housewives have all appeared regularly in Virgin Media's VoD service over the years, the former having the first three seasons available in HD on Demand when Sky1 disappeared from our screens. Although this may be a new deal with ABC direct, the shows they mention have been available through VM On Demand before.

1 comment:

Erich said...

It's a completely accurate statement. Just like VM have WB and HBO branded VOD sub-sections, this is the first ABC branded VOD service. Similarly, CBS weren't playing with the ruth either, when they announced their first UK channels some time ago, despite their shows having been available on other channels.

What isn't accurate, though, is claiming that anything has been "regularly" available on VM's VOD service. "Randomly" is more like it. ;)

Apart from some potentially worthwhile archive stuff, it sounds a bit rubbish that the shows will only be available months after Living has aired them, though. That could be years after the US airings.