ABC To Offer Hit Shows On-Demand… With A Catch

Posted by Jacci Lewis Categories: Prime Time, ABC, Cable, On Demand/PPV, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Cable/Satellite, News

ABC is finally getting with the program and releasing some of its hit shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives for free to various on-demand cable systems and not just in cities where ABC stations are owned and operated. There is just one catch: viewers won’t be able to fast-forward through the commercials.

In this case though, programming would only have two to five minutes worth of commercial time versus the usual 18 or more minutes aired during hour long programs on network TV.

ABC’s parent company Disney says this is just another way to drive people back to network television while expanding its digital strategy beyond what is already offered on its website ABC.com. The company can also make more money by selling ads within on-demand programming.

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Read More | Associated Press

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Is Network TV Avoiding Gay Issues?

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: ABC, Cable, CBS, NBC, Desperate Housewives, The Office, Gossip

A new report shows that seven stories on the five broadcast networks currently feature lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters this fall season. Last season, there were nine. According to a study by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the number has been steadily dropping for the past three years. Caitlin Down (played by Bonnie Somerville) on ABC’s Cashmere Mafia, which won’t even premiere until December, is the only non-heterosexual regular character to appear on a new show this year. According to the study, ABC features more non-heterosexual characters than any other broadcast network. Shows like Brothers & Sisters, Ugly Betty,  Desperate Housewives, and the new Cashmere Mafia all feature non-heterosexual characters. NBC’s The Office features one character to fit the gay and lesbian mold. The report shows that, currently, CBS and the CW have no non-heterosexual characters on any of their shows, but CBS does include gay and lesbian contestants on their reality shows. In sharp contrast, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender representation on cable is going through the roof, with 57 characters this year alone.

Read More | MSNBC

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