The online tech site Engadget recently discovered and reported on an online consumer survey where people were being asked if they would be willing to pay for a subscription to watch videos on ABC.com. It seems the Disney-owned network is at least mulling the idea of paid online video.
The survey indicated that the hypothetical paid service would have more content and fewer commercials than the free service available to anyone on ABC.com. Importantly, it proposed to offer lots of past ABC shows no longer airing, as well as more episodes of current shows. Also, new episodes would be available immediately after airing, rather than the next day.
The network played down the significance of the survey on paid Internet videos. “In order to better understand our audience as the digital marketplace evolves, we constantly conduct research on a variety of subjects to garner useful insights. We are always interested in learning more about how consumers think about content windowing, subscription options and new digital delivery methods, which may or may not ever come to pass,” ABC said in a statement.
