Archive for November, 2009

This weekend, ABC will launch ABC Social: Episode Commentary… which allows viewers to comment on the show while they watch with a Facebook login.

For shows like Lost, Desperate Housewives and The Bachelor, passionate fans suddenly have a reason to revisit their favorite shows. CNN did this with great success for the Michael Jackson funeral, but now ABC ups the stakes. And even more brilliant, ABC will bring in celebrity commenters to begin the conversation … watch for it this weekend when V executive producers Scott Peters and Steve Pearlman give added value to their much hyped new series.  What Lost fan wouldn’t logon if one of the show’s producers promised to reveal secrets behind an episode?!?!

Part of the brilliance of this is that it mimics a live viewing experience with other fans, without having to watch at the same time.  Kudos to ABC.

Now here’s another idea, free of charge: allow viewers to create an original audio commentary track.  It would take courage, because most of the tracks would be of the “Mystery Science Theater” variety or be NSFW, but for shows with a rabid following like Lost, Flash Forward or even Grey’s Anatomy, it would allow fans to create their own subshows for their fandom communities … encouraging repeat views of the same material.  Suddenly, ABC is getting more ad revenue on the same content!

John Palacio is the director and producer of And Now Media, a production company that specializes in online video and animation.

See a Mediaweek article on the announcement here