NBC announces new broadband content

from broadcasting and cable

NBC U Gives "First Look" at New Digital Offerings
By Anne Becker

NBC Universal made several announcements corresponding to its “TV 360”
upfront posturing Monday, unveiling plans for several new broadband
sites and giving details of its plans for newly acquired site
iVillage.

NBC Universal will launch “first look” Web sites around each of its TV
networks’ online presence. The sites – Nbcfirstlook.com,
Usafirstlook.com, Scififirstlook.com, etc. – will premiere at least
four full episodes of their corresponding networks’ series each year,
putting the episodes on the Web before they run on TV.

NBC will also launch a new broadband comedy channel, dotcomedy.com.
The site will feature comedic content from NBC’s current programs and
its library. Shows to be featured encompass current programs including
SNL, The Tonight Show, Late Night With Conan O’Brien and The Office,
as well as old series including Coach, Leave It To Beaver and The
Munsters. The site will also house original podcasts, blogs and other
content.

The company said today it completed its acquisition of online
community iVillage, which it bought in March for $600 million, and
unveiled some of the ways the site will work in tandem with NBC
properties. The Today show, for example, will offer once monthly
makeovers to iVillage users through a “Makeover Central” area of the
site, which launches Tuesday.

iVillage, with the NBC U O&Os, will launch an hour-long program
iVillage Live, filmed at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. The show,
advice about women’s issues, will air on the O&Os and be streamed on
the site. The site will also pair with Access Hollywood on “Access
Hollywood Celebrity Horoscopes,” which will be streamed on
AccessHollywood.com and iVillage-owned Astrology.com and run as weekly
segments on Access Hollywood.

Finally, each NBC U Web site will launch new media players with
Flash-based technology and offer advertisers ads across all of its
sites – the NBC O&Os, cable networks USA, Sci Fi and Bravo, Access
Hollywood and iVillage.

The company announced details of some of the digital components it
will offer with shows for the 2006-07 schedule as well. They include
30 standalone Webisodes for The Office, a new interactive online
detective game for Law & Order: Criminal Intent, an online animated
comic book for new drama Heroes and a weekly online yearbook Webisode
for Friday Night Lights. NBC will also run the fictional sketches from
its new Tina Fey comedy 30 Rock online only.

Online elements tied to reality programming include a user-submitted
video contest to be a suitcase model on Deal or No Deal, an online
show featuring contestants who didn’t make the cut for The Biggest
Loser and a text message game for Treasure Hunters.

Expanded digital coverage for late-night programming includes new Web
sites for The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Late Night With Conan
O’Brien and Saturday Night Live, each featuring some original content.
The Tonight Show site will feature Jay’s Garage, for example, an
online video series with Leno answering car questions from his garage,
and the Late Night site will feature an animated series called Pale
Force.

NBC Daytime will launch Passions Vendetta, online Webisodes tied to
its soap Passions, as well as The Cove, a new online only soap
focusing on characters from the show. The show will run as two
five-minute Webisodes per week.