CTV television programming now offered online

CTV television programming now offered online
Updated Mon. Jun. 5 2006 4:28 PM ET

Canadian Press

TORONTO -- CTV is putting some of its top television programs on the
Internet.

The television network has launched what's being billed as Canada's
first multi-channel, on-demand broadband service.

The CTV Broadband Network includes a free video player that users
channels: CTV Shows, CTV News and Docs, Etalk on Broadband, and the
Discovery Channel on CTV.

Kris Faibish, CTV vice-president of digital media, called the
initiative unique in its field.

"A lot of the other broadcasters will have clips or segments of their
shows but they're not running a lineup where you can actually go, click
on a television show, watch the entire show, watch another television
show run right after that,'' Faibish said Monday.

"No one has really brought together a complete viewing experience with
a full roster of programming that you can just sit back and enjoy.''

The all-Canadian programming -- mostly half-hour shows -- were to be
made available as of Monday afternoon, starting with the most recent
seasons of Top 20 hits including Corner Gas (Season 3), Degrassi: The
Next Generation (Season 5) and Canadian Idol (Season 4).

News programs to appear online include: CTV National News, hourly
business highlights from the Report on Business, Canada AM interviews
with celebrities and newsmakers, features from Mike Duffy Live and
Question Period; The Best of W-Five, and CTV documentaries.

But TV fans hoping to escape commercials seen on the tube won't find
relief online.

Faibish said the average 22-minute show will include five to six
minutes of video advertising, interspersed throughout the episode.

"It's just like watching a regular television show where you're going
to have a commercial break in it,'' Faibish said, adding viewers won't
be able to fast forward through the ads.

Episodes that became available Monday will likely be taken from the
site once new episodes begin in the fall season.

New shows that have yet to air will debut online at midnight eastern
daylight time on the day they debut on television, Faibish said. The
exception is the teen series Instant Star which will premiere online 24
hours before it airs on television.

"People like first glimpses and sneak peeks of things,'' Faibish
explained.

"We're hoping that it will help create buzz and get people really
interested and hopefully drive them right back into the conventional
viewing of the show.''

The tactic is particularly suited to a show like Instant Star, which
has a younger audience already inclined towards using the Internet to
find shows and preview entertainment, Faibish explained.

There were no fears that broadband would cannibalize the network's
television audience.

"Broadband is not meant to replace television. Broadband is another
avenue which people can consume entertainment,'' Faibish said.

"I think people's primary consumption continues to be the television in
their home and this is there to enhance and support television. It's
not meant to ... be a competitor to it.''

Right now, only Canadian programs are available online, but Faibish
said the network is looking at offering U.S. shows down the road if
they can ever work out a deal to do so.

U.S. network ABC already offers online viewing of its powerhouse
programs _ including Lost, Desperate Housewives and Commander in Chief
_ but they are blocked from Canadian viewers.

Other CTV programs available online will include the world of celebrity
entertainment, by way of Etalk on Broadband. The channel will offer
extended interviews with celebrities who appear on the Etalk TV gossip
program in brief sound bites.

The fourth online channel, Discovery Channel on CTV, features
Discovery's acclaimed flagship program Daily Planet, and the travel
show Valerie Pringle has Left the Building.

More programs are to be loaded onto the channels over the next several
weeks.

Last month, CTV launched MTV Overdrive, a premium broadband service
offering nearly 600 hours of programming on-demand. It features
full-length MTV episodes, exclusive music events, performances and
videos, artist interviews and breaking MTV News.