WSJ: MySpace to Offer Downloads of TV Show '24'

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

May 15, 2006

MySpace to Offer Downloads of TV Show '24'

News Corp. Aims to Turn Site Into Ad-Backed Portal To Vie With Yahoo, iTunes
By JULIA ANGWIN
May 15, 2006; Page B4

News Corp.' MySpace.com next week plans to begin offering $1.99-an-episode downloads of two seasons of the popular Fox drama "24." It also will offer free downloads of two episodes of "24" sponsored by Burger King Holdings. The move is part of an effort by News Corp. to transform MySpace.com from a social-networking site popular with teens into a full-featured, advertising-supported portal that can compete with Yahoo and Apple Computer's iTunes.com.

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The Burger King-sponsored downloading program is part of an effort to win more corporate sponsorships. Beginning May 22, the downloads will be offered on a MySpace page themed with Burger King's motto "Have It Your Way." It marks Burger King's first foray into social networking, said Gillian Smith, senior director of media for Burger King. "We know our customers spend a lot of time there," she said. "The important thing for us as an advertiser was to make sure we were providing content that resembles entertainment more than advertising."

At the same time, the move helps News Corp. control digital distribution of its TV content. In recent months, most television networks -- including News Corp.'s Fox network -- have begun offering some of their most popular shows for download for $1.99 on iTunes' Web service. CBS Corp. also offers some episodes of "Survivor" for purchase on its own Web site.

News Corp. will offer seasons one and five of "24" on MySpace. Only season five is currently being offered on iTunes. Burger King also will sponsor free downloads of the first episodes of seasons one and five of "24," as well as a free episode of the Speed channel's drag-racing show "Pinks" and a free episode of the Fuel channel's action-sports show "Firsthand."


URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114765909070752653.html (subscription)

[Roland99]

1. Get compressed HD recordings from bittorrent

:evilgrin: