TCM, IFC Blend Video Into Web
By DAVID ILER October 5, 1998
Proving that celluloid and silicon can mix, two cable-TV movie channels that appeal to opposite ends of the audience spectrum recently announced new efforts to enhance their Web-site content.
The Independent Film Channel will broadcast on its Web site what it believes to be the first broadband premiere of a theatrically released, full-length feature film, The Last Broadcast, Nov. 15.
The film will be available to high-speed-data customers of Cablevision Systems Corp., Comcast Corp., MediaOne and Time Warner Cable in New York, Georgia, Texas and elsewhere.
Separately, in an effort to appeal to its core viewers, Turner Classic Movies relaunched its Web site two weeks ago. TCM added new features like e-mail movie requests, movie-trivia games, streaming movie shorts and trailers and interactive content, coinciding with the network's on-air presentations of Casablanca and North by Northwest.
While addressing different audiences, TCM and IFC are both seeking to blend the content-rich nature of their Web sites with their on-air programming.
While reclining on the couch with a portable computer may sound like an uncomfortable experience, research indicated that 25 percent of personal computer users have both a PC and TV in the same room, said Katherine Evans, vice president of marketing for TCM.
Also, she noted, "these are movies that our most loyal viewers have seen a lot." Thus, TCM is attempting to create a new movie experience, combining both the informational and interactive resources available on its Web site with the broadcast of classic movies.
Acknowledging that TV watching and Web surfing at the same time may seem awkward, Evans said the interaction of the two mediums is intended to "plant a seed that might develop further," such as evolving TCM content into an interactive-TV format.
While she noted that the network has taken a look at the variety of interactive TV available to programmers, "there are no deals in the works."
The Last Broadcast, according to Joe Cantwell, executive vice president, media distribution and development for Bravo Networks, is an appropriate choice for a broadband premiere because it was filmed digitally and it is about the television industry.
The movie will be offered to cable-modem subscribers in Apple Computer Inc.'s "QuickTime" format at 8 p.m. Nov. 15. The film will be accompanied by background information, controlled by the user, which will appear in separate, or "interstitial," browser windows.
By improving navigation and adding new features, TCM is seeking to make its Web site "the definitive classic-movie site," Evans said. An important consideration for the site was to improve access to the network's scheduling information.
To attract classic-movie buffs who are not loyal TCM viewers, "we needed to add a few bells and whistles," Evans said. Consequently, the network has added ongoing chat rooms with entertainers and film experts, sweepstakes and movie-trivia games, as well as "One Liners," which let visitors match sound clips to movie images.
TCM also is posting movie shorts and trailers for featured films. The streaming clips may be viewed using RealNetworks Inc.'s "RealPlayer" or Microsoft Corp.'s "NetShow."
IFC, which started distributing content intended for audiences with cable-modem connections in March 1997, has been offering video clips of regional and international film festivals, as well as movie previews, on its Web site.
The timing of the release is important, Cantwell added, because "fall is traditionally a big time in the indie world for festivals ... We know that there's a high awareness of films coming out of that circuit. This is one of those films."
IFC delivers its content, which it creates in-house, from its servers to its affiliates' servers, thus distributing Web traffic broadly. The network also tailors its broadband Web content to match regional interests, such as producing coverage of the Atlanta Film and Video Festival for MediaOne's broadband service, and offering the premiere of a short film about John Waters for Comcast Online's Baltimore subscribers.
By integrating on-air programming with online content, the network can extend its brand into the online world and enrich the independent-movie experience for lovers of the genre, Cantwell said.
Although the TCM site contains a "Get TCM" link at the top of its pages, and it includes a page with a form letter that visitors can print out and mail to their cable company, Evans said encouraging visitors to nag their cable company to carry TCM "is not a primary function of the site ... We politely suggest it."
The network is also encouraging its fans to browse its Web site and watch TCM simultaneously. Two weeks ago, as North by Northwest and Casablanca aired on the network, visitors to the Web site were able to view information about the films' production, trivia and behind-the-scenes gossip. Afterwards, trivia questions were posted, with prizes offered to contestants.
While considering interactive-TV formats, TCM is boosting its efforts with the most basic of interactive capabilities offered by the Internet: e-mail.
"We get thousands of e-mails with movie requests," Evans said.
Now, visitors to the site who request movies via e-mail will receive e-mail responses letting them know if and when the films will air. |
