ABC Television will offer some of its most popular shows, such as "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," for free on the Internet in a two-month trial, Walt Disney Co. officials told Reuters.
The iTunes trick, wich enabled fans and viewers to pay $1.99 per download for iPod, seems to be seriously challenged, if not blown to tiny pieces.
"Commander in Chief" and "Alias", along with "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives", will be available on the Web for anyone to download for free in May and June, starting the day after they are first broadcast.
The ABC Television's policy is aimed at making money from companies, who will put advertisements in the shows and on the site. The profits should be at least enough to recover the money gained by a pay-per-download system.
Advertisers AT&T Inc., Ford Motor Co., Procter & Gamble Co. and Universal Pictures have signed up for the ad time encrypted in the episodes, so it cannot be skipped by users. Also, many more companies are to join this "club of advertisers", the ones that know where to advertise.
The same source told Reuters that Disney will be launching, on April 17, a high-speed Internet channel for soap opera fans, called Soapnetic, for subscribers to Verizon Communications Corp.'s Internet services.
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