Fox (NWS-A) is moving even stronger into the new media space and will now empower consumers to be able to download their favorite Fox shows via their 200 affiliated TV stations over the next several months.
The uniqueness of this situation isn't the availability of on-demand video, all the majors have that, rather it's the first major network to offer prime-time shows to download through their affiliate sites. The various arms of the company - Fox Broadcasting, Fox Interactive Media and Twentieth Century Fox will be part of the service.
Tim Bajarin, principal analyst at technology consultancy Creative Strategies says that "People want to be able to access TV shows on their terms and view them in multiple ways and often on multiple devices. This shows that at least one network is acknowledging consumer demands and responding accordingly."
The Fox affiliates and the parent company News Corp. will share the ad inventory, with the parent getting 70 percent and affilates getting 30 percent of the ad spots.
Each individual show will cost $1.99 to download and an entire season could cost between $19.99 to $39.99. Some ananlysts believe it could be a big boost to local affiliates who can brand their sites with the "MyFox" address.
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