The WB series Supernatural’ arrived seven days before its broadcast debut as an online episode presented by Yahoo.
Yahoo’s transition from portal company to entertainment conglomerate continues. A deal with the WB Network finds its anticipated debut, Supernatural, appearing for a week, commercial free, via Yahoo’s web site.
“They’ve given us a unique, exclusive window to premier a television episode before it runs on television,” Yahoo’s David Katz said on AdAge.com. “In exchange for that, we are promoting this feature on Yahoo TV and throughout the network because we think it’s compelling to users.”
WB chairman Garth Ancier sees the episode as being more subject to sampling than to full viewing of the minute broadcast. “I think the nature of streaming is such that generally it’s more for awareness than actual viewing. There will be some people who will watch it on their small PC screen, but the majority of people will sample it,” he said in the report.
Additional content for Supernatural provided on Yahoo’s site, such as cast interviews and episode trailers, will complement the debut.
With the arrangement, financial terms of which were not disclosed, the WB hopes to find a way to gain attention in the face of some 130 new television episodes debuting with the fall schedule.
They do not have the resources of the major broadcast networks, but with the continued movement of users from television to the Internet for entertainment options, perhaps the WB will see enough of a boost to make Supernatural a viable series.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
