(San Jose, CA) Apple’s launch of TV and movie sales on its iTunes stores marked a turning point in the Internet video business, fomenting a rush of new online video ventures and signaling to Wall Street that web-based video will be a big business.
For Disney-ABC Television Group, iTunes’ video launch “helped to legitimize” the distribution of online video, Albert Cheng, VP of Digital Media for the company said here today at VON 07. Of course the close ties between Disney and Apple (closer now that Disney has purchased Steve Jobs’ Pixar), made ABC’s jump into online video sales easier.
But, there’s no denying that the traditional media provider has jumped into the online business in a big way since inaugurating the sale of videos at the Apple store. The issue now is “how do we take video and rally around a community of fans around our content,” Cheng said.
Despite its enthusiasm for the online video business, ABC is still playing the role of traditional media gatekeeper when it comes to user-generated content. “We will be filtering this stuff, monitoring it,” Cheng said in reference to an online version of “America’s Funniest Videos” that ABC will mount. “Some things may or may not get on depending on what’s appropriate. We are basically setting parameters around it so that advertisers feel comfortable.”
Cynthia Brumfield at 7:00 PM|Comments(1)
ABC got Youtubified!!
Posted by: mrmojo at March 21, 2007 11:38 AM
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