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 Premium channels like CBS Corp's Showtime have
done this for years to entice new subscribers, but cable
networks have not, fearing they might cannibalize TV ratings.
But today viewers have many more choices as streaming companies
like Amazon.com Inc and Netflix Inc bring a year-round slate of
new shows on top of broadcast television.
As a result, networks need to do more to promote new shows,
according to Dave Morgan, head of advertising technology company
Simulmedia.
Previously, networks focused all marketing around a show's
premier, said Kevin Reilly, chief creative officer at Turner.
"Today, the entire first season is a marketing vehicle," he
said. “If I said that five years ago, people would have said
'You're out of your mind'."
Over the past year, Turner put five premiers on Facebook and
Google's YouTube.
Discovery's true crime channel, Investigation Discovery (ID),
plans to put the first episode of at least five of its series on
its app for cable subscribers before they air on TV, said Kevin
Bennett, general manager of ID.
When college football season starts in August, Walt Disney Co's
sports network ESPN, which is struggling with declining
subscribers, will let online viewers watch 10 minutes of any
game or show for free on its app.
If the app recognizes the viewer as a fan of a specific team, it
will showcase that team's games, Justin Connolly, executive vice
president, affiliate sales and marketing at ESPN, told Reuters.
After 10 minutes, they will have to verify they are a cable
subscriber or sign up.
EARLY SUCCESS?
By putting some episodes online for free, Turner faces the added
risk of upsetting its cable and satellite partners. Aware of
that, Turner has only selected certain shows to put online.
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Last June, Turner's TNT got about 6 million viewers for the first
episode of its new family crime drama, "Animal Kingdom," which it
streamed on Facebook and YouTube before it aired on TV. Turner said
16 percent of those online viewers - or about 960,000 people - came
back to watch the show on TV.
Turner believes that putting the premier online helped the show to
increase its share of younger viewers, between 18 and 49 years old,
from 899,000 at the show's television debut to 1.15 million by the
final episode.
"It might not build Nielsen ratings, but it builds engagement," said
Michael Engleman, executive vice president of entertainment
marketing at Turner, referring to the TV industry's leading ratings
firm.
ID has put the second episodes of some shows on its ID GO app for
cable subscribers immediately after the first episodes aired on TV
in a bid to drive people to its app and to create a buzz, Bennett
said.
Last Spring, Discovery streamed the second episode of its miniseries
about Casey Anthony, the Florida mom acquitted of killing her
two-year-old daughter, right after the first episode aired on TV.
When the episode aired on TV the next night, it was the
highest-rated second episode for ID ever on TV, Bennett said.
For Discovery, whether viewers watch its shows on its app or on TV
is not a key distinction. Discovery gets a 50-percent premium on ads
sold through the app since they are more targeted and viewers cannot
skip ads, said Paul Guyardo, chief commercial officer at Discovery.
Such tactics can help when Discovery begins negotiations with its
pay TV partners, he said.
"When we come up for renewals, we aren't just providing a linear
channel," Guyardo said. "That helps with renewals and rate
increases."
(Reporting by Jessica Toonkel; editing by Anna Driver and Bill
Rigby)
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