Rich Fiscus
5 Sep 2007 6:49
ABC's Good Morning America is trying out a new model to expand their show. A week before NBC rival Today expands from three to four hours, Good Morning America is adding an hour to their show. The catch is you may not be able to see it.
Although the ABC News Now service is available as a cable channel in a tiny percentage of US homes, most would have to get it from their broadband internet or mobile phone provider.
ABC's dilemna is a product of their own success. Since "Live with Regis and Kelly", which immediately follows Good Morning America, is a successful show there was no way to add the additional hour of programming on the television network.
By moving the extra hour to a less traditional outlet like ABC News Now, they may have inadvertantly found a new distribution model. Supplementing a free product with paid "extras" may be a good way to get additional revenue from popular shows.
Of course, it may be that there isn't enough interest in their news service for this move to have an impact on consumers.
Source: Yahoo News