Just two days after the European Commission announced that it was investigating Apple and major international publishers for possible e-book price fixing, the US Justice Department has made it clear that it’s also launching a probe into the possibility of “anticompetitive practices involving e-book sales.”

E-book publishers are now being investigated in the US, not just Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  LA Times  | Email this | Comments
Engadget

The continued production of All My Children and One Life to Live will surely please audiences that tune into those shows daily. Both average about 2.5 million viewers, according to the Los Angeles Times, which is difficult to support on broadcast TV, but a huge audience compared to most web original series. But there’s still a question of whether or not the economics of online distribution might work for shows that migrate online.

For one thing, much of its audience will begin watching shows once they’re no longer available on TV? There’s also the question of budget — the LA Times notes that soap operas can cost up to million a year to produce, which is a pretty large sum for a web-only property.

It’s also not clear what strategy the shows will take for distribution: whether they’ll be made available direct to consumers on their own web properties, or — more likely — if they’ll be sold or licensed to distributors like Netflix to reach viewers on its website and connected devices. If so, All My Children and One Life to Live could be the first cancelled series to be “saved” by distribution on Netflix.

Going web-first or web-only is also a strategy that’s been taken up by a few high-profile projects in recent months. Netflix is licensing the new David Fincher-Kevin Spacey series House of Cards, for instance, beating major cable networks like HBO and Showtime to the punch. And Kiefer Sutherland’s web series The Confession, which premiered on Hulu, is already profitable, with plans for international distribution and DVD sales upcoming. So there’s hope that niche programs like daytime soaps can support themselves with online audiences.

Indeed, online distribution is increasingly becoming a way for networks, shows and even TV stars to reach viewers even if broadcast audiences aren’t large enough to support them. Here are some other examples of this happening over the past year or so:

• Al-Jazeera English has had a difficult time getting distribution on U.S. cable and satellite providers, but its live streams became indispensable for coverage of Middle Eastern uprisings earlier this year. Its streams are now available on a wide range of platforms, including Roku, Boxee, Google TV, PlayStation 3 and iPhone and Android mobile devices.
• Cable network WealthTV also struggled to find distribution, so it took its programming direct to consumers with a subscription-based Roku app, and it’s looking to launch on other platforms as well.
• When Glenn Beck’s contract ended with Fox News, he launched his own online-only subscription video network called GBTV.

Much of the discussion around soap operas going online has been about whether or not online audiences are large enough to attract the kind of revenue to keep the shows afloat, but wide distribution through multiple platforms — like Netflix, Hulu and even YouTube — might turn out to be the best way to ensure the shows are seen by as many viewers as possible.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):

• Connected Consumer Q4: New Platforms and OTT’s Dynamic Duo Dominated
• Connected Consumer Wrap-up: Q1 2009
• Connected Consumer Q1: The Over-the-Top vs. Pay TV Battle Heats Up

alt=''
border='0'
/>

GigaOM — Tech News, Analysis and Trends

Add me as a friend on Facebook! www.facebook.com Get DAILY GrowBy10 Updates on Twitter! twitter.com Support this Channel: Subscribe & Comment. Thank you all! What I learned today will have devastating ramification for the real estate marketing and in turn the entire financial and stock market and the broader economy as a whole. If true…our real estate fate is seal. There will be more housing and real estate foreclosure carnage ahead. The road is long. Prepare yourself and protect your family from this coming economic catastrophe. PLEASE RATE, LINK, SHARE and SPREAD the word so others can learn about the real nature of our real estate and economic crisis. Don’t be a sponge to the talking heads that spew only that which benefits them and their bosses. Wake up! ======================================== From LA Times: Bulk of bank-owned homes aren’t even on the market yet “Banks to unleash flood of REOs” at Inman News looks at the effect of foreclosures on the housing market this year: Inventories of unsold homes are likely to swell in coming months as lenders begin to push a growing backlog of repossessed homes up for sale — often in communities already awash in distressed properties…. Because it can take weeks or months for lenders to put repossessed homes on the market, the impact of real estate-owned (REO) properties on inventories lags behind foreclosures. Government efforts to recapitalize banks through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and other bailout …
Video Rating: 4 / 5

By Chris Scott Barr

It’s been nearly a year since I dropped my cable subscription, and I couldn’t be happier. Between Hulu and Netflix streaming, I have little desire to ever switch back. Of course there has always been that fear that Hulu would switch over to a paid subscription model. Now it seems that a paid model is coming, but it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been.

The current proposal is to continue offering the latest 5 episodes of current shows for free. However, users could pay $9.95 a month for what’s called Hulu Plus. This would get you the entire back-catalog of episodes, rather than being limited to the latest ones. There is no word on whether paying the fee would free you from watching the ads or not.

Essentially, you’ll be getting the same things for free, which is what will keep users aboard. If I can ditch commercials and not be limited to the last 5 episodes of a show, I might be willing to dish out the cash each month. What about you guys, will you stick to the free content or sign up for Hulu Plus?

[ Hulu ] VIA [ LA Times ]

By Chris Scott Barr

It’s been nearly a year since I dropped my cable subscription, and I couldn’t be happier. Between Hulu and Netflix streaming, I have little desire to ever switch back. Of course there has always been that fear that Hulu would switch over to a paid subscription model. Now it seems that a paid model is coming, but it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been.

The current proposal is to continue offering the latest 5 episodes of current shows for free. However, users could pay $9.95 a month for what’s called Hulu Plus. This would get you the entire back-catalog of episodes, rather than being limited to the latest ones. There is no word on whether paying the fee would free you from watching the ads or not.

Essentially, you’ll be getting the same things for free, which is what will keep users aboard. If I can ditch commercials and not be limited to the last 5 episodes of a show, I might be willing to dish out the cash each month. What about you guys, will you stick to the free content or sign up for Hulu Plus?

[ Hulu ] VIA [ LA Times ]

By Chris Scott Barr

It’s been nearly a year since I dropped my cable subscription, and I couldn’t be happier. Between Hulu and Netflix streaming, I have little desire to ever switch back. Of course there has always been that fear that Hulu would switch over to a paid subscription model. Now it seems that a paid model is coming, but it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been.

The current proposal is to continue offering the latest 5 episodes of current shows for free. However, users could pay $9.95 a month for what’s called Hulu Plus. This would get you the entire back-catalog of episodes, rather than being limited to the latest ones. There is no word on whether paying the fee would free you from watching the ads or not.

Essentially, you’ll be getting the same things for free, which is what will keep users aboard. If I can ditch commercials and not be limited to the last 5 episodes of a show, I might be willing to dish out the cash each month. What about you guys, will you stick to the free content or sign up for Hulu Plus?

[ Hulu ] VIA [ LA Times ]

By Chris Scott Barr

It’s been nearly a year since I dropped my cable subscription, and I couldn’t be happier. Between Hulu and Netflix streaming, I have little desire to ever switch back. Of course there has always been that fear that Hulu would switch over to a paid subscription model. Now it seems that a paid model is coming, but it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been.

The current proposal is to continue offering the latest 5 episodes of current shows for free. However, users could pay $9.95 a month for what’s called Hulu Plus. This would get you the entire back-catalog of episodes, rather than being limited to the latest ones. There is no word on whether paying the fee would free you from watching the ads or not.

Essentially, you’ll be getting the same things for free, which is what will keep users aboard. If I can ditch commercials and not be limited to the last 5 episodes of a show, I might be willing to dish out the cash each month. What about you guys, will you stick to the free content or sign up for Hulu Plus?

[ Hulu ] VIA [ LA Times ]

By Chris Scott Barr

It’s been nearly a year since I dropped my cable subscription, and I couldn’t be happier. Between Hulu and Netflix streaming, I have little desire to ever switch back. Of course there has always been that fear that Hulu would switch over to a paid subscription model. Now it seems that a paid model is coming, but it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been.

The current proposal is to continue offering the latest 5 episodes of current shows for free. However, users could pay $9.95 a month for what’s called Hulu Plus. This would get you the entire back-catalog of episodes, rather than being limited to the latest ones. There is no word on whether paying the fee would free you from watching the ads or not.

Essentially, you’ll be getting the same things for free, which is what will keep users aboard. If I can ditch commercials and not be limited to the last 5 episodes of a show, I might be willing to dish out the cash each month. What about you guys, will you stick to the free content or sign up for Hulu Plus?

[ Hulu ] VIA [ LA Times ]

By Chris Scott Barr

It’s been nearly a year since I dropped my cable subscription, and I couldn’t be happier. Between Hulu and Netflix streaming, I have little desire to ever switch back. Of course there has always been that fear that Hulu would switch over to a paid subscription model. Now it seems that a paid model is coming, but it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been.

The current proposal is to continue offering the latest 5 episodes of current shows for free. However, users could pay $9.95 a month for what’s called Hulu Plus. This would get you the entire back-catalog of episodes, rather than being limited to the latest ones. There is no word on whether paying the fee would free you from watching the ads or not.

Essentially, you’ll be getting the same things for free, which is what will keep users aboard. If I can ditch commercials and not be limited to the last 5 episodes of a show, I might be willing to dish out the cash each month. What about you guys, will you stick to the free content or sign up for Hulu Plus?

[ Hulu ] VIA [ LA Times ]

By Chris Scott Barr

It’s been nearly a year since I dropped my cable subscription, and I couldn’t be happier. Between Hulu and Netflix streaming, I have little desire to ever switch back. Of course there has always been that fear that Hulu would switch over to a paid subscription model. Now it seems that a paid model is coming, but it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been.

The current proposal is to continue offering the latest 5 episodes of current shows for free. However, users could pay $9.95 a month for what’s called Hulu Plus. This would get you the entire back-catalog of episodes, rather than being limited to the latest ones. There is no word on whether paying the fee would free you from watching the ads or not.

Essentially, you’ll be getting the same things for free, which is what will keep users aboard. If I can ditch commercials and not be limited to the last 5 episodes of a show, I might be willing to dish out the cash each month. What about you guys, will you stick to the free content or sign up for Hulu Plus?

[ Hulu ] VIA [ LA Times ]