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Get your reruns online

3 major broadcast networks streaming popular series. Fox is soon to follow.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 24, 2006

NEW YORK - Millions of TV show episodes have been streamed over the Web by broadcast networks during the past month, with Heroes and Jericho emerging as favorites among people who watch TV on their computers.

Within the past month, ABC, CBS and NBC have begun making some of their programs available for free viewing on their Web sites. Fox is set to begin after the World Series. Though the networks know how much each of their shows are being watched online, none will divulge many details. Generally, they say they have seen a rapidly growing appetite for entertainment on the Web.

SOME NUMBERS: NBC said that it had streamed 5-million individual episodes of its shows and ABC said it had streamed more than 2.5-million in the first two weeks. Those numbers are still tiny compared with the number of people who watch TV: Nearly 23-million people watched Grey's Anatomy, the most popular show on TV, on Oct. 12.

AN NBC BREAKDOWN: The network said that its most watched show online is the new superhero drama Heroes. It also said that its Web site has been the most visited of the three major networks, with its "NBC Rewind" feature streaming more than 2-million videos during its first week up in late September. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, the number of visitors to the Web site increased 30 percent from August to September.

CBS: It said that its No. 1 show online also is a new one, Jericho. Of the Big Three, CBS has made the most shows available on its Web site, in a section called "innertube," including all three of the CSI editions and Survivor. The network won't say how many shows have streamed, but it did say the number has grown 300 percent since the first week. Nielsen/NetRatings said CBS's Web site visits jumped 3 percent from August to September.

ABC: The network wouldn't even say which show is the most popular on its Web site. Albert Cheng, ABC's digital chief, claimed cryptically that online viewing habits have been similar to TV, which would seem to indicate that Grey's Anatomy leads on the Web, too. ABC makes video streams of six of its most popular shows - including Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and Lost - available the day after the episodes air. The average age of ABC's online viewers has been 29; for TV, it's 46.

[Last modified October 24, 2006, 05:23:49]