(10 February 2007 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: US media firm Disney-ABC Television Group will add further enhancements to its ABC.com broadband video player later this year.

Disney-ABC Television Group president Anne Sweeney says, "We have been clearly focussed on what consumers are doing and continue to build our business to match their behavior and their interests. In the past year, through efforts like our ABC.com video player, weve shown our dedication to deliver the best content to consumers in ways that are relevant and cost effective for them.

"By continuing to listen to our audience and enhance our digital offerings with the best technology available, we further strengthen their relationship to our brands."

Later this year users will be able to watch episodes in two additional screen sizes. Providing beautiful, crisp resolution, a full-screen viewing size will be added. Also, a small mini screen (240x136 pixels) that users can position wherever they choose on their desktops will be available. The standard viewing size (500x282 pixels) and the larger viewing size (720x404 pixels) will both continue to be offered as well. The enhanced player will also feature dynamic bandwidth selection which automatically adjusts the bitrate of video streamed to maximise the experience for users, regardless of the capabilities of their Internet connection.

Additionally, a Pause Ad feature will be rolled out. Whenever users pause an episode they are viewing online, the screen will feature a static ad from that episodes featured sponsor which will remain on-screen until they reinitiate viewing of the show.

Later this year ABC.com's full episode player will be expanded further to include national news and local content, in addition to primetime entertainment programming. Additionally, this new player will be geo-targeted, offering the ability for local ads and content to be more relevant to each individual user.

To date, ABC affiliates covering 80 per cent of the US, including all major affiliate groups as well as the ten ABC owned stations, have launched or have committed to launching the player on their own websites and are taking advantage of the opportunity to incorporate local advertising into the programming.

Disney-ABC Television Group executive VP, digital media Albert Cheng says, "We are excited to see that research continues to support two of our original hypotheses. First, it again confirms making episodes available online results in additive viewing opportunities for consumers and is not cannibalizing linear network viewership.

"Secondly, users have an extremely positive response to the interactive advertising on ABC.com. It has been part of our strategy to conceive and demonstrate a new advertising model on the web with 30-second countdown clocks, interactive ad containers, pause ads and other future innovations that help our advertisers and maintain a quality consumer experience. We are pleased to see advertisers embracing this strategy and working with us to create interactive ads that engage consumers and maximize the potential the platform has to offer.'

Since the broadband player launched as a permanent feature on ABC.com in September 2006, over 50 million episodes of ABC primetime series have been initiated by users. Based on new research conducted for ABC by Frank N. Magid Associates late last year, the broadband player continues to attracted a young, highly educated audience; the average age of users was 28, and more than half were college graduates. In general, users of the ABC.com broadband player skew female, mirroring the linear networks audience.

Among those surveyed, 77 per cent watched online because they had missed a particular episode on television and were looking to catch up. Viewing generally occurs within the first 24 hours of an episodes broadcast on ABC, with online viewing peaking at 10 pm. The majority of users viewed from home (76 per cent), with 57% using a desktop computer and 43 per cent a laptop.

On an average, 84 per cent of users surveyed were able to recall the advertiser who sponsored the episode they viewed. Users surveyed embraced the interactive advertising, with almost 50 per cent rating the advertising experience as excellent and approximately one-third describing the featured advertisements as entertaining and informative. Users surveyed gave especially high marks to entertainment category sponsors, as well as sponsors whose ads contained the multiple opportunities for interaction including games, product demos and coupon offers.

ABC.coms broadband player currently offers full-length episodes of shows like Desperate Housewives, Greys Anatomy, Lost and Ugly Betty free to consumers on ABCs website the day after their broadcast premieres.