Lazy Days of Summer
The title of this posting does double duty. First, this is the lone posting for the entire month of July, lazy me. Actually, swamped me, but I'm trying to keep with a theme here. Second, summertime is when the "must watch" tv shows slow down, reruns pick up, and this summer - television begins to get more aggressive with its infiltration of the web.
On July 13th, The Office began streaming 2 minute webisodes on nbc.com. These shorts were developed exclusively for the web, rather than simply being clippings of regular shows. Now that people are spending considerably more time with their computer than their television, networks are racing to regain their lost viewers... and advertisers.
For now, it's easier online. Network television commercials are simply skipped with DVR, Tivo and the like. Online ads, however, are typically inescapable - as viewers are forced to view them as their content "loads". This is certain to change, but for now it's a great opportunity for advertisers to regain the control they miss so much.
