FOX Grooms MYSPACE As A Home For TV Episodes, Promos

(From Cynopsis -- By Daisy Whitney)

The in-house deal FOX INTERACTIVE MEDIA crafted earlier this week to include ad-supported episodes of FOX prime-time shows on MYSPACE is only the beginning of an aggressive march into online delivery of TV content by MYSPACE.

Earlier this week, FOX widened its FOX ON DEMAND streaming initiative to also include ad-supported episodes of FOX prime-time shows on MYSPACE, in addition to FOX-owned local station Web sites, as previously announced.

The expansion kicks off a MYSPACE strategy to add more TV and professionally-produced video to the site over the next three months from both FOX and other TV networks and studios. TV content will be offered on an advertising-supported, download-to-own or download-for-rent basis.

This new strategy also lets MYSPACE build fresh ad revenue as it will be able to sell ads against the TV content, a safer bet for advertisers than the viral videos on the site.

"Video is one of the most important initiatives for the company and an integral part of the lifestyle of our members," MySpace CEO CHRIS DeWOLFE said.

MYSPACE is poised to do well in this new effort.

The site commands a staggering 4.6 percent of all Internet traffic, up from 2 percent just a year ago, according to Internet tracking firm HITWISE.

What's more, audience measurement service COMSCORE MEDIA METRIX reported last week that MYSPACE in July served up nearly 1.5 billion video streams, representing 20 percent of all videos viewed on the Internet that month.

In addition to full episodes, the new video initiative will bring more promotional content, along the lines of the seven-minute sneak peek of the season premiere of THE SIMPSONS that ran last month on MySpace and other FOX INTERACTIVE MEDIA (FIM) sites, said MICKIE ROSEN, Senior Vice President/General Manager for Entertainment at FIM.

In August, FIM said it would offer download-to-own versions of FOX TV shows this fall across its sites, such as MYSPACE. FIM will also expand that offering to include shows from other networks and studios too.

FIM sites include Foxsports.com, gaming sites IGN.com and Direct2drive.com, and entertainment sites Fox.com, Rottentomatoes.com and Americanidol.com.

The video strategy is both bold and necessary, but to pull it off MYSPACE will need to proceed delicately to maintain that cachet and freshness that users love, the very qualities that catapulted the site to its dominant position.