Disney-ABC Television Group announced today it will once again offer ad-supported, full-length episodes of several ABC primetime series online at www.ABC.com, beginning Saturday, Sept. 23. ABC and its Affiliate Association have reached an arrangement which allows local affiliates to participate in the player through local advertising sales, branding opportunities and website links.

"Over the past year, we have taken deliberate steps to make our content more widely available in an effort to forge even deeper relationships with viewers," said Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks, and president, Disney-ABC Television Group. "A great example of this strategy in action is the ABC.com player. Its successful two-month test earlier this year has led to this relaunch, and now, together with our affiliates and advertisers, we are creating an opportunity to better position all of our businesses for the future."

New episodes of returning series Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy, as well as episodes of the new series Six Degrees, Ugly Betty, The Knights of Prosperity and The Nine will be offered free to consumers on ABC's website the day after their broadcast premieres. Generally, four episodes per series will be available at any given time. When the player relaunches, half-hour promotional programs of Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy created to help viewers follow the ongoing stories in these series, will also be available.

Under the new arrangement, affiliates will be able to feature the broadband player on their own Web sites. Stations will have the opportunity to sell local advertisements for episodes and will retain all revenue associated to those specific sales, marking the first time that local ad insertion on a nationally operated broadband video player has been accomplished. The ABC affiliates will also be promoting the broadband player on-air and online.

"This new arrangement provides a mutually beneficial framework as the industry evolves, " said John Rouse, senior vice president, affiliate relations, ABC Television Network. "It is further proof of the dedication the network and our affiliates have to working together in unique and inventive ways to create new opportunities that build all of our businesses."

"Based on our successful streaming test with the network last spring, we think this initiative holds promise and potential opportunity for the ABC affiliates in their respective markets. The ABC Affiliate Board has endorsed the plan and recommends it to the affiliate membership," said Ray Cole, chairman, ABC Affiliate Relations Board of Governors. "We hope this is just one of many new media initiatives between ABC and its affiliated stations."

ABC.com's broadband player will enable consumers to pause and move back and forth between "chapters" within each episode, but will once again not permit fast-forwarding through advertisements. Individual episodes viewed through ABC.com will feature up to three interactive advertisements from one national sponsor, as well as an additional local ad insertion. All content will be streamed in 16x9 formatting which offers a cinema-like feel to the viewing experience.

"We are dedicated to keeping our focus sharply on the consumer in all of our digital initiatives," said Albert Cheng, executive vice president, Digital Media, Disney-ABC Television Group. "The intelligence we gained from the trial we conducted in May and June prompted subtle changes to the broadband player which provide greater ease of use for consumers, as well as establish us as the clear leader in this space, pushing technological innovation to support our business objectives with local ad insertion."

Discussions with national and local advertisers are currently being finalized in regard to their involvement with the project.

ABC was the first broadcast network to make multiple series available for viewing online, free of charge to consumers. During this past May and June, ABC.com's broadband player served over 5.7 million episode requests, totaling 16 million video streams. Based on survey research conducted for ABC by Frank N. Magid Associates during the trial, 79% of those surveyed had a positive online viewing experience and 87% responded that they were likely to recommend the site to others.