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"Radhika Marya is a multimedia journalist and pop culture enthusiast, with newspaper and radio experience. She will receive an M.S. degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism this month.\nIt\u2019s no secret that TV watchers are moving online. As reported earlier this month, a Retrovo survey indicated that 83% of younger viewers watch most of their shows online. And Nielsen\u2019s last 2009 report said online video consumption went up by 16% from 2008. \nThen why are so many TV networks keeping most of their episodes offline? And why does it still take a while for popular shows to air in a foreign market \u2014 even when they\u2019re on an affiliate \u2014 in an era of torrents and other illegal downloads?\nWe talked to some researchers, as well as executives from Fox, ABC and BBC America to get a sense of why some of these practices are still in effect today. Here\u2019s what they had to say.\nThe Reasons for Limited Online Episodes\n\n\n\n\nBill Bradford, senior vice president of Fox Digital, says it\u2019s pretty standard for most TV networks to post only the five most recent episodes of a show\u2019s current season online. On Fox\u2019s website, the majority of online viewing happens within a week after a current show airs. In most cases, Bradford says viewers tend to stay within the window of the last five episodes. \nMeanwhile, Albert Cheng, executive vice president of Digital Media at Disney/ABC Television Group, says a variety of factors \u2014 such as distribution rights and guild agreements \u2014 help decide which episodes go on the web. \n\u201CThe majority of users of ABC.com\u2019s full episode player typically watch shows within the first twenty-four to forty-eight hours that they become available online,\u201D Cheng says. \nBut what about new viewers who might have just started watching a show\u2019s previous seasons via Netflix and other platforms? Or those who want to catch up with the early episodes of a newer show? Both Cheng and Bradford agree on one solution: iTunes.\nWhile file sharing is an issue, both executives \u2014 who acknowledge that piracy comes about when consumers don\u2019t have access to content \u2014 believe the combination of ad-supported episodes on their websites and purchasable downloads on others helps reduce illegal viewing.\n\u201COnce we create a legitimate place for our viewers to view the content, the piracy does go down,\u201D Bradford says.\nWhy the Lag Time in Foreign Markets?\n\n\n\n\nThe Internet has made it possible for consumers to access everything from music to TV shows more quickly than they could two decades ago. However, the TV business still follows some practices that cause delays when a show airs outside its country of origin. This is something both researchers and network executives attribute to licensing agreements with foreign distributors. But what about instances where a show airs on an affiliate channel? \nRichard DeCroce, senior vice president of Programming for BBC America, says there are numerous reasons why lag times exist when a BBC show heads stateside. BBC America currently airs sci-fi cult classic \u201CDoctor Who\u201D two weeks behind the BBC\u2019s schedule. Other shows air a few months apart, and episodes of \u201CFriday Night with Jonathan Ross\u201D and \u201CThe Graham Norton Show\u201D come to the U.S. within about a week after their UK broadcasts.\nOne major factor behind the delays? Marketing. \nU.S. promotion for the new season of \u201CDoctor Who,\u201D which involved bringing the series\u2019 actors and writers over to the states, couldn\u2019t happen until the UK premiere.\n\u201CThey simply wouldn\u2019t have been available,\u201D DeCroce says. \u201CWe believe that as a result of the press and marketing efforts, it created the highest telecast in BBC America\u2019s history.\u201D\nThe BBC and BBC America do try to close gaps in airtime as much as possible, depending on demand, and there have been some instances where  shows have aired within a day of each other. \nBut in other cases, BBC America also prefers airing multiple seasons of a particular series (such as \u201CTop Gear\u201D and \u201CSurvivors\u201D) back-to-back, also leading to the delays in broadcast. Since British TV seasons tend to run on the shorter side, this approach gives American audiences something closer to the number of episodes they\u2019re used to watching.\n\u201CBeing a fully digitally distributed channel, you can imagine the challenge in the digital landscape,\u201D DeCroce says. \u201CIf people find a show, you need some consistency and a longer run \u2013- because by the time they find you, the show might be over.\u201D\nBBC America, which does not post full episodes online due to affiliate agreements, uses content like exclusive \u201CInside Look\u201D segments during commercial breaks, to attract viewers to the channel.\n\u201CYou can\u2019t get that by streaming that on a site that gets you the channel,\u201D he says. \u201CSo we\u2019re actually kind of super-serving the most loyal fans of this content.\u201D\nThe Issue of Profitability \nResearchers are aware of why TV companies have some restrictions on access to their programming, but they say networks could take better advantage of digital platforms \u2014 and should try opening up more content.\nRight now, most online TV revenue doesn\u2019t compare to broadcast revenue. David Klatell, a professor at Columbia University\u2019s Graduate School of Journalism, says online revenue is still very low, especially when compared to reruns sold to syndicators.\nBut Sheila Murphy Seles, of the Convergence Culture Consortium at MIT, says there are instances where online TV can be profitable. She feels online viewers are a new audience for the networks to reach, and that networks should test business models even when small numbers of consumers are watching something on the Internet. She points to CBS, which was able to sell online and TV advertising for NCAA basketball this spring.\n\u201CAfter a few years of testing the waters, CBS found that making all the games available online was the best way to go \u2014\u00A0and they made a ton of advertising revenue,\u201D she says.\nShe believes digital distribution allows companies to see what models work in real-time.\n\u201CYou can make adjustments in near real-time too,\u201D she says. \u201CThe problem is that real innovation is being stalled by the antiquated licensing deals that networks, cable companies, and studios insist on attaching to content.\u201D\nWhat Can We Expect?\n\n\n\n\nIt looks like most broadcast executives aren\u2019t planning to change their current approaches to the digital marketplace just yet. But they are open to evolving if it becomes necessary.\nABC plans on exploring various platforms for consumers interested in accessing their shows via other means. Cheng says while some viewers will be happy with basic cable, others may want to watch shows via an iPad application or watch behind-the-scenes extras on their phones.\n\u201CWe have to maximize what each platform can do for us as well as our viewers,\u201D he says. \u201COtherwise we\u2019re leaving opportunity on the table \u2014 and serving up consumers for competitors.\u201D\nMeanwhile, BBC America is happy with its progress on the digital front. Despite restrictions preventing it from posting full episodes on its site, and despite airing content on a lagged schedule, DeCroce says the channel has seen positive returns on its iTunes page for at least 18 months. \n\u201CThe channel is the place where you can aggregate the most people and then send them to other platforms,\u201D he says. \u201CThis is our model right now, and we will evolve as necessary.\u201D\n\n\nFor more web video coverage, follow Mashable Web Video on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook\n\n\nMore web video resources from Mashable:\n- Exclusive: Tour the \u201CIf I Can Dream\u201D Command Center [VIDEO]- Top 10 YouTube Cover Songs- Top 10 LEGO Movie Tributes on YouTube- 10 Best LEGO Music Videos on YouTube- The 10 Best \u201CGet a Mac\u201D Ads\nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, CostinT, iStockphoto, subju"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2010/05/07/tv-to-web/>