Monday, August 07, 2006

FX: A Crafty Network?

FX is doing something brilliant - I think. Otherwise, it is I who is brilliant.

About a week ago, I discovered the show 30 Days was a free iTunes download, and being a free iTunes download junkie, I watched it and concluded it was an interesting show. Not something I would probably purchase for $1.99 a piece, but something I would set TiVO to record and watch at my leisure.

So, I set the TiVO and checked for upcoming episodes. They were infrequent. Strange, for a new show, I thought. Many of the commercials I'd seen promoted episodes of the show that were not set to air, apparently, for several weeks. Forward thinking, I think.

Then last night, I was watching Always Sunny in Philadelphia, also on FX, and a commercial came on telling me, nay, teaching me, about the first season DVDs of 30 Days, which are available for purchase.

First, I thought that FX was being tricky and innovative. They launch the show on iTunes with a free download. Then, the shows start to play on FX at the announced time slot, and commercial promotion hypes the forthcoming episodes. BUT if you don't want to wait every other week for a new show, conveniently, you can already purchase a full DVD of the current season. No waiting week after week; no cursing TiVO for cutting off the last important 3 minutes, and most importantly, instant gratification, something people will often pay dearly for.

But apparently, it is I who is brilliant, as a quick check on EPGuides (a great place to get episode titles and air dates without worry of confronting "spoilers") tells me that we are actually in Season 2 of this show, which airs only 6 episodes per season. This explains the infrequent showings and the DVD promotion of Season 1. Huh. Not so out of theordinary afterall.

But I think I'm on to something. Make a series, every episode, give 'em the first taste for free and watch as they come running back for more. Or is that crack?... Either way, a good strategy, yes?

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