Sony (SNE) is about to launch it new "Angel of Death" program online. It hopes the trick will get people to buy the DVD of the show down the road. Content companies now release this kind of programming without putting it on to TV or into theaters. The "junk" content makes more money that way. It is cheap to produce and would not hold up the the tastes of people who go to the movies to see "Shrek III".
The launch has one flaw, and perhaps a fatal one. According to The Wall Street Journal, "The series will be released online eight minutes at a time, over 10 weeks, on various Sony-affiliated Web sites." Of course, consumers are anxious to go back to their PCs ten times to see a program which was not worthy of theater release.
Sony’s move is an example of how not to use the internet. It is not a medium for promotion gimmicks. Online media consumers can get too much YouTube and premium content for free. NBC releases many of its TV shows gratis for online viewing, as do other large media companies.
Asking people to watch programming ten minutes at time is like asking them to put burning sticks into their eyes.
There are a lot of takers for that one.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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