Tag: Albert Cheng

ABC’s ‘Oscars Backstage’ to stream live on Facebook

MUMBAI: The Academy, ABC Entertainment and Facebook are partnering to make this year’s The Oscars Backstage on ‘Watch ABC’ the most “Likeable” ever. The curated “Director’s Cut” feed from The Oscars Backstage – which delivers three channels of live video feeds from over 20 cameras throughout the Dolby Theater to ‘Watch ABC’ for desktop and mobile devices – will also stream on the ABC Network’s Facebook Page and be part of the Facebook Trending Oscars experience (www.facebook.com/oscars), which gives fans one place to connect in real time as they watch the night unfold.

“We’re excited to bring viewers backstage and provide exclusive access to all those memorable, talked-about Oscar moments – the ones that happen on stage as well as the stories that play out behind-the-scenes,” said Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chief marketing officer Christina Kounelias.

“We know that a large percentage of people – 70 per cent of tablet and smartphone owners – are on their devices while watching TV. The Oscars Backstage on ‘Watch ABC’ provides them with an unparalleled social experience around Hollywood’s biggest night. And thanks to our ongoing partnerships with MPVDs, including today’s launch of ‘Watch ABC’ with DirecTV, and this year’s arrangement with Facebook, we’re able to deliver it to more people than ever before,” said Disney/ABC Television Group EVP and chief product officer – digital media – Albert Cheng.

On the red carpet, ABC will incorporate exclusive, real-time Facebook data of the most buzzed about nominees during the pre-show. In addition, fans will be able to ask questions of their favorite nominees via the “Good Morning America” Facebook page, with the potential to see their question answered live on the red carpet.

Embeddable video clips of the most memorable moments of the awards show – including all musical performances – will be posted almost immediately after they air to Oscar.com/Video, with a selection of those also being shared on the Facebook pages. Additionally, this is the first year that The Oscars and The Oscars Backstage will stream with the recently launched ‘Watch ABC’ features “Social Lens” and “FastShare,” which provide fans with an even more personalized social experience.

This year’s The Oscars Backstage hosts and correspondents include:

• “Good Morning America’s” weekend edition co-anchor Paula Faris and Fusion network host Pedro Andrade will host “The Director Cut” feeds during both the pre-show and awards telecast.

Faris is the co-anchor of “Good Morning America’s” weekend edition, and reports across ABC News broadcasts and digital platforms. She joined ABC News in January 2012 as co-anchor of ABC News’ “World News Now” and “America This Morning.”

A Brazilian journalist originally from Rio de Janeiro, Andrade is a host of the Fusion network, which is a multi-platform media company that serves a young, diverse, and inclusive millennial generation. Fusion delivers a unique mix of news, pop culture, and satire content that is both smart and irreverent across its TV and digital platforms (fusion.net). Prior to Fusion, Andrade anchored NBC’s weekly luxury lifestyle program “LX.TV 1st Look” for 5 years.

• “Good Morning America” and ESPN contributing editor Chris Connelly is returning as the official greeter of The Oscars Red Carpet, which includes welcoming nominees, presenters and performers to the show.

• Actor Matt McGorry will be positioned in the Fan Bleachers on the Red Carpet. McGorry stars as Asher Millstone in ABC’s series “How to Get Away with Murder.” He can also be seen playing the post-military newbie corrections officer John Bennett in the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black.”

• Nick Axelrod will serve as The Oscars Backstage fashion correspondent. Axelrod is the creator and regular host of Yahoo Style’s popular celebrity interview series, “I Yahoo’d Myself.” He is also the Co-Founder and former Editorial Director of the award-winning beauty website Into The Gloss, which was nominated for a 2014 Webby award. He has also served as Senior Fashion News Editor at ELLE, spent three years at Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), and has also contributed to publications including ELLE Accessories and The Hollywood Reporter.

• ABC News Correspondent Sara Haines will be contributing to the Backstage feed. In addition to reporting for “Good Morning America” during the week, Haines is the Pop News anchor on the weekend edition of “GMA.”

In addition to The Oscars Backstage feeds, ‘Watch ABC’ users who have verified with a participating pay TV provider in one of the eight ABC Owned markets – Chicago, Fresno, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Raleigh-Durham and San Francisco – can also access a live feed of the Oscars preshow, full awards telecast and “Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Oscars” as part of the regular ‘Watch ABC’ service. Live streaming is currently available through Comcast, Cablevision, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, DISH, DirecTV, Midcontinent Communications, Verizon FiOS, Google Fiber and AT&T U-verse, among others. Once aired, the full Oscars telecast will be available on demand via ‘Watch ABC’ for verified viewers for three days. ‘Watch ABC’ can be accessed from Oscar.com, ABC.com, or via the ‘Watch ABC’ app, which can be downloaded for free at Google Play and the App Store. Verified viewers then log in using their cable or satellite subscription username and password.

All ‘Watch ABC’ fans can access the new enhanced social features. Social Lens integrates fan’s personal Facebook and Twitter into the ‘Watch ABC’ app so they can socialize with their friends while they watch The Oscars – all on one device. FastShare enables fans who are watching on demand to easily access and share clips of their favorite in-show moments as they are watching.

Video highlights from the telecast and The Oscars Backstage will also be available as embeddable clips on Oscar.com/Video almost immediately as they air. Full clips of the show’s musical numbers, including performances from Neil Patrick Harris, Jennifer Hudson, Anna Kendrick, Tegan and Sara and comedy-music trio The Lonely Island, Adam Levine, Rita Ora, Tim McGraw, Lady Ga Ga, Common and John Legend, will be featured in a dedicated “Music Moments” section on Oscar.com that includes in-depth video and photo coverage of past music winners.

Oscar.com is also showcasing nominees in their own words with a collection of official nominee questionnaires, including submissions from Julianne Moore, Robert Duvall, Patricia Arquette, Keira Knightley, and John Legend, among many others. To add to the fun, insanely addicting quizzes will challenge fans knowledge of this year’s nominees. The hugely popular “My Picks” interactive ballot is also live. Friends can view and share the ballot on Facebook, which will update in real time on Oscar night, ensuring that the most competitive Oscar handicappers are instantly aware of their ranking among friends.

The 87th Oscars will be held on 22 February, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood.

On 23 February, “LIVE with Kelly and Michael” will continue its awards season tradition with the fourth edition of “LIVE’s After Oscar Show.” The 10th annual “Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Oscars” airs 22 February on ABC.

February 21, 2015
ABC to add more features to its broadband video player

MUMBAI: US media firm Disney-ABC Television Group will add further enhancements to its ABC.com broadband video player later this year.

Disney-ABC Television Group president Anne Sweeney says, “We have been clearly focussed on what consumers are doing and continue to build our business to match their behavior and their interests. In the past year, through efforts like our ABC.com video player, weve shown our dedication to deliver the best content to consumers in ways that are relevant and cost effective for them.

“By continuing to listen to our audience and enhance our digital offerings with the best technology available, we further strengthen their relationship to our brands.”

Later this year users will be able to watch episodes in two additional screen sizes. Providing beautiful, crisp resolution, a full-screen viewing size will be added. Also, a small mini screen (240×136 pixels) that users can position wherever they choose on their desktops will be available. The standard viewing size (500×282 pixels) and the larger viewing size (720×404 pixels) will both continue to be offered as well. The enhanced player will also featu dyrenamic bandwidth selection which automatically adjusts the bitrate of video streamed to maximise the experience for users, regardless of the capabilities of their Internet connection.

Additionally, a Pause Ad feature will be rolled out. Whenever users pause an episode they are viewing online, the screen will feature a static ad from that episodes featured sponsor which will remain on-screen until they reinitiate viewing of the show.

Later this year ABC.com’s full episode player will be expanded further to include national news and local content, in addition to primetime entertainment programming. Additionally, this new player will be geo-targeted, offering the ability for local ads and content to be more relevant to each individual user.

To date, ABC affiliates covering 80 per cent of the US, including all major affiliate groups as well as the ten ABC owned stations, have launched or have committed to launching the player on their own websites and are taking advantage of the opportunity to incorporate local advertising into the programming.

Disney-ABC Television Group executive VP, digital media Albert Cheng says, “We are excited to see that research continues to support two of our original hypotheses. First, it again confirms making episodes available online results in additive viewing opportunities for consumers and is not cannibalizing linear network viewership.

“Secondly, users have an extremely positive response to the interactive advertising on ABC.com. It has been part of our strategy to conceive and demonstrate a new advertising model on the web with 30-second countdown clocks, interactive ad containers, pause ads and other future innovations that help our advertisers and maintain a quality consumer experience. We are pleased to see advertisers embracing this strategy and working with us to create interactive ads that engage consumers and maximize the potential the platform has to offer.’

Since the broadband player launched as a permanent feature on ABC.com in September 2006, over 50 million episodes of ABC primetime series have been initiated by users. Based on new research conducted for ABC by Frank N. Magid Associates late last year, the broadband player continues to attracted a young, highly educated audience; the average age of users was 28, and more than half were college graduates. In general, users of the ABC.com broadband player skew female, mirroring the linear networks audience.

Among those surveyed, 77 per cent watched online because they had missed a particular episode on television and were looking to catch up. Viewing generally occurs within the first 24 hours of an episodes broadcast on ABC, with online viewing peaking at 10 pm. The majority of users viewed from home (76 per cent), with 57% using a desktop computer and 43 per cent a laptop.

On an average, 84 per cent of users surveyed were able to recall the advertiser who sponsored the episode they viewed. Users surveyed embraced the interactive advertising, with almost 50 per cent rating the advertising experience as excellent and approximately one-third describing the featured advertisements as entertaining and informative. Users surveyed gave especially high marks to entertainment category sponsors, as well as sponsors whose ads contained the multiple opportunities for interaction including games, product demos and coupon offers.

ABC.coms broadband player currently offers full-length episodes of shows like Desperate Housewives, Greys Anatomy, Lost and Ugly Betty free to consumers on ABCs website the day after their broadcast premieres.

February 10, 2007
ABC.com streaming trial provides Disney with consumer insights

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Disney-ABC Television Group has announced key findings from its ABC.com streaming video trial.

The two-month-long trial this year offered ad-supported, full-length episodes of Lost, Desperate Housewives, Commander in Chief and Alias. This marked the first time a channel made multiple series available for viewing online, free of charge to consumers. 10 US advertisers including AT&T, Cingular and Ford took part in the test.

In 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 per cent of those surveyed had a positive online viewing experience and 87 per cent responded that they were likely to recommend the site to others.

The broadband player attracted a young, highly educated audience. The average age of users was 29, and more than half were college graduates. Users of the broadband player were almost equally split between males (47%) and females (53 per cent).

The majority of online viewing for episodes occurred within the first 24 hours of their broadcast on ABC. Approximately two-thirds of those surveyed watched complete episodes, with partial viewing of episodes occurring mainly because viewers had already seen the episode on TV or were interrupted. The majority of users viewed from home, using a desktop computer. The number one reason given for viewing online was because users had missed the episode on TV.

On average, 87 per cent of users surveyed were able to recall the advertiser who sponsored the episode they viewed. Those viewers embraced the interactive advertising, with over 50 per cent rating the advertising experience positively and 84 per cent believing that they were getting a great deal by being able to watch the episode online for free in exchange for watching the ads.

Disney-ABC Television Group president Anne Sweeney says, “The launch of ABC.com’s broadband player was a huge step for us as we strategically reposition our websites from marketing tools to rich entertainment platforms. The research that has come out of the trial helped prove true several hypotheses regarding our consumers and their online viewing patterns.

“With the data we have collected, we are better equipped to move forward with our advertisers and affiliates to create new multiplatform opportunities for our consumers.”

Disney-ABC Television Group executive VP, digital media Albert Cheng says, “The research we gathered from this trial has been invaluable as we move forward with next phase of the broadband player. We have been extremely pleased with the consumer feedback from the trial, and are busy working on some minor adjustments to the broadband player in order to again make full episodes available to consumers this fall. When we relaunch, the basic concept of ad-supported, free to the consumer full-length episodes will return along with some added features to enhance the consumer experience.”

August 5, 2006
Disney-ABC to offer hit shows online in May and June

MUMBAI: Get ‘Desperate’ and ‘Lost’ online! With an aim to expand its network and channel brands across multiple platforms and connecting viewers with their favorite shows anytime and anywhere, Disney-ABC Television Group will be offering ad-supported, full-length episodes of four ABC primetime series online at www.abc.go.com.

However, this offer will be a part of a two-month-long experiment. Current episodes of Lost, Desperate Housewives and Commander In Chief, as well as the entire present season of Alias, will be available for streaming during May and June, marking the first time a broadcast network has made multiple series available for viewing online, free of charge to consumers.

“The evolution of ABC.com is just one piece of our comprehensive, digital media multiplatform business initiative. This announcement highlights the momentum we’ve achieved both in launching new broadband services and working with strategic partners in the digital media space, to ensure that our high-quality, informative and entertaining content is available to consumers whenever and wherever they choose,” said Disney Media Networks co-chair and Disney-ABC Television Group president Anne Sweeney.

ABC is also exploring ways to work with its local broadcast affiliates on these online offerings as they continue to evolve. “Our ultimate goal is to find an effective online model, one in which our affiliates can take part. To that end, we’ll be sharing information from this two-month test in our discussions going forward, and working on ways for them to participate in this new method of delivering ABC programming,” added ABC Television Network president operations and administration Alex Wallau.

“Our mission with this trial is to gather key learning about the technology and the consumers who utilize it in order for ABC.com to become the leading broadband digital entertainment experience, packed with innovative, immersive content for our viewers. In the months ahead, ABC.com will not only deliver a high quality, on-demand viewing experience to users, but will also gain valuable knowledge and research to help us better understand and serve our consumers in the rapidly evolving digital world,” said Disney-ABC Television Group executive vice president digital media Albert Cheng.

As part of the trial, ABC has offered 10 advertisers the opportunity to test possible in-stream broadband advertising models as well as the ability to take advantage of sponsorships. The unique interactive video ads will take many different forms and will be seen within each episode. The advertisers include AT&T, Cingular, Ford, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever’s Suave, Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures, among others.

“We have said all along that we are dedicated to finding ways to bring our advertiser partners along with us as we embrace new ways of doing business in the world of digital media. This unique project has allowed us to offer our advertisers the ability to deliver increased effectiveness in their messaging through targeted and engaging interactive ads that offer compelling consumer experiences,” said ABC Television Network president sales and marketing Mike Shaw.

Combining an all-new sleek, modern design with user-friendly functionality, ABC.com will offer episodes the day after they premiere on the linear channel. Consumers will be able to pause and move back and forth between “chapters” within each episode, but will not have the ability to fast-forward through advertisements. Episodes will be streamed in 16×9 formatting which offers a cinema-like feel to the viewing experience.

Encoded and streamed in Flash 8, which offers the best video quality and allows users on both Mac and PC platforms to watch the video episode, will be offered in two different sizes. The standard viewing size is 500×282 pixels (streamed at 400kbs), and the larger viewing size is 700×394 pixels (streamed 700 kbps).

April 11, 2006
Disney-ABC to offer hit shows online in May and June

MUMBAI: With an aim to expand its network and channel brands across multiple platforms and connecting viewers with their favorite shows anytime and anywhere, Disney-ABC Television Group will be offering ad-supported, full-length episodes of four ABC primetime series online at www.abc.go.com.

However, this offer will be a part of a two-month-long experiment. Current episodes of Lost, Desperate Housewives and Commander In Chief, as well as the entire present season of Alias, will be available for streaming during May and June, marking the first time a broadcast network has made multiple series available for viewing online, free of charge to consumers.

“The evolution of ABC.com is just one piece of our comprehensive, digital media multiplatform business initiative,” said Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney-ABC Television Group. “This announcement highlights the momentum we’ve achieved both in launching new broadband services and working with strategic partners in the digital media space, to ensure that our high-quality, informative and entertaining content is available to consumers whenever and wherever they choose.”

ABC is also exploring ways to work with its local broadcast affiliates on these online offerings as they continue to evolve. “Our ultimate goal is to find an effective online model, one in which our affiliates can take part,” stated Alex Wallau,president, Operations and Administration, ABC Television Network. “To that end, we’ll be sharing information from this two-month test in our discussions going forward, and working on ways for them to participate in this new method of delivering ABC programming.”

“Our mission with this trial is to gather key learning about the technology and the consumers who utilize it in order for ABC.com to become the leading broadband digital entertainment experience, packed with innovative, immersive content for our viewers,” said Albert Cheng, executive vice president, Digital Media, Disney-ABC Television Group. “In the months ahead, ABC.com will not only deliver a high quality, on-demand viewing experience to users, but will also gain valuable knowledge and research to help us better understand and serve our consumers in the rapidly evolving digital world.”

As part of the trial, ABC has offered ten advertisers the opportunity to test possible in-stream broadband advertising models as well as the ability to take advantage of sponsorships. The unique interactive video ads will take many different forms and will be seen within each episode. Participating advertisers include AT&T, Cingular, Ford, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever’s Suave, Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures, among others.

“We have said all along that we are dedicated to finding ways to bring our advertiser partners along with us as we embrace new ways of doing business in the world of digital media,” said Mike Shaw, president, Sales and Marketing, ABC Television Network. “This unique project has allowed us to offer our advertisers the ability to deliver increased effectiveness in their messaging through targeted and engaging interactive ads that offer compelling consumer experiences.”

Combining an all-new sleek, modern design with user-friendly functionality, ABC.com will offer episodes the day after they premiere on the linear channel. Consumers will be able to pause and move back and forth between “chapters” within each episode, but will not have the ability to fast-forward through advertisements. Episodes will be streamed in 16×9 formatting which offers a cinema-like feel to the viewing experience.

Encoded and streamed in Flash 8, which offers the best video quality and allows users on both Mac and PC platforms to watch the video episode, will be offered in two different sizes. The standard viewing size is 500×282 pixels (streamed at 400kbs), and the larger viewing size is 700×394 pixels (streamed 700 kbps).

“Lost” was created by Jeffrey Lieber and J.J. Abrams & Damon Lindelof. Abrams, Lindelof, Bryan Burk, Jack Bender and Carlton Cuse serve as executive producers. “Lost,” which is filmed entirely on location in Hawaii, is from Touchstone Television.

Marc Cherry is executive producer and creator and Tom Spezialy is executive producer of “Desperate Housewives,” which is from Touchstone Television.

“Alias” was created by J.J. Abrams, who executive-produces the series along with Ken Olin, Jeff Pinkner, Jesse Alexander and Jeffrey Bell. The series, which is filmed in Los Angeles and premiered on September 30, 2001, is from Touchstone Television.

“Commander In Chief” was created by Rod Lurie. Steven Bochco, Dee Johnson, Rod Lurie and Marc Frydman serve as executive producers. The series is produced by Touchstone Television in association with Steven Bochco Productions.

April 11, 2006