Fledgling network hopes discontinuing online episodes of ‘Gossip Girl’ will boost TV viewership
By Matthew B. Zeidman
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 4/19/08 – The entire TV network-wide plan to use the Internet to increase viewership and create a new income stream appears to have hit a road bump that may turn into a wall.
Popular show “Gossip Girl” episodes are being pulled from the Internet as it appears to be hurting regular TV ad sales, which every TV show on the air needs to support itself.
“Gossip Girl” may center around an anonymous blogger who gleefully reveals the innermost secrets of her moneyed and debauched classmates, but The CW Television Network is declining to post any more full-length episodes of its flagship drama online, beginning with Monday night’s broadcast and running at least through the end of the season. The network hopes the change in policy will turn loyal Web viewers into loyal TV ratings boosters.
“We are…going to experiment and see if we can grow the ratings by keeping these five episodes exclusive to our airwaves,” The CW’s president, Dawn Ostroff, told TVGuide.com. “While streaming won’t be a part of [new online offerings], there will be more new short-form content available to ‘Gossip Girl’ fans.”
Monday will mark “Gossip Girl’s” first new broadcast after a nearly four-month hiatus caused by the recent industry-wide writers’ strike. While the show has sold extremely well on iTunes, it has failed to garner Nielsen ratings higher than 2.4 percent of total U.S. households—a figure which hasn’t been matched since its September debut.
As for paid downloads, iTunes will be unaffected by the full-length ban and will still offer each new installment for sale. Fresh material available for free on the network’s Web site will include behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews and sneak peaks at future episodes.
“Gossip Girl” is based on a hit series of novels written by Cecily von Ziegesar, which follows the lives of several prep school students who call Manhattan’s posh Upper East Side home. The show was co-developed for the small screen by the creator of Fox’s teen hit, “The O.C.,” Josh Schwartz.
14 responses so far ↓
1 Timbaland // Apr 19, 2008 at 9:54 am
I like “Gossip Girl” It’s interesting TV show. I will buy it of course.
2 Rudy311 // Apr 20, 2008 at 11:06 am
Industry Execs need to think out of the box (literally). while TV has been their bread and butter for many years,I believe the internet is where many commercial projects will take place in the future. I watch TV on a limited basis as compared to the internet where I choose to spend more time. and unless they choose to become obsolete in 15-20 years like I believe TV could,they need to create and maintain content on the internet.
3 keair // Oct 8, 2008 at 9:52 am
hay wats up i love your show i watch it all the time love everyone of you u all did very well last season
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I LOVE UR GUYES SHOW
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