or


[05/15/06 - 12:00 AM]
NBC Introduces TV 360 Digital Components for 2006-07 Season Giving Viewers Choice of Content on the Air, Online Or on the Go

[via press release from NBC]

NBC INTRODUCES TV 360 DIGITAL COMPONENTS FOR 2006-07 SEASON GIVING VIEWERS CHOICE OF CONTENT ON THE AIR, ONLINE OR ON THE GO

DOTCOMEDY.COM, NBCFIRSTLOOK.COM BROADBAND CHANNELS LAUNCH

BEST-IN-CLASS NBCU MEDIA PLAYER DEBUTS

NEW YORK �- May 15, 2006 -� NBC is introducing the "TV 360" digital components to its 2006-07 Fall schedule, with original and exclusive content ranging from interactive television to webisodes, all built around the network's innovative and new programming.

The announcement was made today by Jeff Zucker, CEO, NBC Universal Television Group, before the advertising community, affiliates and press at Radio City Music Hall.

"We all know the power of television to connect with viewers and have an impact like no other medium," said Zucker. "Now, we're seeing the power of the web to capture those viewers, extend the television experience and build communities and a level of engagement like nothing else out there."

Keeping with its rich comedy heritage, NBC is launching a new broadband comedy channel. DOTCOMEDY.com will create a community around one of life's universal pleasures -- laughter. Anchored by some of NBC's best-known franchises and library programs, this online channel will feature everything from classic comedy television shows to viral videos to renowned NBC late-night programming including content from "Saturday Night Live," "The Tonight Show," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," the first ten years of "Late Night With David Letterman," "The Office," "Last Comic Standing," "Dream On," "Coach," "Leave It To Beaver," "The Munsters," and much more. DOTCOMEDY.com will also feature original content produced exclusively for the site including blogs, mash-ups and podcasts.

NBC Universal will also launch a FIRSTLOOK.com franchise for each of its online properties (NBCFIRSTLOOK.com, USAFIRSTLOOK.com, SCIFIFIRSTLOOK.com, BRAVOFIRSTLOOK.com and so on). Each site will premiere up to four episodes of their respective networks' series, in their entirety, each year. It will be a first look in the digital, broadband world before ever appearing on the linear networks.

Following today's announcement of the completion of NBCU's acquisition of iVillage, NBC announced the debut of numerous new initiatives available exclusively on the popular site. NBC News' "Today" and iVillage will partner to offer women, and occasionally men, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be made over on "Today." Once per month, one lucky person will get expert advice on fashion, fitness, make-up and hair to help them achieve their full potential. Every day, women can come to the iVillage "Makeover Central," the ultimate online destination for beauty and fashion makeovers. iVillage's vibrant community of women will be able to share their best "looks" along with their favorite styles, beauty products, tips and makeover success stories. It begins tomorrow (May 16) on "Today," when they kick off the first makeover contest pegged to Fathers Day.

Another new program scheduled to launch in December is "iVillage Live." Filmed on location at Universal Studios Orlando, "iVillage Live" will be dedicated to delivering the information and advice that millions of iVillage users have come to depend upon. From parenting and pregnancy to health and beauty and style, this daily 1-hour program will air on the NBC Universal Owned and Operated stations and will be streamed live on iVillage.com.

It was also announced that "Access Hollywood" and iVillage are partnering to bring both viewers and users "Access Hollywood Celebrity Horoscopes." From Tom Cruise to Britney Spears to Steve Carell, "Access Horoscopes" will reveal what the stars predict for the stars. Weekly segments will air on "Access Hollywood" and other segments will be streamed on the newly re-designed AccessHollywood.com, as well as the iVillage-owned Astrology.com.

Additionally, NBC is now giving users a superior way to view all of this new content. Beginning this month, all of the NBC Universal web properties will be debuting a newly-developed media player giving consumers and advertisers a best-in-class experience. Designed with both in mind, it features Flash based technology, making additional downloads unnecessary for consumers, and the largest and best quality companion ad space currently available on the web. Because of the uniformity of the player, advertisers will be able to buy ads across all of our NBC Universal sites: NBC, our owned and operated television stations, USA, SCI FI, Bravo, Access Hollywood and iVillage, with access to more than 50 million unique users per month online.

More highlights of the 2006-07 digital components include:

From executive producer Greg Daniels and exclusively on NBC.com, 30 standalone webisodes of "The Office." The first set of 10, which will begin streaming this summer, star the accounting staff of Dunder Mifflin.

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will offer viewers a new, interactive component this season. Each week, rookie detectives at home will be able to log onto NBC.com to get an exclusive detective's briefing from the captain. Once the preliminary facts of the case are known, it's up to the online detective to figure out who the killer is before the episode even airs. To find out if they've actually solved the case, players will watch the episode and compare their skills to the on-air detectives. All correct solutions will be entered into the season-end drawing for a prize.

"Heroes," the freshman drama, is suited well for the web, allowing us to build a mythology around the characters and giving viewers extra content which will be presented in an online, animated comic book. From comic book designer Tim Sale, best known for his "Batman" illustrations, the online plots will compliment the on air story and deepen the relationship between characters and audience.

From "Friday Night Lights" comes a weekly online webisode in which the coach's daughter documents the goings-on in town for the school yearbook. She will chronicle the official team events and the not-so-official parties and other events.

And from Tina Fey's new comedy series, "30 Rock," consumers can find the show-behind-the-show at NBC.com. Viewers will see the show's actual comedy sketches that appear only briefly on the air. The fictional show will exist solely online.

On the reality side, NBCU will have the premium SMS game component with "Treasure Hunters" in which viewers will have the chance to solve the on air puzzle and then compete in a treasure hunt of their own � filmed exclusively for online audiences.

"Deal Or No Deal" will return with an online competition where users submit video for the chance to be the next suitcase model on the show as well as a live blog from the infamous Banker.

"The Biggest Loser" will feature an online show featuring the contestants who didn't make it on air. They will be given video cameras to film their weekly training routines. The winner, selected by the online audience, will appear on the on air show.

NBC's late-night programming will also be expanded digitally. Beginning with "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and its completely redesigned home page, NBC will offer a number of new video features. Next season, viewers will be able to visit the "Cutting Room Floor" to watch the pre-produced comedy bits that won't be seen on-air. There will be exclusive backstage tours and interviews from "Tonight Show" personalities John Melendez and Ross the Intern. In addition, the newest video offering will be "Jay's Garage," from his actual garage in which Jay will answer car-related questions from viewers, offer automotive tips and give sneak peeks of his favorite models.

"Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will also feature a completely redesigned home page on NBC.com with many new site features and extensive video features including 200 video clips from the show as well as an original and exclusive animated series created for NBC.com, called "Pale Force."

Similarly, there is a totally redesigned site for "Saturday Night Live" which will feature a historical timeline, a searchable "SNL" database, a community message board, highlights of every "Weekend Update" in the show's 31-year history, a historical look at key cast members playing U.S. presidents and much more.

On the heels of the incredibly successful "Passions Red" webisodes, NBC Daytime has launched original, exclusive online webisodes of the next installment, "Passions Vendetta" this season. Based on the great success of the two, next year NBC will introduce an entirely online soap that will be even sexier, called "The Cove," a "Passions"-themed series that will focus on existing characters as well as newly created ones and will air in two, five-minute webisodes per week.





  [may 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· 30 ROCK (NBC)
· ACCESS HOLLYWOOD (SYNDICATION)
· BIGGEST LOSER, THE (USA)
· DEAL OR NO DEAL (CNBC)
· HEROES (NBC)
· LAST COMIC STANDING (NBC)
· LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT (USA)
· OFFICE, THE (NBC)
· TREASURE HUNTERS (NBC)





[03/11/26 - 01:44 PM]
Academy Award Winner Tommy Lee Jones Joins Season Two Cast of "The Lowdown" Coming to FX and Hulu
Jones joins previously announced Betty Gilpin in the next season, which begins production this spring in Tulsa.

[03/11/26 - 01:22 PM]
Lifetime Announces Two New "Ripped from the Headlines" Films for Spring
Nancy Travis and Stana Katic are among the featured talent.

[03/11/26 - 01:00 PM]
FOX Entertainment Studios Signs Development Commitment with Frankie Quinones for New Comedy Series
Quiñones is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian and actor known for his viral character, "Creeper" and for starring in the Hulu comedy series "This Fool."

[03/11/26 - 11:30 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Watched Women's College Basketball Regular Season Since 2008-09
ESPN networks were home to six of the top 10 women's college basketball regular season games across all networks this season and 29 of the top 30 on cable.

[03/11/26 - 11:01 AM]
98th Oscars Rounds Out Show Presenters
Rose Byrne, Nicole Kidman, Jimmy Kimmel, Delroy Lindo, Ewan McGregor, Wagner Moura, Pedro Pascal, Bill Pullman, Lewis Pullman, Channing Tatum and Sigourney Weaver are all on tap.

[03/11/26 - 10:05 AM]
Josh Gates Returns with an All-New Season of "Expedition Files," Revealing Striking New Revelations Behind History's Biggest Mysteries
The series is returning with a brand-new season on Wednesday, April 1 at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel.

[03/11/26 - 10:01 AM]
HBO Original Comedy Special "Color Theories by Julio Torres" Debuts March 27
In his second HBO comedy special, Peabody-winner Julio Torres presents a helpful guide to understanding the world through his playful interpretations of colors.

[03/11/26 - 09:31 AM]
Video: MLB Opening Night: Yankees vs. Giants - Official Trailer - Netflix
The 2026 Major League Baseball season leads off on Netflix, with Yankees vs. Giants in a star-studded opener live at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

[03/11/26 - 09:01 AM]
Date & Cast Announcement: Hulu's "Love Overboard"
Produced by Alex Cooper's Unwell Productions and Jeff Jenkins Productions, "Love Overboard" premieres Thursday, March 26 with all nine episodes on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.

[03/11/26 - 09:01 AM]
Nikki Glaser Returns to Host "The 84th Annual Golden Globes" Airing Sunday, Jan. 10, 2027 on CBS and Paramount+
Glaser said, "I'm thrilled to host the Golden Globes for a third time, not only because it's the greatest gig I've ever had, but because my sister has three kids and now we will be equal in the eyes of my parents and the Lord."

[03/11/26 - 07:04 AM]
"#SKYKING," the Gripping New Documentary Set to Make Its World Premiere at SXSW 2026, Premieres on Hulu April 14
The feature-length documentary tells the story of Richard "Beebo" Russell, who captured the world's attention when he stole a commercial plane and took off on a flight that would come to embody the dreams and despair of the American working class, while offering a look at the US mental health crisis.

[03/11/26 - 07:02 AM]
New Episodes of "Rick and Morty" Premiere May 24 on Adult Swim
Get ready to portal-jump back into the multiverse - Adult Swim's #1 series returns with a season that's bigger, bolder, and more ambitious than ever.

[03/11/26 - 07:01 AM]
"Friday Night Baseball" Returns to Apple TV on March 27 for Its Fifth Season
Highlights include the storied New York Subway Series matchup between the Yankees and Mets, plus multiple appearances by reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

[03/11/26 - 06:47 AM]
Matt Vasgersian Joins NBC Sports as a Play-by-Play Voice for "MLB Sunday Leadoff" on Peacock and NBCSN
Vasgersian, who spent the last five years as a Los Angeles Angels TV play-by-play voice, will continue his role at MLB Network, a position he has held since its inception in 2009.

[03/11/26 - 06:31 AM]
Video: "The Hawk" - Lonnie Hawkins Character Reveal - Netflix
One of the greatest names in golf history (that you're somehow only just hearing about), American hero Lonnie "The Hawk" Hawkins is Will Ferrell's newest original character.