It seems the company is taking some queues from the successful YouTube model by adding some features such as; full-screen viewing, closed captioning and the ability to embed video links for blogs and social networking sites like MySpace.
"Having come out of the gate with the first player in the space, we're continually looking at how we expand and provide a better experience from our users," said Alexis Rapo, vp digital media at ABC Entertainment.
Launched in 2006, ABC.com became the first full-episode player online. As of April, it is the dominant one with 8.9 million unique users, surpassing any other broadcasters, according to Nielsen Online. ABC.com also leads in minutes spent per user.
The user interface has been redesigned with new navigation and search features that allow users to comb series offerings graphically, alphabetically, by genre or popularity. ABC has also added a feature which allows for content recommendations that suggests programs based on a viewer's choices.
The old viewer on ABC.com previously trapped the video inside a browser window, the new player will allow the image to take up the entire monitor. The viewer also will have the option of choosing from a variety of screen sizes, as well as picking standard or high definition. Users also can send links that can be posted elsewhere online, where they can launch cued to a particular scene mid-episode. Video on ABC.com also will be more easy to sift through, with thumbnail images that offer a glimpse of the story line progression in each episode.
The new player will be tested in a closed beta over the summer before launching ahead of ABC's premiere week in the fall.
Written by: Dave Horvath @ 22 May 2008 13:40
