Early next year, In2TV, a new broadband network from AOL and Warner Bros., will allow you to watch buttloads of old shows for free.
Yeah, you have to sit through some commercials, but still, it'll be interesting to see some shows that for one reason or another, aren't on TV right now. Plus, they're planning to offer bonus content like trivia along with the episodes.
What cracks me up is this quote from Larry Jones, the president of TV Land and Nick at Nite:
"We pick the best of the best from multiple studios," he said. "I don't know if viewers are ready for so much choice. Ultimately what [In2TV] does is force viewers to be their own programmers."
God forbid we actually decide what to watch instead of getting the same prepackaged crapfests offered on Nick at Nite and TV Land.
Okay, that's perhaps a bit harsh. They have some classic TV on those channels. Alas, it's all the same stuff over and over.
I'm not saying that I'm going to be glued to my computer watching episode after episode of "Welcome Back, Kotter" or "Growing Pains" (the best show ever to have a secondary character named 'Boner').
"Wonder Woman," maybe.But just to theoretically have the opportunity to pick what you want to watch from a large selection is kind of neat. Sometimes one or two episodes is all you need to fill you up, you know? I don't need "Hazel" to be in heavy rotation. I just want to see it once or twice. That's all.
If you think about it, TV Land and N@N could think of this service as test marketing. All they have to do is look at the most downloaded shows, and if it's something they have in their available libraries, add it to the lineup and promote the hell out of it. This eliminates some guesswork, doesn't it?
One step closer to programming my own network...
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