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| Written By Rick
Ellis, Thursday, July 26th, 2007 Ah, the predictable signs of summer. The warm days, the furniture sales, the appearance of the first article proclaiming "Hey, you can download some TV pilots online before they even air!" A number of pilot episodes from upcoming shows have popped up on Bittorrent web sites in recent days, and their appearance has prompted some people to write stories that make it sound as if this event is unusual. In fact, this is easily the fourth or fifth year that fall TV pilots have been leaked online. I won't go over that history again (for that, read my piece from last August entitled "Fall TV Leaked Online? That's So 2004"). But I will observe that the main difference between this year and previous seasons is that the leaks seem to primarily be coming from the networks and/or studios. In previous summers, pilots would come online in huge batches. Their appearance roughly matched the mailing of early screeners to TV critics and advertisers. So it seemed reasonable to assume that's where the shows were coming from. But this summer, whether a show is leaked online seems to be a more calculated decision. It's never clear where the files originate, although you can draw some conclusions by following which titles show up and when. For instance, the pilots for nearly every new Showtime series quickly surface online. Compare that to rival pay cable network HBO, which somehow manages to keep tight reins on its shows. It's not a leap to suspect that someone affiliated with Showtime might be leaking the files as a way to build buzz. At this point, premiere episodes of "Weeds," "Brotherhood" and "Californication" have all shown up online in recent weeks. On the broadcast side, the leaks seem to be more logically coming from someone affiliated with the shows. As an example, Fox's "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" is available online, although the other dramas that appeared on the official Fox screener DVD have not. It's a similar story with ABC's "Pushing Daisies" and NBC's "Chuck" and "Bionic Woman." All of which have appeared online, although they were packaged to critics and advertisers on discs that included other shows which are absent from the online networks. It's probably no mistake that the shows which have appeared online are ones that might be of interest to the young, tech-friendly people who visit Bittorrent web sites on a regular basis. If you were going to leak an episode to start an online buzz, you have a much better shot with "Pushing Daisies" than "Caveman." Leaking the shows online can build a buzz, but despite the effectiveness, its not something that is a guaranteed audience builder. Fans loved ABC's "The Nine," which showed up online months before its premiere airdate. But that buzz wasn't enough to keep the show on the air in the face of unsteady ratings. In the end, leaking pilots online isn't new. Although it might be a new concept to the technology-challenged journalists who seem to find this story every summer in much the same way Lindsay Lohan finds an open bar. |
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