Fox to Stream Prison Break, Vanished
John Consoli
AUGUST 22, 2006 -
Fox Broadcasting Co. will stream free episodes of second-year drama hit Prison Break and freshman series Vanished, both of which premiered with their new seaso episodes last night, on dozens of Internet portals and Web sites beginning today.
The shows will be available commercial free to viewers across such portals and sites as AOL.com, Google Video, Yahoo!, TVGuide.com, and IGN.com, as well as Fox.com, and others---50 in total.
"To launch our two big thrillers, Prison Break and Vanished, both of which have continuing storylines, it is critical to get viewers invested out of the gate," said Chris Carlisle, executive vp, marketing, Fox. "Our strategy supplies as many opportunities as possible for viewers to sample the first few episodes across the Internet.
The first three episodes of Prison Break and Vanished will be made available for free, as early as the next morning after they air. Each episode will be available for one week until the next original broadcast on Fox.
Prison Break and Vanished both premiered last night on Fox with solid ratings in the fast nationals. Prison Break recorded a 3.7 rating and 12 share in the 18-49 demo, while Vanished produced a 3.0 rating, during a time of summer when overall television viewing levels are lower than the regular fall TV season. Prison Break was down 20 percent in the 18-49 demo over its August 29 premiere last year, but the show did grow its rating from a 3.6 to a 3.9 during the last half hour, a good sign for hour-long shows. Vanished did drop slightly in the second half hour, falling from a 3.1 to a 2.9. The two Fox shows did beat an original episode of Treasure Hunters, the finale on NBC, which recorded a 2.5 rating in the 18-49 demo.
Fox officials are hoping that viewers who missed last night's episodes will be able to catch up with the broad, free, online offering.
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