The ever edgy Fox network is digging into its bag of tricks to get the jump on network TV. After learning that Fox.com was getting steady traffic from .edu domains, Fox realized they had another potential market to tap into - college students.
So, in the first move of its kind, Fox is streaming two Fall premieres online simultaneously with their broadcast premieres. Students surfing the web from a college .edu domain will get to see the new supernatural drama “Fringe” on Sept. 8 and the season 2 premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Sept. 9.
Fox president Peter Liguori said, “We’ll see how this experiment goes.”
It’s only a matter of time before other networks like ABC and NBC jump on the college bandwagon. The crucial 18-34 demographic just begins at college level, and everyone is looking for more creative ways to capitalize on it. Not to mention the recent move to digital viewing coupled with an ever increasing bootleg market has taken a significant cut out of Hollywood profits.
Digital viewing was a key point in the negotiation of both SAG and WGA contracts. The latter of which shutdown Hollywood for several months, and has left the industry on shaky ground.
