TV + the Web = ?
How the Internet is affecting what -- and how -- we watch
Earlier this year, Toyota Motor Corp. got some startling news. Walt Disney Co., which produces "Desperate Housewives," was planning to make the show available online free. Toyota spends millions of dollars to advertise on "Housewives" -- and all that money would potentially go to waste if viewers watched the show in another venue.
Toyota could have given Disney an earful. Instead, the car maker signed up for a full slate of ads in the online version of "Housewives," to complement its commercials in the regular show. The company's logic was that online viewers were more likely to be avid fans, who would stay engaged while the commercials played.
THE JOURNAL REPORT
See the complete Technology report on the Web and television, the usefulness of Linux, wireless networks and more.More broadly, the move was yet another sign of a seismic shift in home entertainment: Once two distinct fiefdoms, the worlds of television and the Internet are coming together fast -- and that means big changes for networks, advertisers and viewers.
Already, networks are making shows available online, whether on their own sites or through a service such as iTunes. Some are going even further, creating programs exclusively for the Web -- a step that could eventually make the Internet a proving ground for television shows. Meanwhile, creative teams outside the television industry are producing their own online series -- leading some experts to speculate that Internet companies like AOL could morph into de facto networks as well.
From a viewer's perspective, all of this obviously means lots of new choices -- more shows to watch and more say in when you watch them. But the Web also gives the public something more subtle: creative power. Not only can die-hards discuss their favorite shows on message boards, they can create high-tech tributes online, such as "best of" video montages. Sometimes networks welcome these efforts, but in many cases they take a hard line, cracking down on fan content that violates copyright.
THE FUTURE OF WEB TV
Wall Street Journal Video: WSJ's Sarah McBride offers an overview of how the television industry is adapting to the Internet.
Journal Podcast: Jay Amato, one of the creators of the Web-based series "In Men We Trust," discusses how Web programs may end up affecting their broadcast counterparts.Advertisers, meanwhile, are beginning to follow networks and viewers online. Like Toyota, many ad buyers relish the chance to get access to the most devoted fans. And they look forward to a time when they can use the Web's data-gathering capabilities to get a breakdown of who's watching a show and create ads targeted to each demographic segment.
Paving the way for these changes is one powerful trend: These days, people are spending as much time in front of a computer as a television -- in some cases, even more. Adults spend about 14 hours a week watching TV and 14 online, compared with 11 watching TV and 10 online two years ago, according to JupiterResearch. Young adults, ages 18 to 24, spend about 10 hours a week online, two hours more than they spend watching TV. Many don't even own TVs but have laptops.
For television companies, embracing the Internet -- for distributing existing shows as well as for creating new content -- is not optional, some experts say. "If traditional media companies don't participate in emerging technologies, then the pirate market will serve that audience," says Eric Garland, chief executive of BigChampagne LLC, a Beverly Hills, Calif., company that measures online audiences. "You can build a market, or you can try to steal it back" from illegal operators, such as sites that let users download whole TV shows.
Many in the industry agree. Broadband Internet and digital technology are "going to become extremely important and major elements of distribution" for television networks, says Rick Cotton, general counsel at General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal. But "the question of where the balance will lie, will one [medium] overtake the other, it's hard to predict."
THE INFO HIGHWAY An interactive map of locations in the series "Veronica Mars," created by a fan
Some experts think TV and the Internet will end up moving so close that they'll begin to blur together. The day will come when "you have a browser on your TV, everything is on demand," says Jonathan Taplin, an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication.
Still, few believe that television is going away entirely because of the Internet. TV has proved enormously resilient, surviving onslaughts from cable and satellite to the VCR and DVD. There's no reason to think its executives won't adjust this time, too.
Here's a look at how this new media landscape is changing the relationships among networks, viewers and advertisers -- and what it could mean for the future of entertainment.
THE NETWORKS
The networks have already taken a huge first step into this new arena. They're using the Web as a new distribution channel for their shows -- instead of just a place where TV viewers can get program listings and other information.
The logic: Putting shows on the Web helps the networks reach an audience that might not catch the show on the regular airwaves. The strategy is still in its infancy, but it faces some big questions. Network affiliates, which rely on local ad revenue from network shows, complain that Internet broadcasts could siphon viewers from regular television instead of adding new ones. And there are longer-term questions -- such as what happens when shows that have been available on the Internet head into reruns.
Does Internet distribution "devalue the syndication? Does it potentially diminish the demand for that product because of the wear-out factor?" asks Bill Koenigsberg, president and chief executive of Horizon Media Inc., a media-services agency in New York.
Still, the results so far seem positive. Industry experts point to the success of "The Office," an NBC comedy that saw a spike in viewers after iTunes started selling episodes of the show in December. The show now has an average weekly broadcast audience of 8.9 million for its new episodes, about one million more than in the September-November period.
The experts say that going online helped build an audience among people who didn't watch at the scheduled time. It also made it easier for word-of-mouth to spread. Fans could tell friends, "Download an episode, you'll love it," and the newcomers could watch the show immediately instead of waiting for the broadcast time. (Some observers note that other factors, such as a switch to Thursdays from Tuesdays, may also have helped.)
Some experts predict that in the next few years Internet viewership will soar. What that will mean for broadcast television is less certain. The Annenberg School's Mr. Taplin thinks that aggregate viewership of shows will rise, but television viewership will fall as more viewers migrate online to watch shows at their convenience. That, in turn, may force advertisers and ratings organizations like Nielsen Media Research to think more flexibly about how they count viewers. Already, Nielsen has said it plans to spend the rest of the year evaluating the best way to measure online audiences.
The new environment also poses creative challenges for the networks. As online viewership rises, will people want to watch the same types of shows that they do on regular television?
Networks are already creating programs that are better suited to the Web than to traditional television. On the Web site for the NBC show "Passions," a minishow is unfolding about a mysterious monk, a new character being introduced online. New episodes, each just a few minutes long, come out twice a week; viewers can click on screen images for clues about the monk, whose identity will be revealed June 1. The mystery man will then factor subsequent episodes of the regular broadcast show.
Currently, such shows are simply adjuncts to regular broadcast programs. But they could become attractions in and of themselves.
THE ADVERTISERS
For advertisers, Web television delivers a dream audience of dedicated fans. "The fact they've gone and sought it out [online] indicates they're pretty loyal, passionate viewers of a show," says Mark Simmons, national manager of advertising strategy and media for Toyota, which advertises on many of Disney's online shows. "It's a step beyond appointment viewing."
Even better, since Web television doesn't have a fast-forward button -- yet -- viewers must sit through commercials. Then there's the promise of demographic data. It would be a simple step to have users register before watching a show online, giving a few pieces of personal information. Advertisers could use that data to segment the audience by factors such as age, gender and ZIP Code -- and then create tailored ads for each group.
Toyota hasn't gone that far, but it has made at least one big choice based on online demographics: which cars to advertise on Web television shows. For instance, the company found that potential buyers of its Yaris model are what they call "deep divers" who are very involved in pop culture. They are more likely, for example, to watch "Lost" episodes twice to make sure they didn't miss anything, or to get involved in fan sites. Since that profile also fits people who watch television shows online, Toyota opted to advertise the Yaris on Web shows.
Meanwhile, the car maker is experimenting with different commercial formats. In the online version of "Desperate Housewives," Toyota has a 10-second commercial at the beginning of the show, and three spots within it. When the slots come up, viewers can watch a traditional 30-second ad, look at still photos of Toyota cars for the same amount of time or click on a link to the Toyota Web site.
Several companies advertise on Disney's online shows, but viewers see only one company's ads each time they watch a program. If they watch a show multiple times, they see different sets of commercials. (Most other online TV offerings -- such as In2TV from Time Warner Inc. and AOL -- have limited commercial breaks, as Disney does, but usually show more than one sponsor's ads in an episode.)
Toyota says it might also consider interactive product placement, allowing viewers to click on cars appearing in a show and get more information about them. Mr. Simmons says the technology isn't quite there yet, but it's a possibility down the road.
Toyota says it's too early to tell how the online shows will affect the company's relationship with Disney, or its regular TV advertising. The car maker also won't disclose what it's paying for the online ads. Disney hasn't set regular rates for the shows, but they are likely to be considerably less than the $550,000 to $650,000 the network charges for a 30-second ad on the broadcast version of "Lost" or "Desperate Housewives."
THE AUDIENCE
For viewers, online shows hold one big advantage: even greater "time shifting." Not only can people watch shows when they want -- as a VCR or DVR allows them to do -- but also where they want, whether on a computer or portable gadget. Viewers will also get more choices about what to watch as more shows head online and networks create more Internet-only offerings.
Even more choices will come from outside the network mainstream. Already, amateur video clips have become a mainstay of the Web, spreading to millions of viewers by word-of-mouth alone. Now some professional producers are trying to do more with Web videos. They're creating episodic stories online -- essentially, short-form TV series -- and hoping that the Web will bring free publicity.
For instance, PersonalScreen Media LLC, a New York online-entertainment company, has put together "In Men We Trust," a Web show whose 10-minute episodes will chronicle three New York women's search for Mr. Right. The show, which isn't online yet, uses an innovative method of sponsorship. Advertisers, including Kroll Vodka and Saks.com, arrange to have their products included in the show. Then viewers can click on a character's dress, for example, and information about the designer and price will pop up while the show plays. Sponsors either pay to have products included, or have a pay-per-click agreement with PersonalScreen.
Sometime in the next year or two, many online executives predict, an online show will emerge that attracts millions of viewers. Eventually, online video distributors like AOL or MSN could become next-generation networks, with dozens of shows in their stables.
Still, television will likely remain the gold standard for video. Michael Salort and Jay Amato, the duo behind "In Men We Trust," are pitching the program to traditional media companies for potential development into a regular over-the-airwaves show. Many television executives are open to that kind of pitch. At some point soon, "there could be [broadcast] content that originates online, and we're looking at that type of content," says Peter Levinsohn, president of digital media for News Corp.'s Fox.
Along with new viewing choices, the Web lets people get involved with their favorite shows in creative new ways. For years, enthusiasts have gathered online to discuss plot twists, share theories and script alternative endings. Now, thanks to evolving technology and widely available digital content, fans can take snippets of shows and repackage them, drawing thousands of eyeballs in the process.
Take "24," the counterterrorism show set in Los Angeles. One rabid fan used Google to create a map, the Jacktracker, showing every place the show's hero, Jack Bauer, visits in a single episode. Accompanying text dissects whether the trip was physically possible in the show's time frame, given Los Angeles's clogged highways and sprawling layout. The map's creator, Bob Hanifen, a lawyer and writer for travel site Gridskipper.com, updates his creation religiously.
"It used to be that we only had to worry about people in Los Angeles knowing that something might not be possible," says Evan Katz, one of the show's executive producers. But he doesn't plan to let the Jacktracker affect the show. "The time that we don't do a good story because there would have been too much traffic, would have been the wrong decision."
This new power in the hands of fans means that their relationship with the networks is changing, and not always for the better. When a video that appeared on "Saturday Night Live" became a viral hit on the Internet, NBC pulled out the big guns. The network sent letters to the sites that hosted the clip, asking them to take it down at once, as part of a campaign to rid the Internet of all unauthorized NBC content. Most complied. These days, the clip is available free on NBC's Web site, or as a $1.99 download on iTunes.
"You have to balance what fans like to do with the show versus what is legally appropriate," says Albert Cheng, executive vice president of the Disney-ABC television group. Adds Mr. Levinsohn of Fox: "We should try to embrace it and support it, but it should be done within the confines of what's legal."
Still, some industry experts argue for a laissez-faire approach to the fans' efforts. "The more engaged a user or viewer becomes in the content, the more of a fan they're going to be, the more they're going to tell their friends, and the more chance [the show] will be picked up again the following season," says Rob Bennett, general manager for entertainment and video at Microsoft Corp.'s MSN, which runs authorized video clips from dozens of television shows on its site. "This is passion you want to encourage," says Erik Flannigan, vice president for programming at AOL, a big player in the online television space.
Fans make the same argument. For instance, an avid viewer of the mystery series "Veronica Mars" has created an interactive map showing locations from the program. Why? "It's another way of generating publicity for 'Veronica Mars,' and we're constantly on the bubble in terms of ratings," says the map's creator, a 40-year-old college professor who prefers that her name not be used.
Some people who work on network shows are sympathetic to this view. Rob Thomas, executive producer of "Veronica Mars," says he wasn't familiar with the map, but he has seen other fan-created material on the Internet, such as clips from episodes put to music. "None of that bothers me," he says, largely because the fans are doing it out of appreciation, not for financial gain. Mr. Thomas says he sometimes even uses fans' opinions to guide storylines. For instance, he provided more glimpses into a prickly character's likable side after she inspired vitriolic posts on fan sites.
Some experts predict this type of collaboration between fans and creators will become the norm. Justin Beckett, founder of Fluid Audio Networks, a digital self-publishing company in Los Angeles, sees a day when auditions for new characters on various shows will air live on the Internet, with fans voting for who should get the role, much in the style of "American Idol."
Industry insiders are more dubious about giving fans a regular say in how a show turns out. Mr. Thomas notes that production teams are usually working four to six episodes ahead of the show that airs in a given week, and often there's not time "to shift gears much."
电视 + 网络= ？
今年早些时候，丰田汽车(Toyota Motor Corp.)获悉了一个惊人的消息：华特迪士尼准备把《绝望主妇》(Desperate Housewives)系列剧放到互联网上免费播映。丰田在这个系列剧中投放了上千万美元的广告，如果通过电视以外的其他媒介来播放这部电视剧，它的广告投资就有可能付之东流。
然而，丰田非但没有抱怨迪士尼，而且还签下了《绝望主妇》网路版的大量广告版面，作为对电视广告的补充。丰田的逻辑是，网路观众可能是更忠实的影迷，即使在播放广告时他们也不会走开。
从更广泛的意义上讲，丰田此举是表明家庭娱乐产业发生了翻天覆地变化的又一个迹象。两个原先毫不相干的产业──电视和互联网正在迅速地融合，从而给电视网、广告客户和观众带来了巨大的变化。
电视网制作的节目如今已经通过自己的网站或是诸如iTunes一类的服务走向了互联网。有些电视网走得更远，竟开始制作仅在互联网上播出的电视节目。此举最终可能使得互联网成为一个试播电视节目的新平台。与此同时，一些来自电视产业以外的富有创意的团队正在制作自己的网路系列节目。有鉴于此，一些专家甚至放言美国线上(AOL)等互联网巨头可能摇身一变成为一家电视网。
从观众的角度来看，节目拿到网路上播放意味著许多新选择的诞生，例如，可以看到更多的节目，在选择观看时间方面观众可以有更多的自主权。互联网还给观众带来了一个更微妙的东西──创造力。忠实影迷不仅可以在互联网公告栏中畅谈他们最喜爱的节目，还可以利用高科技在互联网上对原有剧情进行发挥创造，例如，一些十分出色的蒙太奇视频片断就出自他们之手。有些时候电视网对观众的这种创造表示欢迎，但绝大多数情况下，他们对此并不予以鼓励。一旦版权受到侵犯，他们就会坚决捍卫自己的利益。
与此同时，广告客户也步电视网和观众的后尘投身于网路大潮之中。许多像丰田一样的企业乐于获得这样一个与最忠诚观众见面的机会。他们期待有朝一日可以利用互联网的资料搜集功能得到电视观众的具体情况，并根据观众的差异来为他们量身订制广告。
上述变化与这股热潮分不开关系：如今人们花在电脑上的时间不亚于看电视的时间，而且有时花在电脑上的时间更多一些。JupiterResearch的调查显示，成人每周花在电视和互联网上的时间同为14个小时，而两年前他们每周看电视和上网的时间则分别为11个小时和10个小时。在18-24岁年龄段的年轻人中，每周上网的时间则比看电视的时间多出两个小时，分别为10个小时和8个小时，许多年轻人家里甚至没有电视而只有笔记本电脑。
一些专家表示，对于电视公司来说，不论是为了分销现有节目还是为了制作新内容，投身互联网大潮乃大势所趋。BigChampagne LLC的首席执行长埃里克?加兰德(Eric Garland)认为，如果传统媒体公司不愿采纳新技术，盗版市场就会趁虚而入抢走观众。电视网可以营造一个市场，或者，提供整个电视节目的下载服务把观众从盗版者那里夺回来。
许多业内人士对此表示赞同。通用电气旗下NBC Universal的首席法律顾问瑞克?考顿(Rick Cotton)表示，宽带和数位技术将占据极为重要的地位，在电视网分销节目时发挥重要作用。但问题在于互联网何时能够取代电视成为新的主流传播平台，这一点难以预料。
一些专家表示，电视和互联网最终会紧密相连，达到“水乳交融”的地步。南加州大学(University of Southern California)安能柏格传播学院(Annenberg School for Communication)的助教乔纳森?特普林(Jonathan Taplin)表示，如果电视上出现了流览器，观众可以根据其需求来点播所有的节目，那么这一天就到来了。
不过，并没有多少人认为互联网时代的到来意味著电视会完全从人们的视野中消失。事实证明电视有著顽强的生命力，从光缆到卫星电视再到录影机和DVD，这些都没有让电视退出历史舞台。没有理由相信电视网的管理层这次会无动于衷。
下面将要谈到的是传媒行业的新格局正在如何改变电视网、观众和广告客户三者之间的关系，以及这种转变对娱乐业的未来可能产生的影响。
电视网
电视网已经迈开大步登上了这个新舞台。他们把互联网变成了新的节目放映渠道，而不是仅仅把网路当作一个为电视观众提供节目单及其他资讯的平台。
电视网的想法是把节目放到网上放映可以让那些无法收看电视节目的观众也能获得观看节目的机会。这种做法仍处于萌芽状态，但当前面临几个重要问题。比如那些依赖电视节目所创造的本地广告收入生存的电视闸道联企业抱怨说，节目上网播出可能会分流一部分电视观众，而不是创造新的观众。另外还有更长远的问题，如在互联网上播出节目是否会影响到电视播放时的收视效果。
媒体服务机构Horizon Media Inc.的总裁兼首席执行长比尔?科尼斯柏格(Bill Koenigsberg)问道：在互联网上播放是否会影响到节目的销路？大量节目在网上播出是否会让观众产生视觉疲劳，从而影响到产品的需求？
不过，从目前来看，网上播映带来的效果是积极的。业内专家指出，美国全国广播公司(NBC)出品的系列喜剧《办公室》(The Office)就是一个成功的例子。去年12月通过iTunes销售之后，该剧的收视人数直线上升。最新几集每周的平均收视量达到890万人，比9-11月的每周平均收视人数高出100万左右。
专家们表示，节目上网播出可以吸引那些错过节目播出时间的观众。这也为节目凭藉口碑传播提供了便利。观众会向他的朋友推荐，从而形成“一传十、十传百”的多米诺骨牌效应，没有看过节目的观众可以立即从网上下载收看，而不必非要等到节目在电视上播出。（一些观察人士指出，《办公室》的播出时间由周二改到周四等因素或许也对收视率的上升起到了一定的作用。）
一些专家预计，不出几年时间，上网节目的观众人数就会大幅攀升。这对于电视意味著什么目前还是个问号。安能柏格传播学院的特普林认为，节目的累计收视人数将增加，但电视的收视人数将下降，原因是更多的观众选择在方便的时候去网上观看。由此一来，这或许会迫使广告客户和尼尔森媒体研究(Nielsen Media Research)等调研机构考虑用更灵活的方法来统计收视人数。尼尔森已经表示，准备在今年剩下的时间里去研究衡量互联网电视观众人数的最佳途径。
新形势也给电视网的创新能力带来了挑战。随著上网节目受众面的扩大，人们是否愿意在网上看到和普通电视中一模一样的节目？
电视网已经制作了一些更适合在网上而不是电视中播出的节目。如在NBC电视剧《热情》(Passions)的网站上出现了一个讲述一位神秘僧侣的短片，一个新角色就这样在网上诞生了。每周有两集新内容发布，每集只有几分钟。观众可以点击萤幕上的图像来获取有关这名僧侣的线索，这位神秘僧侣的身份会在日后公布，而他将对接下来的常规剧集内容产生影响。
目前来看，网上播放的节目还只是电视节目的一个附属品。但假以时日，它们有望挑起收视率的大梁。
广告客户
对于广告客户而言，网路电视为他们带来了一个梦寐以求的受众面──忠实的影迷。丰田负责全美广告策略及媒体的主管马克?西蒙斯(Mark Simmons)表示，这些观众上网看节目表明他们是非常忠实、非常热情的观众。他们在观看传统电视节目的基础上又向前迈出了一步。
更重要的是，网路电视没有快进键，观众不能用快进功能略过广告。网路电视的另一个好处在于它还可以带来消费者的相关资讯。让客户填写资料之后方能收看网上节目可以轻松获得用户的一些资讯。广告客户可以根据年龄、性别、邮编等资讯对观众进行细分，然后为不同的群体量身定制广告。
丰田还没有走得那么远，但至少迈出了重要一步：它根据网上统计而来的资讯决定在互联网节目中投放哪些车型的广告。丰田发现其Yaris车型的潜在购买人群是热衷于流行文化的人。这些消费者更有可能把一集《迷失》的剧情看上两遍，以确保没有错过任何细节，或者，他们更热衷于访问节目迷们的网站。既然这个特点适用于所有在网上看电视的人群，丰田决定在网路节目中做Yaris的广告。
与此同时，丰田还在尝试不同形式的广告。在《绝望主妇》的网路版中，丰田在每集开始的时候投放了一个10秒钟的广告，并在节目中间插播3个小广告。广告时间到来时，观众可以看到一个30秒钟的广告，观看30秒的丰田汽车的静态照片，或者点击链结进入丰田的网站。
有几家公司在迪士尼的网上节目中投放了广告，但观众只有在收看节目时才能看到这家公司的广告。如果他们多次观看一个节目，他们就会看到不同的广告。（其他的大部分互联网节目，如时代华纳的In2TV，也像迪士尼一样在节目中安排了广告片段，但通常在一集中播放多个广告客户的广告。）
丰田表示，有可能考虑投放互动式广告，允许观众点击节目中出现的车辆，获取车辆的更多资讯。西蒙斯表示，相关技术目前还不大成熟，但将来有望派上用场。
丰田表示，现在讨论互联网电视将对该公司与迪士尼的关系及在传统电视上投放广告产生什么影响还为时过早。丰田不愿透露在互联网电视中投放广告的花销。迪士尼没有为网路节目制定收费标准，但比起在电视上播放《迷失》或《绝望主妇》时投放30秒钟广告所花的550，000-650，000美元比起来应该会低很多。
观众
对于观众而言，节目上网有一个很大的好处：即更加灵活的时间选择。观众不仅可以自由选择观看的时间（拥有录影机和DVR也能做到这一点），而且还可凭藉电脑或便携设备灵活选择观看的地点。随著更多节目搬上网路以及电视网推出更多只在网上播出的节目，观众们将拥有更大的选择余地。
此外，非专业人士也给观众带来更多的选择。业余爱好者制作的视频片断已经在互联网上大行其道，仅凭口碑就赢得了数以百万计的观众。现在，一些专业制片人还把网路视频短片当作了扬名立万的媒介，他们在网上推出了系列节目（相当于电视短片），利用互联网这个免费平台让自己成为家喻户晓的人物。
例如，纽约网路娱乐公司PersonalScreen Media LLC推出了《In Men We Trust》网路系列剧，每集为10分钟，讲述的是三位纽约女子对怀特先生的追求历程。这部尚未在网上播出的网路剧吸引广告客户的方法颇具创意。Kroll Vodka、Saks.com等客户已经在系列剧中布置了他们的产品。例如，观众可以点击人物的服装，有关服装设计师的资讯和价格就会在节目播放过程中显示。广告客户可以根据囊括的产品数量或观众的点击率来选择付费。
互联网业内的许多管理人士预测说，今后一两年内，一个网上节目的收视面将达到数百万人。美国线上、MSN等互联网视频分销商可能成为新一代的电视网，他们可以提供上百套的网上节目。
不过，作为节目播出媒介的电视还会继续存在下去。《In Men We Trust》的两位幕后策划者Michael Salort和Jay Amato正在向传统媒体公司推销这个节目，希望能够把这个节目拿到电视上播放。电视网的许多管理人士并不排斥网路节目的推广。新闻集团子公司福克斯(Fox)负责数字媒体的总裁皮特?列文索恩(Peter Levinsohn)表示，网路原创内容用不了多久可能就会被搬上银屏，我们期待著看到这类创作。
除了收视选择更加丰富之外，互联网还为观众提供了参与他们最喜爱节目的新途径。过去，观众们只能聚集在网上讨论剧情、交流观点和为节目设想其他的结局。如今，得益于科技的进步和数位内容的随手可得，忠实影迷可以截取节目的片断然后重新进行包装，吸引数以千计的观众。
拿以洛杉矶为背景的反恐电视剧《24 反恐任务》来说，一位狂热的影迷使用谷歌(Google)制作了一份称为“Jacktracker”的地图，描绘出主人公杰克?鲍尔(Jack Bauer)在片中走访过的每个地点。旁边的文字根据洛杉矶拥堵的交通和混乱的建筑格局对鲍尔在某时现身某地是否符合实际进行了分析。地图的作者Bob Hanifen是一位律师，兼为旅游网站Gridskipper.com撰稿，他在对地图进行著孜孜不倦的更新。
《24 反恐任务》的执行制片人伊雯?凯兹(Evan Katz)表示，我们过去常常担心住在洛杉矶的人们知道哪些情节是不切实际的。但他并不准备让Jacktracker来影响剧情的发展。他说，我们的某些情节之所以失真是因为当时的交通状况太糟糕了，出现在那里肯定是个错误的决定。
影迷手中掌握了新武器意味著他们与电视网的关系正在发生转变，但这种转变不见得都是朝著好的方向发展。当一个出现在美国老牌综艺节目“Saturday Night Live”中的视频片断在互联网上风靡时，美国全国广播公司就拿起了法律武器来捍卫自己的权益。为了配合打击互联网上侵犯其版权的活动，该公司致函播放视频片断的网站，要求它们立即撤下这个视频片断。大多数网站遵从了美国全国广播公司的要求。如今，这个片断可以在美国全国广播公司的网站上免费下载，或者花费1.99美元从iTunes下载。
迪士尼-ABC的执行副总裁Albert Cheng表示，需要仔细掂量影迷的行为哪些是合法的、哪些是非法的。我们应该欢迎和支持影迷，但前提是他们要遵纪守法。
但一些业内专家主张不要对影迷们的行为管得过严。微软MSN部门负责媒体和视频的总经理罗勃?本内特(Rob Bennett)表示，观众在内容上参与得越多，他们的情绪就会越加高涨，宣传起来也就越加卖力，新一集的收视率也就越加可能进一步上升。美国线上节目部的副总裁埃里克?弗莱尼根(Erik Flannigan)说，这正是节目出品人想从观众身上获得的激情。
影迷也持同样的观点。例如，《美眉校探》(Veronica Mars)的一位忠实观众制作了一份地图，显示出剧中涉及到的场所。地图制作者是一位现年40岁的高校教授，要求匿名的她在解释这样做的原因时表示，这是提高该剧知名度的新途径，这部电视剧的收视率一直是位列前茅。
一些在电视网从事过电视剧制作的人士对此表示赞同。《美眉校探》的执行制片人罗伯?汤玛斯(Rob Thomas)表示，他并不熟悉这份地图，但他见到过其他一些由影迷制作并放到网上的内容，如配上音乐的视频片断。他说，他从未反感过影迷们的举动，因为影迷们的行为是从欣赏角度出发的，而不是为了谋利。汤玛斯称，他有时甚至用影迷的观点来引导剧情的发展。例如，当他笔下的一位令人讨厌的女角色在影迷网站上遭到抨击之后，他把更多的笔墨放在了这个人物的可爱一面上。
一些专家预测说，影迷和剧作家之间的互动将来会成为家常便饭。Fluid Audio Networks的创始人加斯丁?贝基特(Justin Beckett)相信，为剧中人物挑选扮演者的试镜过程会在网上进行直播，就像《美国偶像》(American Idol)一样，由影迷来投票决定该由谁来扮演这个角色。
业内人士不大赞同由影迷来决定剧情发展的做法。汤玛斯指出，在节目于某周播出之前，制作团队通常在构思著4-6集的故事情节，往往没有时间对剧本进行大幅调整。
Sarah Mcbride
