From “NBC: iPod Boosts Prime Time“:
NBC’s “The Office” delivered a 5.1-its highest ratings ever-last Thursday among adults 18 to 49, a bump the network credits in large part to the show’s popularity as an iPod download. …
Such a connection between podcast success and broadcast ratings success is particularly significant because the NBC data is among the first available evidence of what network executives have been gambling on when striking their new media deals-that the new video platforms are additive because they provide more entry points into a show for consumers. …
NBC is confident that the iPod exposure contributed to the rise. …
The iTunes offering is bringing new audiences to the show that would not otherwise have watched, said Frederick Huntsberry, president of NBCU Television Distribution. “Consumers have choices, and we are not reaching all consumers with one technology,” he said.
ITunes is one way to bring fresh eyeballs to the network, he said, in particular the younger demo that uses video iPods. …
Yet ABC has also seen a ratings increase for its iTunes shows. To date since their debut on iTunes in October, both “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” are up versus the same period last year. …
That growth and the knowledge that iTunes distribution possibly grew and certainly did not cannibalize ratings gave the ABC Disney Television Group the confidence to add another round of iTunes programs last week …