This week marked the debut of “Pond Life,” a short series of internet-exlusive lead-in episodes for the new season of Doctor Who (Season 7 and/or 32, if memory serves.) The series isn’t complete as of this writing, but, as the title implies, it focuses on the Ponds, Amy and Rory, and what their life is like when The Doctor isn’t around. I’m a big fan of value-added content, and I’m extra-happy to find these episodes available on BBC’s website rather than having to pay a premium for ’em. Of course, as Rodrigo will tell you, there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and even PBS will run pledge breaks to keep the lights burning…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced “Gah-Lee-Fray”) is sorry… So, so sorry, asking: Do you think it’s better that this kind of additional content be provided for free or should it be monetized to support the parent program (or programme?)
6 Comments
I think some of the free stuff is a pretty good way to bring in more people or bring back people who haven’t paid much attention in a while. If it generates enough new interest or makes people interested again, then they will make more money in the long run as more people buy the other items (DVDs, books, toys, etc).
I think this campaign was a success from a marketing viewpoint.
They obviously had the budget for it and chose this route instead of straight up television or print ads.
I think this gives them two major benefits.
Firstly, the amount of free advertising they are getting from this provides a great offset from the cost of production.
Secondly, they can reuse this footage as part of the special features for the inevitable box set.
Good job for the Who crew and BBC!
I love when this kind of stuff gets made. I support the idea of put it out for time for free, say until after season 7, then package it on the season dvd. Sure it may ha available on the internet somewhere but they can make money off of it at the same time. I could see this working for movies as well, put the blooper reel or bonus scenes online but also on your DVD, even a “special edition” and the fams will pay for it.
Free, this is the kind of program to keep someone interested during the break from the usual airing.
A few years back, Lost had some viral campaigns running during the summer that tied in directly with the show, but was not mandatory to the understanding of the production. That is something that helped keep me hooked on the show.
While I’m all for spending some money to support my favorite programs, a lot of the additional content I’ve seen usually isn’t worth paying for, simply because they work better as extras on the DVD rather than standalone content. As has been pointed out, I think this kind of additional content works better as a viral means of attracting more viewers, rather making more money directly.
Free, of course. If it’s free, then you have no compunctions about sharing this really cool thing you’ve found.