New Online Viewing Service from ABC in Australia

SYDNEY, July 24: Australia’s
ABC TV is launching ABC iView, a free Internet TV service that delivers
high-resolution, full-screen viewing of content from the public broadcaster on
five channels.

Developed in-house by ABC
Innovation, ABC iView will stream videos to a built-in player. Content is
available from ABC CatchUp, featuring weekly programs from ABC1 and ABC2; ABC
News, with the latest news and current-affairs programs from Australia and
worldwide; ABC Kazam!, a kids’ destination; ABC Docs, which includes a
hand-picked selection of natural-history programs, documentaries and factual
series; and ABC Arts, featuring a schedule that celebrates the arts within the
country and around the world. There is also a sixth channel, ABC Shop, which
plays previews for programs that can be rented or purchased as high-quality
downloads.

Users can watch any of the
channels, or create their own by selecting individual programs and adding them
to a playlist. Programs will be updated regularly, and the amount of content
available will continue to grow throughout the year.

The director of television
for ABC, Kim Dalton, commented: “The way Australians watch television is
changing. People want to enjoy their favorite shows at a time and place
convenient to them. The enormous success ABC TV has had in providing our
content online through vodcasting clearly shows that Australians love to watch
television this way.”

He continued: “ABC iView
offers the convenience and choice of television on your computer, without
having to compromise on the quality of the vision. With five channels on offer
and more in the pipeline, ABC TV continues to set the agenda for the media
industry in Australia.

“ABC TV is committed to
offering diverse and engaging television to Australian audiences. With a
particular emphasis and focus on Australian content. And as Australians spend
more time online and increasingly get some of their entertainment and
information via broadband, we want the ABC to be there with Australian-made
programs and the best of our overseas content. We are redefining television.”

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski