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http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060319-6412.html

The Office to air web-only episodes this summer

3/19/2006 4:49:37 PM, by Eric Bangeman

Viewers addicted to the goings-on at the Dunder-Mifflin paper company will be able to watch 10 Internet-only episodes of NBC's popular UK import, The Office. Due to be streamed at some point this summer, the story arc will cover a missing "stash of cash" and will feature some of the staff of Dunder-Mifflin that typically gets a lesser amount of air time during regular broadcast episodes.

All of the broadcast networks are faced with the same problem of declining viewership in the face of competition not only from hundreds of niche cable networks, but also from the Internet, video games, and a number of other activities that draw viewers away from the boob tube. Jeff Zucker, the CEO of NBC Universal Television Group, recognizes the problem, and is encouraging would-be producers of TV shows to come to the company with a strategy that extends beyond TV.

Zucker's "TV 360" strategy encompasses wireless and online delivery, in addition to broadcast. Notably, it calls for exactly the thing we'll be seeing ths summer from The Office—content that is not available via the traditional medium of television.

Late last year, NBC cast its lot with Apple's burgeoning iTunes Music Store video offering, and currently offers episodes not only from The Office, but also Law & Order, Conviction, Saturday Night Live, and The Tonight Show, among others. In addition, the network is also making some shows available on demand to DirecTV subscribers who have the company's new DVR for 99¢ each. So far, those moves have paid off for NBC. In particular, the network says ratings for The Office have gone up since the show's debut on iTMS.

NBC and the other networks have experimented with 'Net-based content in the past, but NBC will be the first of the major networks to provide Internet-only episodes. No details are currently available about the format aside from the fact that the shows will be streamed, so we don't know if there will be commercials included with the stream (likely) or whether it will be available on all platforms. One thing is for sure: NBC won't be the only network monitoring the traffic The Office receives. If the webcasts prove to be a hit, look for other shows to follow The Office's lead.