Are Online Shows Fair to Viewers?

Are Online Shows Fair to Viewers? An increasing amount of web-based television shows and their swift cancellation in the middle of dramatic storylines teaches viewers to wait and watch rather than get interested in a cancelled series.

The first wave of Internet broadcast television shows has now passed, and viewers are learning some sharp lessons. Television network companies have decided to abruptly cancel shows, even ones with loyal internet viewer ships and fan followings.

Netshows, or online versions of regular television shows broadcast for free with commercial sponsorship online, have begun in earnest. These are the same shows broadcast on regular television, but Internet viewers can access them online at the network websites.

This means those who missed "Desperate Housewives" can catch up at work or at their laptop over travel or lunch times. This can also mean the casual trip to the coffee shop is also quality television viewing of "Gray's Anatomy", or the latest installment of "Survivor".

But the major networks have now discovered that online viewership is a tool for popularizing new shows. The catch: once they hitch an audience they don't deliver on what they promise. Many shows on regular television have been canceled teaching online viewers they may want to hold off building loyalty to a show even their own network doesn't have full faith in.

Should fans wait until a network orders a full season before getting invested in the workings of a new show? T's the fans who are disappointed when a network abruptly terminates its deal with a production company making episodes. The viewers online are left stranded, wondering what happened to the storyline. Is this really the relationship network television companies want to have with prospective viewers?