HOLLYWOOD -- Sony Pictures Digital has bubbled up a subscription service that sells online downloads of daily soap operas, representing an unusual chance to scrub new profit opportunities from a kind of entertainment that long has had little opportunity for reuse.
Episodes of "The Young and the Restless" and "As the World Turns" will be available for $1.99 each or $9.99 for a monthly subscription to either show through SPD's Internet site,
www.SoapCity.com. Both sudsers are broadcast on CBS, and Sony's TV division produces "Y&R." Sony hopes to expand the service to a handful of other soaps over the next year.
SoapCity gets Real
The episodes, minus commercials, will be available for download by users of high-speed Internet connections daily beginning at 4 p.m. from the SoapCity Download service, said Mary Coller, senior VP and general manager of SoapCity.
The downloads, which use RealNetworks' RealOne Player, will have stop/start/rewind capabilities similar to a VCR, and can be watched repeatedly for 28 days after an episode's initial broadcast before they are "timed out" and no longer watchable.
Free trial under way
SoapCity.com claims more than 3.4 million regular users, and has deals with AOL and Yahoo! as their exclusive soap opera site. The service launches today with a 14-day free trial.
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