Imagine watching your favorite sitcom on your computer or video phone-and it's over in 90 seconds. Therein lies the allure of the Webisode. Still in the nascent stages of an uncertain life, the Webisode has nonetheless become one of the sticking points of the current impasse between the Writers Guild of American and the studios and networks. The conundrum: How do you monetize such content in a splintered media universe? And how do you make something worth watching? The potential is appealing. More than 85% of U.S. households are connected to the Internet via broadband, according to Nielsen, while more than 30% of Web users view live streaming video (such as Webisodes or streaming episodes of television series) and 20% watch saved video files (i.e., content downloaded from iTunes or other consumer sites). And these numbers will only increase as technology continues to evolve. Of course, a Webisode can be produced at a fraction of the cost of a network series. (Michael Eisner estimates that each 90-second episode of his Web series Prom Queen costs about $3,000 to make.) But it seems impossible to determine whether profits can trickle from this tiny stream.
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