3pointD.com

Jeff Jarvis points out a Wall Street Journal article describing a new initiative from ABC that will let viewers gather in online chat rooms to watch shows together:

On April 30, ABC will unveil a revamped Web site that will include a “theater” where people with broadband connections can watch free episodes of “Desperate Housewives,” “Lost” and other hit shows on their computers. . . . As part of an effort to engage the online community, viewers from around the country will be able to gather in “rooms” online to watch an episode of, say, “Lost” and chat about it. Disney will also promote the creation of fan sites for various shows.

(Via Glitchy.)

While the social effects of such an initiative don’t seem all that deep (there are more powerful magnets out there already), the impact on advertising is already being felt. As Jarvis notes: “Ad Age reported last week that the ad industry is ‘ousting broadcast TV as its central organizing principle.’ That is seismic.”