OurChart to Preview The L Word One Week Before Showtime Debut
Lesbian-Targeted Site Founded by Series Creator Ilene Chaiken
By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/5/2007 6:58:00 PM
is streaming the premiere of season five of original series The L Word on OurChart, the lesbian-targeted site founded by the show's creator,
, one week before it premieres on TV. The episode will debut with behind-the-scenes content on the site Dec. 30, while the show returns on Showtime Jan. 6.
“This is historic, marking the first time a gay or lesbian site has hosted the season debut of any television series,” said Hilary Rosen, founder and president of OurChart, in a statement. “The lesbian community is Internet-savvy and is twice as likely as heterosexual women to consider the Internet their prime source of entertainment, making OurChart.com a perfect vehicle for The L Word season-opener.”
OurChart was launched in January 2007 with Chaiken as CEO and has featured content from the show before.
Showtime has been aggressive in offering shows online and through other media before their TV premieres. The pay channel became the first network to offer a full episode of a series to an unrestricted online audience prior to its launch when it distributed Kirstie Alley comedy Fat Actress through Yahoo in March 2005.
Since then, it has offered nearly all of its major new shows early online, through multiple partners. This summer the network debuted new series Californication through NetFlix three weeks prior to its TV debut.
“We think this is our best season of The L Word ever,” Chaiken said in a statement. “It’s the biggest, wildest party we’ve thrown, and we’re pretty sure that our fans will find that the fifth season is mindful of the demands and desires they’ve expressed on OurChart.com. We are thrilled to continue our successful relationship with Showtime by hosting the national premiere on OurChart.com, and we are grateful for their ongoing support.”
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