Homicide

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By FRANK SWERTLOW

Staff Reporter

NBC’s gritty cop show “Homicide: Life on the Street” is going into cyberspace this week, possibly a harbinger of where prime-time programming is headed.

In an unprecedented move, NBC will produce a four-episode “Homicide” that begins on the Internet and then transitions to broadcast TV before concluding back on the ‘Net.

In the past, network executives largely considered the Internet a competing medium that would siphon off viewers, much as cable TV has. The networks did launch Web sites a few years ago, but they have been dedicated merely to providing supplementary information about their TV shows and selling show-related merchandise (caps, coffee mugs, etc.).

NBC is the first to make the Internet a companion to its on-air programming. “It’s the wave of the future,” said Thomas Hjelm, director of interactive programming at NBC.

NBC Digital Productions and Baltimore Films, the series’ producer, are jointly creating the four-episode murder mystery, called “Homicide.com.” The first episode appears on the Internet on Feb. 3, the second episode on Feb. 4. The story then jumps to TV for the Feb. 5 episode and then concludes on the Internet with a Feb. 12 epilogue.

The TV episode will be a self-contained, stand-alone story, so viewers do not need to log onto the Web site for the episode to make sense.

The online episodes use a combination of audio, still photography, printed dialog and some video clips to tell their stories. When faster modems become more widely adopted by households, more video will be incorporated into the online stories.

During the broadcast of the TV episode, viewers with computers will be able to log onto the Web site to obtain additional information about what they are seeing on TV.

While this marks the first time NBC has used a unified plot for both TV and Internet, the network actually has been cybercasting a Web edition of “Homicide” since 1996.

Until now, however, the Web edition, called “Homicide: Second Shift,” has been separate from the TV show. It features a separate Baltimore homicide squad, comprised of different actors, that reports to work just as the “first unit” TV squad clocks out. The cyber cops then track a separate set of cases.

From time to time, cast members from the TV series have made crossover appearances in the cyberspace episodes. Also, Second Shift cops have made brief appearances on the TV edition, but only in background roles.

In this week’s four-episode mystery, the two shifts join forces to solve what is portrayed as a serious murder spree.

“If you go online, you will get a broader sense of context (about the murder case),” said Hjelm. “It’s a way to expand the franchise in a new medium to build a new show and a new business.”

While still in its infancy, the TV-Web convergence holds vast commercial potential. The sponsor of this week’s “Homicide” online episodes is Microsoft Corp. Neither NBC nor Microsoft officials would reveal the amount paid for the sponsorship.

Dave Davis, an analyst at Houlihan, Lokey, Howard & Zukin, said the Internet may eventually open up substantial additional revenue channels for TV networks. For example, cancelled TV shows with a loyal following might be continued via an online version, with corresponding merchandise tie-ins.

In addition, the online version could boost TV ratings, allowing the network to boost ad rates. NBC executives are hoping that’s the case with “Homicide.com;” the TV show has been lagging the competition in its time slot, being beaten by both ABC’s “20/20,” and CBS’s “Nash Bridges.”

NBC began exploring use of the Internet about three years ago when it launched NBC.com. But until recently the site has largely been devoted to information, and to selling videocassettes of TV shows and assorted show-related memorabilia.

Other NBC shows that have used NBC.com for promotional and informational purposes include “The Pretender,” “The Tonight Show,” and “Saturday Night Live.” None have jointly used the Internet and broadcast media in the way “Homicide” will this week.

“It’s enhanced TV,” Davis said. “Certain shows, like ‘Homicide’ and ‘Twin Peaks,’ have a really strong fan base that wants more information and background. Taking a story line and writing new chapters is a variation of this.”

Indeed, “Homicide” was selected because it has a loyal core of viewers.

One insider who is delighted by the high-tech twists is “Homicide” Executive Producer Tom Fontana. “I am the stupidest guy on the planet,” he said. “I don’t own a computer. I still write in long hand, but I am completely fascinated by this intermingling of all these technologies.”

Moreover, Fontana said he expects that more and more shows will begin commingling these two formats to tell their stories.

“It’s the future history of entertainment,” he said. “TV, as we know it now, will be completely and utterly different 50 years from now.”

Steve Cesinger, an analyst at Los Angeles-based Greif & Co., said that through its “Homicide” experiment, NBC is positioning itself as an Internet destination in advance of newer and faster modems capable of handling video images comparable to those seen on TV.

“They are trying to find out what elements will work and what won’t,” he said.

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