ABC was the first major network to launch online access to its popular television shows last year.  Now, after seeing its potential, they are taking the concept several steps further.

From mickeynews.com:

ABC.com is also planning to launch a new channel dedicated to America’ Funniest Home Videos, which made household pratfalls popular nearly two decades before YouTube took off. Users will be able to post their own family-friendly user-generated videos, which the site’s visitors will be able to rate and forward. Some clips from the site may end up airing on TV, said ABC.

The network is also planning enhancements to its broadband technology, given the popularity of video streaming full-length shows on ABC.com (the site has delivered 50 million streams since September). This spring the site will launch two additional viewing screens: one for full-screen viewing that promises higher resolution to users and a mini screen that viewers can place on their desktop wherever they’d like while performing other tasks.

The network is also unrolling a new ad option to its broadband player. The upcoming Pause Ad will consist of a static digital placement that will be displayed on the player’s screen whenever user’s pause a video clip. Going forward, ABC says that advertisers will also be able to geo-target video ads.

I’ve always thought an online version of America’s Funniest Home Videos was a no-brainer, especially since YouTube popped up.  Perhaps the site could occasionally run its own contest for the funniest video and award a cash prize online.

Adding the full-screen option to watching primetime television shows is a great move.  Watching a TV show in a tiny window in a web browser definitely prevents me from taking streaming television seriously.  It’s good to know that if I miss an episode of Lost, I’ll be able to simply pull it up online the next day and watch it full screen (that is, if I watched Lost).  The next step, hopefully, will be to somehow allow downloads of the shows.

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