苹果电脑公司的iPod音乐播放器从根本上改变了人们欣赏音乐的方式，它会给电视带来怎样的影响呢？
周三，苹果电脑公司宣布美国广播公司轰动一时的电视剧《绝望的主妇》和《迷失》将可以在该公司最新推出的iPod视频播放器上放映，这一消息在业内一时激起千层浪。每集电视剧在iTunes音乐商店上的售价为1.99美元，在电视台播放电视剧后的第二天就可以在网上买到。
美国广播公司及其母公司沃尔特·迪斯尼公司相信这项新技术能够吸引更多新的电视剧迷，而且人数一定多于放弃传统方式收看节目的观众。
美国广播电视网的成员周三之前并不知道这件事已经在进行之中，他们最有可能关心这件事情的影响。现在，iPod即将成为继数码录像机和DVD之后不用守候美国广播公司常规播出时间的又一种新型电视节目收看方式。
美国广播电视网主席利昂·朗说，如果观众能够选择是坐在宽屏幕、环绕音响的电视机前还是用两英寸的iPod屏幕收看《绝望的主妇》的话，他们大多数肯定会选择看电视。用iPod收看电视剧对那些漏了一集没看到而又想跟上故事情节发展的人来说很有吸引力。
他说，美国广播公司总共给iTunes提供了三部连续剧，其中两部观众都要花几个月的时间才能看完。
这种新型的下载方式最初还可能吸引一些急着试用新产品的人，他们并不一定是电视剧迷，这样也会吸引一些新的观众。
至于iPod可能会分流一部分电视观众，Long说：“当然会有这样的危险，但我觉得风险并不大。”
（中国日报网站薛晓文译）
Apple's iPod profoundly changed the way people experience music. What will it do for television?
The industry was intrigued by Wednesday's announcement that episodes of the hit ABC shows "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" will be available for Apple's new video iPod. Episodes will go on sale for $1.99 on iTunes the day after they are broadcast.
For ABC and its parent Walt Disney Co., the bet is that the new technology will bring in more new fans of the programs than will be taken away from watching them on traditional broadcast television.
The network's affiliates were not told the deal was in the works before Wednesday, and they're the people most likely to be concerned about its impact. Now the iPod will join digital video recorders and DVDs as another way of seeing television programs other than their regularly scheduled times on the ABC stations.
Leon Long, chairman of ABC's affiliate board said if viewers have the choice of watching "Desperate Housewives" on their wide-screen television with surround sound or a two-inch iPod screen, they will almost certainly watch it on TV. The iPod option will likely be attractive to people who missed an episode and want to keep up with the story, he said.
He noted that two of the three series ABC is offering to iTunes - the new "Night Stalker" is the other - are serials that require viewers to follow story lines that play out over several months.
Initially, the downloads might also appeal to techies who want to try out the new product and might not necessarily be fans of the programs, which could bring these shows a new audience.
As for the chance it will pull people away from his station, Long said, "It's certainly a risk but I don't think it's a great risk."
