Why was the premiere posted online before the airing 2nite?

[SacValleyDweller]

I come on to talk the premiere on the night of, only to find threads a week old with extensive discussion of the premiere.

Apparently I could have bought/watched the thing early.

What gives/gave?

[Michael Pajaro]

We spoke with some people from NBC and some of the show's production cast/crew and even THEY weren't exactly sure why NBC posted the premiere online first.

From what we've been able to piece together, it sounds like it was mostly done to give a boost to NBC's online ventures including NBC.com, Hulu.com, and their reformed partnership with iTunes. By posting several new series online early (not just Knight Rider), the websites would get a huge push. Apparently it worked, because The Hollywood Reporter said that there was a big spike in online traffic for NBC this week. (It didn't mention anything about Knight Rider specifically, but oddly enough the SNL skit about Sarah Palin was a big factor in driving the traffic.)

[rainmanjam]

[BlueChaos]

"Sneak Peek". That says it all. Though apparently nothing gets changed in the TV version.

[killem2]

I think it was a smart move, just to see how many people took advantage of it.

[Lost Knight]

Good for the Web sites, bad for the show.

[ianruk]

are they planning to do episode 2 online before it airs?? if so when?
since i like in uk its not on here so i download from mininova

[DriverRay]

no now the episodes will be on tv before being online.
but it was goo to see it a week before it was on tv because it made more hype for the new show

[ianruk]

o ok i thought it was cause i read they were showing the first 2-3 epsidoes before the tv, maybe i read it wrong

[SacValleyDweller]

Good for the Web sites, bad for the show.

I think so too.

Let's hope the ratings, its stock, and the shows potential future success wont be diminished.