australian television information archive

Canal Road downloads to be offered free

AFTER battling illegal internet downloads of its hit program Underbelly, the Nine Network will offer free online access to its new series Canal Road.

Viewers will have the opportunity to download the first four episodes of the new Aussie drama for free before it debuts on national television on April 16.

Set in a medical-legal centre in the heart of Melbourne, Canal Road stars Sibylla Budd, Brooke Satchwell, Diana Glenn and Paul Leyden. Ninemsn will make the first two episodes available for download on April 7, with episodes three and four following on April 14.

Every other episode will be available to download immediately after it airs on the Nine Network.

Nine said in February that it was considering taking legal action after thousands of people started downloading leaked episodes of its controversial gangland drama Underbelly, which was banned in Victoria.

This time around the network is keen to stress that viewers will be able to get a preview of Canal Road legally.

"All downloaded episodes of Canal Road can also be legally shared with family and friends by saving them onto a DVD or through the existing peer-to-peer file sharing programs," ninemsn said in a statement. This year, Nine has closed the ratings gap on Seven and won two of the six weeks so far. Last week the networks tied at 27.7 per cent each. Ten had 21.9 per cent, the ABC 17.5 per cent, and SBS 5.1 per cent.

April 07, 2008
The Courier-Mail

Note: downloads are restricted to residents of Australia and New Zealand and requires the installation of special software that "dynamically adds advertisements to videos, in real-time as they are being watched - just like in commercial TV". See Nine's FAQ