Court TV to stream trials online

Court TV plans to introduce a subscription broadband service next month that will allow users to view on the Internet live streams of trials for $5.95 per month. The network will beta test the service for four to eight weeks before it begins charging, Television Week reports.

CourtTV.com is also scheduled to be relaunched in the fall. The video streams will be the centerpiece of each trial's section on the Court TV Web site, along with the trial background info, documents, chat rooms and other data that the network already posts online.

The trials will be available live, but they can also be accessed later through the archives.

And here's what's really neat: The network will program meta data into the online streams so that the trials can be indexed. If a user wants to see a defendant's testimony, for example, he or she can view that portion specifically.

The Court TV Web site attracts about 1 million to 1.5 million unique visitors each month and generates 15 million to 25 million page views.

The company believes the potential market for live streamed trials to be 20,000 to 100,000 subscribers -- and says it will break even if it gets just 20,000 subscribers.

July 7, 2004 | BY JONATHAN DUBE