Usability
This is a very well thought-out website, typical of everything the ABC is doing online. A changing window displays the latest product - not surprisingly, eps one and two of John Saffran's current series Race Relations are available for $2.95 per.
Eps 2 and 3 are available on the ABC's iView platforms, so the strategy seems to be a couple of weeks on iView and then over to paid downloads. Smart.

What's in the Catalogue?
There are around 80 ABC titles available for download - from whole series (East of Everything series 1 - $16.95 for 6 or $2.95 each) to one-offs (Crude - The Incredible Journey of Oil - $16.95)

Buying Road Test
Previewing requires installation of Microsoft Silverlight (sigh). I selected an episode of Aunty Jack to buy. I was asked to install the ABC download manager, which turns out to only be available for PC. No sale to me and all other Mac users - and a producer just lost some cash. I trust that the sales process works as well as other parts of the site.
NOTE : I have put in a query to ABC Online about Mac access.

The Deal
I spoke to a producer with a series on ABC Shop Online about the revenue split between him and the ABC. He told me it was 50% of net receipts, without specifying what the latter were. My guess is that it would be 50% of purchase price less ABC Online's margin, costs and expenses.

I then put a series of questions to David Hua, Manager of eCommerce Strategy & Operations, ABC Commercial. Before answering my questions, he stated:
"The ABC Shop Online is very committed to supporting Australian content and we'd be very interested in seeing how we can facilitate exposure of the work produced by your members and generating a return for it. I've also copied in Robert Hutchinson who manages Digital Business Development which may also provide digital distribution opportunities for your members."

MW : How do you decide what content will be made available for download through ABC online?
DH : At ABC Commercial we also encourage a wide range of distribution platforms for online content. For this growing market we now seek to pick up streaming and download rights for all programs that we acquire for distribution. Each program acquired, produced or co-produced is assessed financially and creatively on its own merits.

MW: Using a typical series as an example, I note that the download price for a series is $16.95. Can you tell me what returns producers can expect from the sale price?
DH : Returns to the producer are a commercially confident arrangement with each individual producer. Our terms are market competitive.
UPDATE : David later confirmed that there is a 50/50 split.

MW : How and when are returns paid to producers?
DH : Returns are generally paid quarterly for the first 2 years then bi-annually.

MW: If a producer has back catalogue that they would like to list on the ABC shop online, are you open to approaches? And does there have to be some sort of ABC involvement in the production?
DH: Yes, we are open to approaches. No there does not have to be ABC involvement in the production or broadcast. We have a buying charter and provided it adheres to our editorial and production standards.

MW: Do you require exclusivity if a producer lodges content with you?
DH: Not for material available on ABC Shop Downloads.

MW: Is the ABC considering deals with ISPs so that downloads are not charged for?
DH: Yes. Currently the download system used Peer To Peer technology which can reduce some of download charges. We are currently investigating unmetering opportunities with ISPs

The ABC Shop Online has been in operation since 1995 and currently we have 300-400k unique visitors per month. Our downloads business soft launched earlier this year and we're working on expanding the catalogue.
We have access to numerous mailing lists and promotional spots inc. iView where we can deliver samples of paid-for download content.
My intention is to encourage them to fully exploit their back catalogues by placing them on as many sites as possible.

What this means to you
The ABC says that they are expanding its catalogue, the deals are non-exclusive and content does not have to be ABC-produced. The ABC has clout, resources and a solid online strategy. This would be a good place for content aimed at an ABC demographic.