An Online Home for the 'Family Guy'

The Griffin family and cohorts of Quahog just got a new home on the web.

As part of Fox Entertainment Group’s company-wide agreement with online video publishing company, Brightcove, to create and power internet TV channels for some of the television network’s most popular programming, the online destination of Fox’s Family Guy just launched yesterday. ###

The site features episodes, musical numbers, a light smattering of interacive elements like message boards, and many opportunities to purchase DVDS, Xbox Live downloads, and other merchandise from the comically offensive animated hit that revolves around nonsensical, non-sequitor jokes that have no adherence to the greater plot line.

Fox should be applauded for its efforts to create micro destinations for its shows, offering hardcore fans and novice watchers another entertainment outlet in which they can interact with the content and each other, but the Family Guy site leaves a lot to be desired.

The Brightcove player has been dumbed down and allows for only basic play and pause functionality. Embedding and even linking to specific episodes is disabled. The content offered also appears to be chosen at random, with no order to how the shows are categorized and displayed.

The interactive team at Fox would’ve done well to take a closer look at Arrested Development’s MSN destination. A clear, easily navigable interface that allows viewers to comfortably find and share episodes as well as scripts, character profiles, news, and message boards, make it a template upon which all other online components of traditional television shows should be modeled.

It’s good of the networks to put their shows on the web. But now they have to be smarter about how.