b.j. novak

NBC credits The Office's higher ratings with the show's availability on iTunes. While the number of downloads of The Office do not figure into weekly ratings, the number people watching The Office has increased since the show became available for download. This is pretty big news, because all the networks have been banking on some sort of ratings boost by making their shows available on the internet. At first, it seemed like a gamble that people would try out new shows online and then start watching them, but it seems to have worked. The Office has been huge for NBC on iTunes. It accounts for one-third of all NBC downloads (there are currently 12 NBC shows for sale on iTunes). The people who are downloading shows off the internet are exactly the audience that all the networks are fighting for: the 18-49 demographic.

ABC reports the same bump in ratings for Lost and Desperate Housewives, since they launched on iTunes way back in October. Lost ratings have jumped 14% and DH ratings went up 7%.

[Via Digg]