Who doesn’t like the word “free”? That and “sale” make up almost the entirety of my vocabulary. So, when I heard SHOWTIME’s premiere episode of United States of Tara was available free – I jumped right over to YouTube and watched. As I’ve already said in an earlier post – I loved the show.

This is smart.  Very smart.  It shows that SHOWTIME is thinking with how to use the new media to increase their subscriber base. By allowing the premiere episode of the series to appear for free on portals such as YouTube, Yahoo, Facebook and more, they’ve reached an audience they might not have had access to outside traditional promotional efforts.

The idea of paying for TV when there are so many free options available should make any premium channel take notice and find new ways to reach TV watchers. It appears SHOWTIME took the lead  with this campaign. I’m interested in finding out if their base rises and if people are willing to pay for the service after getting a free taste. I guarantee the other premiums will be following suit shortly.