Yahoo TV Changes To Peanut Butter Channel

The Yahoo TV website received a Flash and Ajax makeover, which established a more compelling visual environment for their users to enjoy finding their favorite TV show-related content.

Or did they?

The users may not have received the memo, especially the part that told them they now have to sign in, or sign up for a Yahoo account if they don’t have one, to see the TV listings that had been available without a login through a relatively simple search form.

Changes made to the site without accounting for their users’ preferences or tastes make the recent Peanut Butter Manifesto, a diatribe against Yahoo’s internal practices penned by a senior VP named Brad Garlinghouse, look far more credible with its complaints.

At Yahoo’s corporate blog, Yodel Anecdotal, most of the anecdotal remembrances of Yahoo TV hankered for a simpler experience. A smattering of commentary from those postings should prove educational for site publishers who would prefer not to anger their userbase:

Unleashing a site update before an event like SES Chicago, where lots of people who pay attention to Yahoo and the major search companies, may get more people talking about the update and the company behind it. Ideally one would want that talk to be good, not bad.

Well known blogger and Yahoo staffer Jeremy Zawodny wondered how this update and the less than joyous response could have happened.

“Why was there no trial period so that die-hard tv.yahoo.com users could voice their opinions before being forced to use the “improved” interface?” he wrote. “Why did we manage to toss both “simple” and “useful” aside and substitute “flashy” for them?”

But Sal Taylor Kydd of Yahoo TV posted on the Yodel blog that a tryout did take place. “The listings did go through usability testing and if these concerns had surfaced we would have of course addressed them, but to everyone’s disappointment they didn’t,” he said.

That seems to indicate the testing took place with Yahoo account holders, and probably a more Ajax/Flash friendly control group than the typical user who used Yahoo TV the same way guys approach grocery shopping – get in, get the stuff, get out.

The new service does look good. TV is a simple way to receive entertainment, but one that has become more complex with added channels and an increasing number of remotes in the household, and for Yahoo TV users, the changes at the site look like they were as well received as a paint can to the head.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.

The 4400 Special: Unlocking the Secrets was a one-hour special that covered the most important moments from seasons one and two of the series. It was intended to both familiarize new viewers and refresh faithful fans.

After debuting on Yahoo! TV on May 21, the show will move to the USA and Sci Fi Channel websites. One week later, the episode will finally be aired on three cable channels owned by NBC Universal-USA, Sci Fi, and Bravo.

Online television offerings are becoming increasingly popular. Many shows become available through the controlling company’s website after they are air. They may additionally be offered through the iTunes service. But for a cable TV episode to make an appearance on the Web before hitting the TV is a new development.

Additionally, USA has plans to expand the content on The 4400 site. It is already one of the USA Network’s largest communities, and the additions will include audio podcasts, weekly character blogs, behind-the-scenes interviews, weekly writer and producer blogs, character back-stories, and preview clips. These are being advertised as Web exclusives.

The rollout of this episode was intended to maximize “sampling and viewership,” according to the network. It also roughly coincided with the release of the second season of The 4400 on DVD.

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Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news.