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Webisode
 
 
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A webisode is a short
Short subject

Short subject is a format description originally coined in the North American film industry in the early period of Film. The description is now used almost interchangeably with short film....
 episode which airs initially as an Internet
Internet

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers, enabling users to share information along multiple channels. Typically, a computer that connects to the Internet can access information from a vast array of available server and other computers by moving information from them to the computer's local memory....
 download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast
Broadcasting

Broadcasting is distribution of Sound and/or video Signalling s which transmit programs to an audience. The audience may be the general public or a relatively large sub-audience, such as children or young adults....
 or cable television
Cable television

Cable television is a system of providing television to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through fixed optical fibers or coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in traditional television broadcasting in which a television antenna is required....
. The term has been largely deprecated in favor of the simpler 'episode'. The format can be used as a preview, a promotion, as part of a collection of shorts, or a commercial. A webisode can be part of an already established drama or series or it may consist of entirely original material.






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A webisode is a short
Short subject

Short subject is a format description originally coined in the North American film industry in the early period of Film. The description is now used almost interchangeably with short film....
 episode which airs initially as an Internet
Internet

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers, enabling users to share information along multiple channels. Typically, a computer that connects to the Internet can access information from a vast array of available server and other computers by moving information from them to the computer's local memory....
 download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast
Broadcasting

Broadcasting is distribution of Sound and/or video Signalling s which transmit programs to an audience. The audience may be the general public or a relatively large sub-audience, such as children or young adults....
 or cable television
Cable television

Cable television is a system of providing television to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through fixed optical fibers or coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in traditional television broadcasting in which a television antenna is required....
. The term has been largely deprecated in favor of the simpler 'episode'. The format can be used as a preview, a promotion, as part of a collection of shorts, or a commercial. A webisode can be part of an already established drama or series or it may consist of entirely original material. Depending on its purpose, the webisode may or may not be considered a part of an established program's continuity
Continuity (fiction)

In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot , objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer. It is of relevance to several mass media....
.

The word itself is a portmanteau formed by the words 'web' and 'episode'.

A webisode is simply a web episode – collectively it is part of a web series
Web series

A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television....
, a form of new medium called web television
Web television

Web television is an emerging genre of digital entertainment that is distinct from traditional broadcast television. Delivered originally online via broadband and mobile networks, web television shows, or web series, are short-form in nature , episodic, and produced in seasons....
 that characteristically features a dramatic, serial storyline, where the primary method of viewership is streaming online over the Internet. While there is no set standard for length, most webisodes are relatively short, ranging from 4–15 minutes in length.

Etymology

Origins:

  • 1998-99: First public use of the word Webisode, attributed to Stan Lee Media
    Stan Lee Media

    Stan Lee Media is an Internet-based creation, production and marketing company founded in 1998, dismissed from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in November, 2006....
     in the marketing and promotion of the 7th Portal online superhero series created by Jesse Stagg
    Jesse Stagg

    Jesse Stagg is a leading trafficker in culture with a background in art direction, design, advertising, guerilla marketing, and strategic branding....
     and Steven Salim.


  • 1996: Earlier usage by the textually-based seaQuest 2047
    SeaQuest 2047

    SeaQuest 2047 is an internet based science fiction series which has its roots on the television show seaQuest DSV and seaQuest 2032, created by Rockne S....
     to describe their periodic publications, beginning circa 1996.


  • 1995: Created by the first Internet serialized fiction called The Spot
    The Spot

    For other uses of the term spot, see Spot .The Spot, or thespot.com, was the first episodic fiction website, and pioneered the underwriting of Bandwidth and production costs by offering paid advertising banners on the web pages and product placement within the journal entries....
     created by Scott Zakarin
    Scott Zakarin

    Scott Zakarin is an United States writer and producer. In 1995 he was an aspiring filmmaker from New York who had been directing television commercials for advertising agency Fattal & Collins....
     It was used to describe the series. Derivational words also created at the time: Webisodic.


See also

  • Mobisode
    Mobisode

    Mobisode is a term first coined by Daniel Tibbets then trademarked by his employer, Fox Broadcasting Company, for a broadcast television episode specially made for viewing on a mobile telephone screen and usually of short duration ....
  • Vlog
    Vlog

    Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging or vidblogging is a form of blogging for which the medium is video. Entries are made regularly and often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text, images, and other metadata....
  • Webcast
    Webcast

    A webcast is a media file distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand....
  • Web series
    Web series

    A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television....
  • Web television
    Web television

    Web television is an emerging genre of digital entertainment that is distinct from traditional broadcast television. Delivered originally online via broadband and mobile networks, web television shows, or web series, are short-form in nature , episodic, and produced in seasons....
  • World Wide Web
    World Wide Web

    The World Wide Web is a very large set of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a Web browser, one can view Web pages that may contain writing, s, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them using hyperlinks....