Zap2it
Encyclopedia
Zap2it is an American website and affiliate network that provides news, photos and video, local TV listings and movie showtimes. The site is produced by Tribune Media Services
(TMS), part of the publishing division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company
. Zap2it affiliates include Cox
, Dish Network
, Disney, The New York Times
, the Los Angeles Times
and The Washington Post
.
Version 1.0 of Zap2it debuted on the web in May, 2000. In its earliest iteration, the site was a combination of TMS-owned listings sites TVQuest and MovieQuest plus the then-recently-purchased content site UltimateTV
.
UltimateTV offered viewers and industry-insiders breaking news, Nielsen ratings, live celebrity chats and more. The site provided video clips, interviews and promos in its Promo Lounge area.
The earliest Zap2it focused on TV, movies and original web-based content. The site offered original editorial along with listings information for TV, movies and online. Zap2it also listed online content such as short films, interactive games and webisodes offered by Atom Films, Shockwave.com and iFilm,
Zap2it’s TV listings and movie showtimes were generated by TMS data, its web listings by Yack data.
Editorial pages of the site including the front page were redesigned in 2001. In early 2003, the editorial focus of Zap2it was narrowed down to TV and movies and the site was again redesigned. An agreement with Fandango struck in 2005 allowed for the introduction of online movie ticketing for select theaters. Blogs including “It Happened Last Night” offered show recaps were first launched in 2006 and expanded thereafter. In 2007, Zap2it launched “click-to-record” functionality allowing users with TiVo DVRs to remotely schedule recordings directly from within the Zap2it TV listings.
In 2008, an revised Movie showtimes product was developed on the main site. It more prominently showcased movie trailers and offered expanded cast and crew lists which linked to Celebrity profile pages.
Tribune Media Services
Tribune Media Services is a syndication company owned by the Tribune Company.The company has two divisions, "News and Features" and "Entertainment Products"...
(TMS), part of the publishing division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
. Zap2it affiliates include Cox
Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises is the successor to the publishing company founded in Dayton, Ohio, United States, by James Middleton Cox, who began with the Dayton Daily News. He was the Democratic candidate for the President of the United States in the election of 1920...
, Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
, Disney, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
and The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
.
History
Tribune Media Services (TMS) first began to offer online listings services as a content provider to Prodigy in the late 1980s and America Online in the early 1990s. TMS launched its first branded online TV listings service (TV Quest) in 1993 on the AppleLink online service. TV Quest later migrated to Apple’s eWorld services and to the Web in the mid-1990s.Version 1.0 of Zap2it debuted on the web in May, 2000. In its earliest iteration, the site was a combination of TMS-owned listings sites TVQuest and MovieQuest plus the then-recently-purchased content site UltimateTV
UltimateTV (Online Service)
UltimateTV was the name of a Web site for all-things-television officially launched in May 1998 in Encino, California. Originally a hobby website started by David Cronshaw, an engineer at KCAL-TV 9, it caught the attention of Jeff Rowe, a Vice President at NBC and JD Publishing, a publisher of TV...
.
UltimateTV offered viewers and industry-insiders breaking news, Nielsen ratings, live celebrity chats and more. The site provided video clips, interviews and promos in its Promo Lounge area.
The earliest Zap2it focused on TV, movies and original web-based content. The site offered original editorial along with listings information for TV, movies and online. Zap2it also listed online content such as short films, interactive games and webisodes offered by Atom Films, Shockwave.com and iFilm,
Zap2it’s TV listings and movie showtimes were generated by TMS data, its web listings by Yack data.
Editorial pages of the site including the front page were redesigned in 2001. In early 2003, the editorial focus of Zap2it was narrowed down to TV and movies and the site was again redesigned. An agreement with Fandango struck in 2005 allowed for the introduction of online movie ticketing for select theaters. Blogs including “It Happened Last Night” offered show recaps were first launched in 2006 and expanded thereafter. In 2007, Zap2it launched “click-to-record” functionality allowing users with TiVo DVRs to remotely schedule recordings directly from within the Zap2it TV listings.
Product development
In early 2007, Zap2it released enhanced TV listings on its main site. Upgrades to the product included improved performance, better customization capabilities and the introduction of sharing tools and a user rating system. Following a testing period, the TV listings product was made available to affiliates.In 2008, an revised Movie showtimes product was developed on the main site. It more prominently showcased movie trailers and offered expanded cast and crew lists which linked to Celebrity profile pages.