LAS VEGAS -- ABC's streaming of shows online and its iPod video offerings don't cut into its broadcast TV audience but instead leads to an increased audience, ABC Media Networks co-chair Anne Sweeney said.

In the keynote address at a National Association of Broadcasters' luncheon Tuesday, Sweeney told broadcasters that it's time to give up the old business models and realize that technology and the "millennial generation" of 8- to 27-year-olds are driving the changes to the media industry. She spoke to a local broadcast industry -- including many affiliates -- who are concerned about the affect of new media on the local, ad-supported affiliates.

"We're convinced iTunes does not cannibalize our audience, or the lucrative streams of revenue generated through traditional distribution channels, any more than DVDs of our series have in the past," Sweeney said. "In fact, we see it as supportive of those channels."

She said that ABC considers the video iPod downloads and the ABC.com two-month trial streaming "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" free and ad-supported as necessary to battle piracy. She said that within 10 hours of air, there are 25,000 illegal downloads of "Lost" and that primetime programming that airs on the East Coast often is available illegally on the Web hours before it airs on the network for the West Coast.

"Thanks to the quality of high-def broadcasting, the programming loses nothing in translation, except its commercials," Sweeney said.

She extended a hand to affiliates to say that ABC would share the learning it receives from the two-month trial to "build the right online model, one that delivers the best experience for our viewers and the best opportunity for our affiliates and advertisers." She promised that ABC was committed to working with affiliates.

"We'll know a lot more about what works and what's possible after this test, and our decisions will reflect the input and interests of our affiliates," Sweeney said.

The digital platforms could even help viewing, she said. Citing data directly of interest to ABC affiliates, Sweeney said that the average viewer saw only six episodes of "Lost" and "Housewives" last season, leaving a large gap between what is aired and what is seen.

"By making our shows available on additional platforms like iTunes, we are tapping that potential by letting viewers watch episodes they missed, and stay current with our series, which means they are more likely to stay involved," she said.

In a panel discussion sponsored by NAB and Broadcasting & Cable after Sweeney's remarks, CBS Digital Media president Larry Kramer supported her argument that streaming online doesn't hurt ratings. He said that CBS' recent streaming of out-of-market games of the NCAA men's basketball championship was a rousing success, with 5 million viewers and 20 million streams in the ad-supported environment. It didn't hurt viewership on the TV network or on the DirecTV package because a lot of those viewers were at work where they wouldn't have had access to TVs anyway.

"This is exactly what Anne was talking about," Kramer said. "This is an audience in search of content. We're crazy if we don't work hard to get it to him."