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Old Trick, New Medium: Hire Stars, See If Audiences Tune In
HBO has never been known as a first mover when it comes to the web. The premium cable network was an iTunes holdout until earlier this year and still doesn’t stream its shows online. Though to be fair, HBO’s business model is subscription-based, so streaming its shows would be somewhat foolish.
Meanwhile, HBO has been a partner on YouTube since 2006. And it is perhaps that partnership that drove the programmer to finally hatch a plan for an original web series, one that’s fronted by the crème de la crème of YouTube stars.
With the 10-episode show Hooking Up, which will launch Oct. 1 on HookingupShow.com, YouTube, Metacafe and Break.com, HBO is planting a big flag in the web series world. Unlike the network’s Runaway Box, a quiet online hub for comedy videos, HBO is actually talking about this new series. “This is the first big project for HBOLabs,” the experimental arm of the network that tests content for various HBO platforms and also runs Runaway Box, General Manager Fran Shea said.
Is Fancast a Portal to Comcast’s Converged Future?
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I don’t like Comcast. Using their service, my Internet connectivity is slow, my cable is constantly on the fritz, and the interactive program guide is the definition of clunky. But Comcast — I say this through very gritted teeth, indeed — has some very promising plans for Fancast, its broadband video portal.
Because now Comcast wants to turn Fancast into the link from the Internet back into its cable programming service. If Comcast is even remotely successful with this web-to-TV convergence, then Fancast could very well represent a model for linking together new and old distribution methods.
Is LG15: The Resistance a Web Show or a TV Show?
Web video is starting to mirror traditional TV, like it or not.
Case in point: the distribution strategy and release schedule of LG15: The Resistance. EQAL, the production studio behind the show, will release new episodes just once a week, starting Sat., Sept. 20. Hmm, that sure feels a lot like how the broadcast networks dole out programming, doesn’t it?
But it makes sense. As EQAL President Greg Goodfried explained, the daily web model can be overwhelming. “The one drawback to shows with daily content is if you miss a week — or two weeks or three weeks — you have five to 10 to 20 thumbnails to click on,” he said. “Even if the video is only one minute, the mental problem is the same; it feels like you have to dedicate all your time to it. If we have a weekly video and you’re gone for three weeks, you only have to have three thumbnails to click on.”
When Web Video Beats Old Media at its Own Game
If you tuned into a recent episode of Indy Mogul last week you’d probably have seen host Erik Beck mention the show’s sponsor, Universal Studios’ Death Race. And if you tuned into a 2007 episode of Indy Mogul last week you’d also have seen Beck tout Death Race there too.
That’s because Next New Networks, which produces and distributes the do-it-yourself visual effects show, has implemented technology from both Freewheel and Castfire that lets the web studio insert fresh ads, bumpers and host shout-outs for current ad campaigns into both current and older episodes in the Next New Networks catalog, imitating a longstanding practice in the traditional TV business.
The concept of dynamic ad insertion isn’t new to TV or the web, but the Next New Networks implementation is noteworthy for a number of reasons.
Gemini Division a Litmus Test for Old Media, New Media
When Gemini Division premieres on Monday, the show won’t just be the debut series for NBC’s new digital studio; it will be a litmus test for whether old media can play successfully in web video.
This web show has the weight of the traditional media world on its shoulders: In my opinion, the success or failure of Gemini Division will be critical for the web video economy in general and for traditional media in particular. CBS owns Moblogic, Sony inked a distribution deal just last week with Rocketboom, and for such marriages to continue, Gemini Division must thrive.
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