Trend: Consumer Generated TV

New US interactive cable channel Current TV encourage its 18-34 audience (the internet generation) to make their own TV packages with 15-second to five-minute “pods” on subjects with such wide appeal as fashion to finance. The channel’s format blends the immediacy of video blogging with the voyeurism of reality TV. Al Gore, Current TV’s chairman, said it would let viewers “engage in the dialogue of democracy. We are asking you to submit your videos and to take part in creating this new network”. Current TV’s website will offer editing software and tutorials for viewers to post their videos on the site. A web audience vote will pick the best ones to be shown on TV. Mr. Gore said he was frustrated that television has traditionally been a “one-way” medium dominated by large companies.

Converging television and the web has combined the forces of both mediums to produce ‘two-way TV’. On top of this a deal with the world’s ‘most popular’ search engine will produce segments every half-hour on the ‘most popular’ search terms on Google. The cable channel will either announce the items on-air or produce short video segments on the topics.

Current TV pay CJs (Current Journalists) at about $250 per segment. Many CJs have begun to submit content already in response to the company’s $15,000 Video Challenge. The winner was announced at a publicity party event featuring celebrities and hip hop stars.

Current TV will, like most channels, be supported by advertising and cable subscriptions. However, executives also are looking to introduce alternative advertising models, such as branding. “Our goal is to do something different because we think the 30-second TV slot is broken,” said Anne Zehren, Current TV’s president of sales and marketing. “We will work with (advertisers) to customize their commercials and experiment with new forms of advertising.”

Related Trend.
Consumer Generated Media

Link.
http://www.current.tv/

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