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The award-winning producers of TV shows Thirtysomething and My So-Called Life are taking their latest project online, citing "frustration" at US TV networks. Quarterlife, a drama about a group of recent graduates in Chicago, started as a pilot for ABC in 2005, but the network declined to make a full series. But creators Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick stuck with the idea, and the show will now debut on MySpace in November. "We want to prove there is another way," Herskovitz said. The producer, whose recent credits include films like Blood Diamond and Traffic, admitted the move was "a gamble" but said he was attracted by the chance to have full creative control. "Ed and I have a great interest in being independent, and for several years, we've realised the internet offers that possibility," he told trade paper Variety. Product placement "When [we] did My So-Called Life and Thirtysomething, the network barely gave us any notes," he added. "Now I have friends tell me that the network tells them what colour to make the walls." Social networking site MySpace will have exclusive rights to each of Quarterlife's 36 episodes for the first 24 hours, after which the video will appear on the show's own website. The producers and MySpace will share revenue from adverts contained in the video stream. Additional revenue will come from product placement deals, Herskovitz said. So far, about one hour of material has been shot, which will be divided into six or seven episodes. Additional content, including character profiles, will also appear on MySpace, while scripts could be made available on the Quarterlife website for fans to make suggestions. Quarterlife is not the first online series to be backed by Hollywood heavyweights. Former Disney chief Michael Eisner produced an 80-episode high school drama, Prom Queen, which made its debut on MySpace earlier this year. CBS television also commissioned the cult online comedy series Clark and Michael, featuring Superbad star Michael Cera. But MySpace claims Quarterlife will be the first internet programme to have "network quality" production values - although its budget is likely to be much smaller than equivalent shows like Grey's Anatomy and Brothers and Sisters. It debuts on 11 November. Story from BBC NEWS |
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| Redorbit.com Web Series - Easy to Make a Show, but Not a Profit... When the Writers Guild of America strike stopped television production last autumn and winter, Hollywood writers and producers rushed to create new scripted series for the Web, often called webisodes for lack of a more artful term. The strategy seemed simple: Make money by going straight to the Internet. Months later, they are realizing that producing Web content may be easy but profiting from it is hard. A small number of writers, producers and actors are making a living with webisodes, but they are still a long way from establishing the form alongside television and feature films. The newfound industry lacks clear business models and standardized formats. And so far, it also lacks audiences. If average media consumers have heard of webisodes at all, it is probably in the context of "Quarterlife," a Web series that leaped to TV and flopped spectacularly in the ratings in February, or "Prom Queen," an online drama backed by Michael Eisner, the former chief of Walt Disney. Even the medium’s first hit, "Lonelygirl15," struggled to retain an audience. The "Lonelygirl" videos made their debut on YouTube in the summer of 2006. Initially, they reached millions of Internet surfers, introducing the concept of professionally produced webisodes to the public. But the videos kept coming well after the buzz faded. On Aug. 1, when the series ended with a 12-episode finale, hardly anyone noticed. The lack of attention and advertising dollars may be an ominous sign for big media companies looking to offset lost television revenue by entering the Web video business. Nonetheless, more companies are dabbling in digital entertainment, hoping that professional Web video will stand out in a sea of user-generated content. "Squeegees," a 10-episode series by Stage 9, a digital subsidiary of ABC, about a merry band of high-rise window washers, illustrates the challenge. The show made its premiere in April on five Web sites. On the most prominent site, YouTube, the second episode showed 312,000 views as of Sunday, helped by prominent links on YouTube’s home page in April. By the fifth episode, the view count had dropped to 3,000. For big media companies, the revenue raised by Web shows is "not the kind of money they are used to," Herb Scannell, a former president of Nickelodeon, said. Scannell now runs Next New Networks, a collection of niche Web video series. It is perhaps best known for Barely Political, an online channel starring Obama Girl, a flirty young woman with a professed crush on the presidential candidate. Obama Girl videos now draw at least a million views each, making them an attractive buy for niche advertisers. Still, "we’re not seeing seven-figure deals yet," Scannell said. "It’s still an emerging market." The one thing the industry does not lack is enthusiasm, whether from writers, producers or actors. Webisodes are usually inexpensive to produce, costing a few thousand dollars for an episode. They are usually short, similar in length to a segment of a TV situation comedy. And they are usually distributed widely, from video-sharing sites like YouTube to social networking sites like Bebo. Strike.TV, a site inspired by the writers’ labor actions, will soon start to unveil shows by dozens of Hollywood writers. Rosario Dawson, one of the first prominent actresses to migrate to the medium, is starring in a new Web series bankrolled by NBC. And Warner Brothers is introducing an online video site, complete with a half-dozen original Web shows, at TheWB.com. Some companies, independent of the major studios, are also casting themselves as digital studios with ambitious plans for Web production. 60Frames, which finances and distributes Web shows, has plans for 50 original series in the next year and has lined up Hollywood names, including the filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, the comedian David Spade and the "Oz" creator Tom Fontana. "There’s never been an easier moment to get content to an audience," said Brent Weinstein, chief executive of 60Frames. "Everybody is trying to figure out how to turn that into a business." Perhaps the best-known webisode to come from the strike was written by Joss Whedon, the TV producer who created "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Whedon’s 45-minute musical, "Dr. Horrible’s Sing- Along Blog," made its debut in July and quickly rose to No. 1 on iTunes. Whedon explained the genesis of "Dr. Horrible" on the show’s Web site, writing: "The idea was to make it on the fly, on the cheap - but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the Internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way." "Another way" worked well for Whedon, who benefited from already having a fan base. Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried, the co- creators of "Lonelygirl15," think they can recreate their 2006 success. Backed by $5 million in venture capital financing, the men have founded EQAL, a digital studios vying to develop the next Web hit. Most commercial webisodes rely on video advertising before, during or after the episode or on product placement and brand integration within the show. "Ask a Ninja," an irregularly scheduled series of comedic videos starring an anonymous ninja, now attracts $100,000 a month in advertising, licensing and merchandising; it is represented by the ad network Federated Media. "In the Motherhood," a Web show created by a marketing company, recorded an average of three million views an episode last spring, exceeding the expectations of its sponsors, Suave and Sprint. The shows have turned a profit by tapping niches. "If your Web show has 35,000 people watching it, but all of those people are valuable to a certain advertiser, you can make good money from that show," said Dina Kaplan, a co-founder of the video site Blip.tv. To get to the point where viewers are choosing between network television and YouTube, the industry needs better distribution models, more professional backing and financing, and third-party measurement of traffic. The medium is missing something like a TV Guide for Web video - that magazine’s owners and others are scrambling to become the industry standard. As a result, advertisers "sometimes have trouble navigating" the market, Scannell said. Similarly, the industry needs a reliable third-party arbiter of traffic analytics, something akin to Nielsen’s ratings service for television. Then there is the living room problem. "We need the TVs in the living rooms to be integrated with the Internet," said Ron Richards, director of marketing and product management for Revision3, which calls itself a "television network for the Internet generation." Perhaps most important, people in the industry say, Web shows need promotional support. New TV shows benefit from multimillion- dollar marketing campaigns; webisodes do not. While the idea that webisodes should become more like television is anathema to some producers, Beckett says the medium needs a more established set of formats. "On television, there are a handful of defined formats," he said, citing half-hour situation comedies and one-hour dramas as examples. "I think formats will help codify what we are actually producing." In time, webisodes may start to look more like TV - and TV may look more like the Web, as well. Some executives think Web video will act as a petri dish for television projects. With the barriers to entry so low online, a breakout hit webisode may be only a matter of time. |
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| 10 Web Video Creators TVWeek.com Spotlights the Leaders in the Race to Go Humongous It’s a safe bet: The Web-video world eventually will spawn a show that goes big, either becoming the Internet’s first “Friends” or leaping to the television screen and making a splash there. The question is who will be the genius behind the hit. TelevisionWeek keeps a keen eye on Web programming to find the creators with that certain something that will separate them from the wannabes. While predictions are risky, and the knack for finding hits is rare, we’ve identified talents that we think have a shot. This inaugural feature profiles 10 potential heavyweights, based on an online poll, reader comments at TVWeek.com and a heavy editorial thumb on the scale. Beckett & Goodfried Creator: EQAL, a creative team that includes Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried. Mr. Beckett graduated from medical school and practiced to become a plastic surgeon before devising the idea for “LonelyGirl15” in 2006. A law school graduate, Mr. Goodfried began crafting “LonelyGirl15” during his first year as an attorney. Shows: The “LonelyGirl15” series includes “LonelyGirl15,” “KateModern” and the upcoming “LG15: The Resistance,” launching Sept. 20. Collectively, “LonelyGirl” and its spinoffs have been viewed more than 170 million times on the Web. As the show’s creative team has grown from two to more than 10, maintaining the “voice” of the characters becomes more complicated, Mr. Beckett said. “As things go from treatment to script to shooting to editing to post-production to going live on the site, the voice needs to be 100% consistent from the character.” Advertisers: Past advertisers have included MSN, Paramount, Disney and Procter & Gamble. EQAL has not yet disclosed advertisers for “LG15: The Resistance.” Distribution: “LG15: The Resistance” is being distributed on MySpace, Veoh, YouTube, Hulu, iMeem and LG15.com. Mr. Beckett said he’s not pursuing TV deals for the show right now. “It’s low on my list.” What’s to like: “LonelyGirl 15” was the first breakout Web-video series and the show’s producers have displayed a willingness to adapt to audience demands. The latest show will release new episodes on Saturdays for 12 weeks, following a release schedule similar to traditional TV. What’s not to like? The challenge is driving interest in the show’s spinoffs. “KateModern” did extremely well with 50 million views, but that’s less than half the views for the original “LonelyGirl15,” which drew 120 million views. Big Fantastic Creator: Big Fantastic, a digital media production shop in Los Angeles comprising Douglas Cheney, Chris Hampel, Chris McCaleb and Ryan Wise. Shows: The team has produced several high-profile Web series including “Sam Has 7 Friends,” “Prom Queen,” “Foreign Body” and “Sorority Forever,” the latest effort, which launched last week. “Sorority Forever” stars Jessica Rose of “LonelyGirl15” fame as a reluctant sorority pledge. The most-viewed Web shows and videos often tend to be comedic, but Big Fantastic contends that demand is strong for drama online. “What’s most surprising to us is that, two years later, there are still very few high-quality scripted dramas made directly for the Internet,” Mr. McCaleb said. Advertisers: Advertisers for “Sorority Forever” include H&M on TheWB.com. Distribution: The show is carried on TheWB.com and also runs on its own custom site on MySpaceTV. Episodes premiere on those two sites exclusively before TheWB.com makes the show available to additional distribution partners such as Veoh, TiVo, AOL, Daily Motion and Sling. The show also will run on Verizon mobile phones via VCast. What’s to like: Most of Big Fantastic’s shows have fared well. “Prom Queen” earned more than 20 million views and the current show, “Sorority Forever,” will get an added boost from promotion on TheWB.com. What’s not to like? Big Fantastic is leaning heavily on edgy drama for a young-adult audience, and the creators risk being typecast. Brian Dalton Creator: Brian Dalton, founder of Lazy Eye Pictures. Mr. Dalton is a writer and filmmaker who also created and stars in the Web series “Mr. Deity,” playing the title character. Show: “Mr. Deity” is a comedy series about God and how he manages the universe alongside his assistant, Jimbo. A self-proclaimed “Formon” (former Mormon), Mr. Dalton conceived the idea for the show after the tsunami of 2004. “I used to be really religious, and then I became a skeptic, but I am still interested in the subject and in religion and God,” he said. He kicked the idea around for a few years and, after friends and actors turned down the starring roles, decided to cast himself and friend Larry Marshall in the main roles. Being the director and star created its own set of challenges. “It took me a while to figure out how to act and direct at the same time,” Mr. Dalton said. Advertisers: Ads for Honda and other site sponsors have run against the show on Crackle.com, its home. Distribution: Mr. Dalton shot the first three episodes and posted them on YouTube in January 2007. After an early episode was featured on YouTube, views shot up and Sony took notice of the show. Sony now pays a production fee for “Mr. Deity” and distributes the show on Crackle. Sony and Mr. Dalton currently are working on casting the third season of the show and want to introduce a new character in each episode to be played by a celebrity. The celebrity factor helps drive press coverage, Mr. Dalton said. What’s to like: The show can be wickedly clever as it both pokes fun and pays homage to religion. Envisioning “Mr. Deity” as a studio executive type is a stroke of genius. What’s not to like? Mr. Dalton wants to bring the show to TV, but that may prove tough, as the show would be too edgy for all but the most progressive cable networks. Felicia Day Creator: Felicia Day, actress-writer-Web producer, has become the patron saint of online talent. She has one of the highest profiles among actresses working on the Web and is well-regarded by the online community that’s active on social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. Shows: A self-proclaimed “rebel at heart,” she wrote, produced and starred in “The Guild,” an independent Web series that has garnered more than 9 million views and numerous awards. She starred alongside Neil Patrick Harris in Joss Whedon’s “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” this summer and played Vi in eight episodes of Whedon’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” on TV in 2003. Her new projects include a sitcom she’s writing for Machinima.com. “I’m most surprised about how much happier I am having my own show on the Web than when I was just another actress in Hollywood.” Advertisers: “The Guild” is supported by fan donations, and a DVD of the show is available. “We have turned down a lot of deals because we haven’t felt the partner was a perfect fit for our vision of the show,” she said. Distribution: The Guild is distributed at www.WatchTheGuild.com, MySpace and YouTube. The first season ran for 10 episodes and the second season launches next month. What’s to like? “The Guild” is a wry portrayal of a group of online gamers whose dysfunctions make them lovable. The writing is tight and actors turn in surprisingly coherent performances. What’s not to like? The show is still self-funded and has yet to land an advertiser on its own. That model has a lot of street cred, but isn’t financially viable for long. Production values need to improve to hit the level of other top-level Web shows. Feldstein & Roth Creator: Mark Feldstein and Brad Roth, co-presidents of Stun Creative, an advertising, branding and promotion agency in Los Angeles that also is producing Web series. Show: The10-episode Web series “The Writers Room” depicts the inner workings of a group of TV writers. Sony-owned Crackle acquired and distributed the show this spring. The producers are in talks with Crackle about running a second season of the show, likely this fall. Sony also has commissioned Mr. Feldstein and Mr. Roth to create an additional celebrity-driven comedy series that will run on Crackle, Hulu and YouTube. Advertisers: Crackle ran pre-rolls and overlay ads against the show for movies such as “Get Smart” and “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” as well as consumer products such as Rogaine. Distribution: Crackle distributes the show on its comedy channel “C-Spot.” Crackle then syndicates that comedy channel to YouTube, MySpace, AOL and Hulu. What’s to like: The Web is a stepping stone to TV for Stun Creative. “We also truly believe the Web still can be a way of incubating ideas for television. We look at our digital series as a proof-of-concept,” Mr. Feldstein said. What’s not to like? Studios and video sites are demanding that producers bring celebrities and brands to the table. “Since so many celebrities and established television and film players are getting involved in the space, more and more distributors are insisting on series that have star talent,” Mr. Roth said. “It’s also becoming almost impossible to sell a series without a brand attached. The first season of ‘The Writers Room’ was sold strictly on the idea itself. That won’t happen again.” Brent Friedman Creator: Brent Friedman is creator and executive producer of the Web series “Gemini Division,” produced by digital media studio Electric Farm Entertainment. He has written and produced for film, TV and video games. “I migrated from old media to new media because, after 15 years, I was bored with the conventional wisdom that governs the film and television business,” Mr. Friedman said. “And, being a lifelong gamer, I wanted the stories to have a degree of interactivity.” Shows: Mr. Friedman and his co-founders at Electric Farm Entertainment created “Gemini Division” and also the Web series “Afterworld,” which ran online last year. “Gemini Division,” which premiered online in August, is produced in association with NBC Universal Digital Studio and Sony Pictures International Television Entertainment. Set five minutes in the future, the series stars Rosario Dawson as a New York City vice cop on a trip in Paris. Viewers can interact with the show through an online alternate-reality game on NBC.com. Advertisers: The show’s advertisers include Intel, Cisco, Microsoft, Acura and UPS. In most cases, the sponsors have been integrated into the storyline: For instance, Ms. Dawson’s character drives an Acura. Distribution: The 50-episode series runs on NBC.com, SciFi.com, GeminiDivision.com and Amazon as well as mobile phones, the Xbox and via video-on-demand from cable operators Comcast, Time Warner and Verizon FiOS. What’s to like: The show launched with four major brand advertisers. In addition, well-known actress Ms. Dawson can pull in audiences. What’s not to like? “Gemini Division” is not available in most international territories. That has ticked off some of the heaviest consumers of Internet video who live outside of the United States. Also, some critics have said the show’s production values do not reflect the backing of a major media company. Sean Masterson Creator: Generate’s Sean Masterson, the writer, director and star of Web show “Republicrats.” He previously starred in the online series “Home Purchasing Club,” which ran on VH1’s broadband channel. His TV acting credits include “The Drew Carey Show,” “Whose Line Is It Anyway” and “Dream On.” Show: “Republicrats” is a Web series developed by Generate, the digital production studio and management company led by Jordan Levin, former CEO of The WB. The show, about a fictional presidential candidate, airs twice a week on MSN. Generate also produces “Pink,” about a female assassin; its second season debuts this month. Advertisers: Mr. Levin said Generate is currently closing a brand integration deal with a consumer packaged goods advertiser for “Republicrats.” Other advertisers include run-of-site advertisers on MSN. Distribution: MSN carries the show and also syndicates it to MySpace, YouTube and other sites. The show has generated more than 500,000 views in the first three weeks. Also, Tribune-owned KTLA-TV in Los Angeles has been featuring Mr. Masterson on its morning news shows. What’s to like? Given the level of public interest in the presidential campaign, “Republicrats” is well-positioned to grow in views over the next several weeks. What’s not to like? The show has a limited shelf life and will end when the election is over. Advertising also remains a hurdle in general for Web video, Mr. Levin said. “There is considerable investment being made by the venture community and amongst both Hollywood players and independent players and traditional media companies, and advertisers need to step up to the plate and seed this arena if they want to see an alternative to traditional media,” Mr. Levin said. Nichols & Sarine Creator: Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine, the creative team behind the hit Web show “Ask a Ninja.” Show: In 2005 the pair of young comedians raised $60,000 from friends and family to start their Dear Abby-style Web series featuring a feisty ninja answering viewer questions and signing off with the tagline, “I look forward to killing you soon.” The show quickly became one of the most popular Web series ever, logging more than 100 million views total and averaging about 800,000 views per episode. Mr. Nichols said that in the year ahead he hopes to expand the “Ask a Ninja” team into a larger production company that can help find and nurture other Web talent. Advertisers: Sponsors have included Microsoft, Toshiba, Doritos, Sony Pictures and Electronic Arts. Distribution: The show is available on AskaNinja.com and iTunes. What’s to like: Mr. Nichols and Mr. Sarine are savvy businessmen. Mr. Nichols said “Ask a Ninja” likely will evolve its format in the coming months. “It’s getting a little stale for us to write three minutes on one question, so we are looking to break it down to where we do episodes that answer a bazillion questions as one weekly wrap-up and then do short videos each day,” Mr. Nichols said. “We need to figure out a way to keep the creativity fresh.” What’s not to like? The current format is limited and viewers may tire of the conceit. The key for Mr. Nichols and Mr. Sarine will be to either change the format or quit before the show feels old. David Wain Creator: David Wain, executive producer and star of the Web series “Wainy Days,” a comedic look at the dating travails of one man. Mr. Wain is a New York-based director, writer and performer. He recently directed the Universal Pictures feature film “Role Models,” set to open in November. Show: “Wainy Days,” which received a Webby Award this year for best comedy series, premiered in 2007 and has generated 6 million views over 26 episodes. “The original backstory to the show is when I was 11 or 12, I started to look around at girls and say, ‘Oh my God, I love those people,’” Mr. Wain said. Advertisers: Fox SearchLight and Mr. Wain’s “Role Models” are sponsoring the show currently. Distribution: MyDamnChannel carries the show and syndicates it to YouTube, MySpace, DailyMotion, iMeem, Facebook, Yahoo! Video and others. What’s to like: Because of his Hollywood connections, Mr. Wain has landed high-profile guest stars including Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Elizabeth Banks, Janeane Garofalo and Ed Helms. What’s not to like? The show’s humor is off-color and risky for advertisers and TV networks. Joss Whedon Creator: Joss Whedon, a director, executive producer and Academy Award-nominated writer (“Toy Story”). He is best known as the creator of TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Firefly.” His newest show, “Dollhouse,” is scheduled to debut on Fox midseason. Show: Joss Whedon crafted the breakout Web hit “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” about a bumbling super-villain and his crush on a young woman. The show is a 43-minute, three-part “Web musical” starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. Mr. Whedon wrote the show during the writers’ strike earlier this year as a statement about “scribes striking back,” he said. “I was surprised the media took it seriously as something other than a lark, because for us it was a lark. It was a deliberate lark and a calculated good time,” he said. But he’s aware that the show has become a measuring stick for the viability of Web video. “This Web series is about the freedom to create what I want to create,” he said. Advertisers: Advertisers for the show include run-of-site deals on Hulu, from sponsors such as Degree. The show is on track to break even soon. Revenue comes from iTunes, sales of the soundtrack, advertising deals and from an upcoming DVD release. “In a couple months we can start paying off everybody,” Mr. Whedon said. Distribution: The show premiered in July on DrHorrible.com and also on iTunes. The show was so popular the first day it ran that it crashed servers, yet it still generated more than 2 million streams in its first five days online. The show now runs on Hulu.com. What’s to like: Because of Mr. Whedon’s track record in Hollywood, he was able to line up top-notch actors at practically no cost for the initial six-day shoot. Both TV and Web critics have gushed over the show. What’s not to like? The show was a one-shot deal, with no sequel or follow-up planned. |
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| The medium and the message Hobbling the internet to keep television safe is a bad idea, says Bill Thompson There are often moments during the widespread adoption of transformative technologies where an old way of thinking or doing business is so threatened by the new possibilities that its adherents call on those with political power to "Do Something!" It never works. If the music industry had spent more time thinking of ways to deliver great music to its customers over the internet and less lobbying politicians and suing potential customers it would probably be thriving by now. Book publishers, less certain of their own importance, are taking notice of the exciting experiments at Faber & Faber and Penguin instead of looking for protectionist legislation to keep the new media world at bay. Regulation redux And for a while it looked like television was keen to embrace the possibilities for online delivery and greater engagement that the network offered. Yet now it seems that Culture Secretary Andy Burnham thinks television in the UK is so special that it needs to be kept safe from attack by the nasty people of the online world. Apparently it is time to "even up" regulation between the internet and television because those producing online material get an easy ride. Mr Burnham's comments were made during a discussion session after a speech he gave to the Royal Television Society. The speech itself is measured, careful and well-judged, at least according to the text posted on the DCMS website. The internet is not a medium, and cannot be regulated as one. Bill Thompson In it he argues that fear of the internet has "taken hold in some places", and that "it would appear that TV has at times lost confidence" when faced with what he calls the "online challenge", suggesting that "TV is in danger of ceding to the internet as the place where new talent is found". This was probably written by someone in his department who understands what the internet is and what it offers and who is aware of the vast tranches of legislation and regulation that affect those offering content. But in his comments Mr Burnham revealed a desire to apply "taste and decency" standards to online content and to "tighten up" online regulation, and these unscripted remarks are very revealing and very troubling. Even if we discount that fact that he was speaking to a TV audience and would naturally try to cheer them up, it is hard to reconcile his comments with the often-stated views of the media regulator Ofcom that TV-style regulation is both undesirable and unworkable online. This is not an easy time to work in television. Audiences are fragmenting, the review of Public Sector Broadcasting is taking an age, and of course TV advertising revenue is likely to plunge faster than the Dow Jones index in the current crisis. Any anticipated income from adverts for loans and mortgages should certainly be deleted from the spreadsheet. But suggesting that you can impose the same sort of quality threshold on blip.tv as you do on ITV1 is absurd and assumes an equivalence between the two that is simply absent. Walled off Television is a medium, a way of using radio waves or another transmission mechanism to get moving pictures and synchronised audio onto millions of screens simultaneously. It does what it does very well, but it only does that one thing. The internet is not a medium, and cannot be regulated as one. It is a network, a series of connected computers that can share binary data and use that data for a variety of purposes. Some of those purposes, like streaming video, bear a passing resemblance to television but many do not. Some of those purposes, like the exchange of instant messages, are private communications and some are not. We are still only at the beginning of the process of finding ways to use this network, for good or evil, for free or for money, for all or for some. Some of its uses can and should be carefully controlled, others cannot. Websites with embedded video are not mini television channels, however much the minister might believe they are, and they cannot be controlled like television. But Andy Burnham would like to hobble online video in order to protect the interests of the broadcasters, just in case they come up with some imaginative programme formats to compare with the wonder of "Who Do You Think You Are?", a recent BBC success that he mentioned as an example of what to aspire to. He apparently thinks that governments have not gone far enough in controlling the medium, that they have accepted the idea that the internet is "beyond legal reach", a "space where governments can't go". Perhaps he hasn't had time to be briefed on the Protection of Children Act, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, the Data Protection Act or the many and varied activities of regulatory agencies like the Internet Watch Foundation. But he has certainly heard of Ofcom, he can't have missed the launch last week of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), and he himself told the Daily Mail of plans to introduce "tough new rules to make websites carry age certificates and warning signs on films featuring sex, violence or strong language". The foolishness over how we manage online video does not stop there. At the moment one of the few serious experiments in reinventing television for the online world, the Kangaroo joint venture between BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4, is being subjected to a competition commission investigation because it might dominate the market for online programming. Meanwhile anyone with a technological bent can download whole series of US programmes via BitTorrent or buy them from Apple, Sony or Microsoft. We could easily find ourselves in a situation where anyone in the UK who wants to use the net creatively has to use an offshore server to host their content and then tell their friends about how to access it using a proxy server that gets around Mr Burnham's proposed legislation. Fortunately we know how to do that, because political dissidents in China perfected the techniques in order to bypass the Great Firewall. It would be a tragedy if an ill-informed Culture Secretary puts us in the same situation. Bill Thompson is an independent journalist and regular commentator on the BBC World Service programme Digital Planet. Story from BBC NEWS: |