WooT!! :D Congrats to Drew, Kenyatta, Ellie, Jamie, Joanne & Sarah! :D
Bill Cammack http://billcammack.com --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, "Heath" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Just saw this..First off congrats to Andrew and Joanne. > Second.....this just confirms my belief that online content will > become more and more professional (ie, networks creating stuff or > making stuff availible online), unless you were one of the first few > or you have a strong plan, time, talent, etc....indie content or > personal vlogging, I don't think will sustain over the long term, not > at it's current level anyway. anyway....interesting read! > > Heath > http://batmangeek.com > > http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10007032-36.html? > tag=cnetfd.blogs.item > > Sony Pictures Television has signed a distribution deal with > pioneering Web series Rocketboom, which has been producing a quirky > daily newscast since 2004. > > Under the terms of the agreement--which reports pin in the seven > figures--Sony will handle all distribution and ad sales, as well as > use its Crackle.com player on the Rocketboom.com Web site. (Until > this point, Rocketboom has used a YouTube embed on its home page.) > It'll also see additional distribution on Sony's network, which > includes the PlayStation 3 console. > > Sony bought Crackle, then known as Grouper, back in 2006. > > Created by entrepreneur Andrew Baron, Rocketboom rose to fame with > actress Amanda Congdon as host, but she left the show on unfavorable > terms in 2006 and has since struggled to find a new niche in online > media. Congdon's replacement, Joanne Colan, is still at the helm. > > In a post on his blog, Baron explained why he chose to seek a > distributor (a rarity in the Web video world) rather than raising the > money through a venture round: he didn't want to sell out. Mentioning > venture-funded video start-ups like Revision3 and Next New Networks, > he wrote, "While these networks have provided immense value for the > growing transitioning space, they are all controlled now by venture > capitalists which tend to have as their primary objective, a sale." > > Baron added that it often hasn't helped the quality. "Aside from the > hit shows which have spawned the networks, most of the other shows on > these networks have not lived up to their predecessors, content-wise, > and new shows are often canceled soon after they are launched." > Indeed, Revision3 and Next New Networks have both seen new programs > debut only to peter out after only a few episodes--something that a > major TV network can handle, but which can be a serious wound for a > video start-up. > > "Instead of gaining capital to burn while continuing to build or seek > an advertising solution, we now have one of the most prominent > advertising solutions out there," Baron wrote, "along with increased > distribution, a road map for expansion and a guarantee that I believe > is an unprecedented deal for this space." > > What he was saying, albeit obliquely, is that Rocketboom did need a > leg up. As more and more early Web video shows have either faded away > (Lonelygirl15 just ended its run, and The Burg's creators ended the > project to collaborate on a new show backed by former Disney chief > Michael Eisner) or acquired (Wallstrip was bought by CBS Interactive, > and Revision3 now syndicates Wine Library and Epic Fu) > remaining "indie" operations need to stay afloat. Sony can provide > Rocketboom with better exposure as well as a more streamlined > advertising operation. > > Baron is no stranger to shaking things up, having catalyzed one of > the blogosphere's most navel-gazing debates when he briefly put his > Twitter account up for sale on eBay. >
