GENERATION 247 - Web TV, Internet Streaming and Online Entertainment by Kevin Foong

More to come from GEN247

My good people at GEN247 tackled the world's fastest growing criminal activity, identity theft, with the Webby Award winning interactive web thriller, DELETED: THE GAME.  The web show told half the story and the interactive game story told the other half.  Personally, I think the balance was a little off making the web show a little hard to follow watching it on its own without playing the game.  The team will address this in the sequel which is coming very soon ;-)

Also, look to them to tackle the second fastest growing criminal activity, human trafficking, with a collaborative work working titled Matchbook.  I'm particularly moved by this project and its the kind of work I'd like to do more off.  I know some of you would be interested to get involved, the team is in sponsorship raising mode so this would be the most helpful kind of input at this stage.  Watch out for details of how else to contribute down the road.

Finally, the team plans to tackle the third fastest growing criminal activity, counterfeiting, with a tongue-in-cheek interactive docu-drama with a working title named Full Price.  It explores the demand side of the equation and I'm sure you'll agree will provide excellent grounds for character study.

HERE'S A RECAP OF DELETED: SEASON ONE

Welcome back Mania TV

When it launched in 2004, ManiaTV became the world’s first Internet television network. Which seems insane as it’s only five years ago but it really just shows how much has happened in the world of online television since then.

ManiaTV produced programming purely for the Internet, with shows being sold and distributed across the Web without ever going near a network executive. The primary ManiaTV audience was 18 to 34-year-olds, with the shows focused on subjects close to that age range’s heart, such as video games, music videos, and cutting-edge comedy. Dave Navarro, Tom Green, and Chuck Norris all had shows on the network.

Gone. For Good?

All was seemingly going well until founder Drew Massey sold three-quarters of the company in three rounds of venture capital raising. The company eventually hit financial troubles right in the middle of the current recession, and ceased operations in March 2009.

Now, according to The New York Times, Massey wants to give the venture another go. He has successfully bought back the brand name and much of its old programming for what he claims is a small fraction of the $26 million invested by the venture capitalists. The ManiaTV Web site will soon be back online, initially airing reruns of old shows.

Onwards and Upwards

Once everything is back up and running, Massey then plans on making new shows by the end of this year, again looking to appeal to the youth market. Massey is looking to run a lean company which will turn a profit by concentrating on sponsorships and product placements in shows rather than other forms of Web advertising.

Massey maintains there is room for small, Web-only programme-makers such as ManiaTV out there, even with the likes of Hulu and YouTube leading the charge for professional content. He claims, “This will be a billion-dollar business, it will just take longer than some people would like.”

Chances For Success

Massey seems to be going about this task the right way this time, keeping everything small and manageable and appealing to sponsors and product placement advertisers. However, the brand has a severely tarnished reputation at this point and will require a lot of rebuilding.

Then there is the biggest problem of all, that we live in a post-Hulu world where both viewers and advertisers seem to be less interested in original Web shows than they once were. Can ManiaTV buck the trend which has seen rivals such as 60Frames and Ripe Digital also go out of business?

Source: WebTVWire

Ripe TV shuts its doors

Online network and VOD content provider Ripe Digital Entertainment is reportedly closing down and trying to sell its assets. Deadline Hollywood Daily broke the story, which paidContent subsequently confirmed with its sources.

Founded in 2004, Ripe Digital was focused on creating entertainment for dudes with the online networks RipeTV, OctaneTV and FlowTV, featuring such shows as Sexy Road Test, Funk Flex TV and Pauly Shore’s America. In addition to its online presence, the company had VOD distribution deals with Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

Ripe had raised $45 million with investors including Hearst-Argyle, Time Warner Investments, Columbia Capital LLC and Rho Ventures.

We tried to contact Ripe for this post, but its New York office phone number went straight to a busy signal (repeatedly) and an email to the info address bounced back.

Ripe was just one of many sites targeting young men with content built around bikinis, cars and music. Other players in that space include Spike.com, KushTV (KushTV dropped the male focus and became branded entertainment siteRedLever) and UGO.

Ripe is also the latest content startup to fail this year. Other casualties in the online video world that shut down recently include ManiaTV and 60Frames.

Source: NewTeeVee