All "Reality TV" cable channel coming (aka Sign of the Apocalypse # 73)
04-28-03, 11:04 AM
#1
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All "Reality TV" cable channel coming (aka Sign of the Apocalypse # 73)
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/televis...-channel_x.htm
Get ready for Reality Central
By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
At times, reality TV seems to be on 24 hours a day. By January, two men hope to make that a reality.
Larry Namer, who co-founded E! Entertainment (originally as Movietime Channel), and Blake Mycoskie, a contestant from The Amazing Race, plan to launch Reality Central, a round-the-clock cable network focusing on the genre. Investors include winners of CBS' Amazing Race and Survivor.
Reality Central will offer programs focusing on existing reality series, including a news show with promotional clips, gossip, ratings and casting information; a contestant interview show, with viewer questions and a where-are-they-now? show. One show will follow the making of Reality Central.
Foreign reality shows would be presented, as would repeats of popular U.S. programs, which have not proved able to attract sizable audiences in second runs on the broadcast networks.
Namer disagrees with critics who say the reality genre could be a passing fancy.
"There's a huge base of passionate fans. (And) the main audience is 18-to-34," the young adults sought by advertisers, he says. "They grew up on The Real World on MTV. To them, reality TV is television. It's not a fad for them."
Mycoskie approached Namer with the idea, envisioning coverage that is similar to E!'s entertainment focus and MTV's start with music videos.
"My experience on Amazing Race got my attention that this genre is a lot bigger than a single show," Mycoskie says.
He raised the $500,000 in investment money from reality grand-prize winners, including Survivor's Tina Wesson and Ethan Zohn and the first two winning pairs from The Amazing Race.
The network has signed more than 25 reality contestants for promotion and marketing, including Survivor's Richard Hatch and Jerri Manthey; Kevin O'Connor and Drew Feinberg, the bald Amazing Race duo; Temptation Island's Kaya Wittenburg and Marcellus from Big Brother.
Namer and Mycoskie forecast a start-up of 3 million homes for the digital-tier network. They also plan to develop Internet and interactive TV offerings. The pair hasn't yet reached any formal cable deals.
Getting onto cable systems is the key initial consideration for a fledgling network, says Larry Gerbrandt of Kagan World Media.
"It doesn't matter how good your programming is, unless you can get on (cable systems) and somebody can see you," Gerbrandt says.
Analysts say the network could find a niche, but they are concerned about staying power.
"There's a market for it right now. I'm just not convinced this genre lasts all that long," says Tom DeCabia of media buyer PHD USA.
He also wonders whether audiences will watch reruns of competitions they have already seen, but Namer says additional features, such as contestant commentary, could spice up those shows.
Reality Central won't have the luxury of the vast U.S. program libraries available to the Game Show Network and SoapNet. And it's unclear how foreign reality shows will perform, says Gerbrandt.
Rerun rights to hit shows won't cost much, but the network eventually will have to develop its own shows.
"Public taste for things like this change, so they're going to have to find a signature program that people go to consistently," he says.
By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
At times, reality TV seems to be on 24 hours a day. By January, two men hope to make that a reality.
Larry Namer, who co-founded E! Entertainment (originally as Movietime Channel), and Blake Mycoskie, a contestant from The Amazing Race, plan to launch Reality Central, a round-the-clock cable network focusing on the genre. Investors include winners of CBS' Amazing Race and Survivor.
Reality Central will offer programs focusing on existing reality series, including a news show with promotional clips, gossip, ratings and casting information; a contestant interview show, with viewer questions and a where-are-they-now? show. One show will follow the making of Reality Central.
Foreign reality shows would be presented, as would repeats of popular U.S. programs, which have not proved able to attract sizable audiences in second runs on the broadcast networks.
Namer disagrees with critics who say the reality genre could be a passing fancy.
"There's a huge base of passionate fans. (And) the main audience is 18-to-34," the young adults sought by advertisers, he says. "They grew up on The Real World on MTV. To them, reality TV is television. It's not a fad for them."
Mycoskie approached Namer with the idea, envisioning coverage that is similar to E!'s entertainment focus and MTV's start with music videos.
"My experience on Amazing Race got my attention that this genre is a lot bigger than a single show," Mycoskie says.
He raised the $500,000 in investment money from reality grand-prize winners, including Survivor's Tina Wesson and Ethan Zohn and the first two winning pairs from The Amazing Race.
The network has signed more than 25 reality contestants for promotion and marketing, including Survivor's Richard Hatch and Jerri Manthey; Kevin O'Connor and Drew Feinberg, the bald Amazing Race duo; Temptation Island's Kaya Wittenburg and Marcellus from Big Brother.
Namer and Mycoskie forecast a start-up of 3 million homes for the digital-tier network. They also plan to develop Internet and interactive TV offerings. The pair hasn't yet reached any formal cable deals.
Getting onto cable systems is the key initial consideration for a fledgling network, says Larry Gerbrandt of Kagan World Media.
"It doesn't matter how good your programming is, unless you can get on (cable systems) and somebody can see you," Gerbrandt says.
Analysts say the network could find a niche, but they are concerned about staying power.
"There's a market for it right now. I'm just not convinced this genre lasts all that long," says Tom DeCabia of media buyer PHD USA.
He also wonders whether audiences will watch reruns of competitions they have already seen, but Namer says additional features, such as contestant commentary, could spice up those shows.
Reality Central won't have the luxury of the vast U.S. program libraries available to the Game Show Network and SoapNet. And it's unclear how foreign reality shows will perform, says Gerbrandt.
Rerun rights to hit shows won't cost much, but the network eventually will have to develop its own shows.
"Public taste for things like this change, so they're going to have to find a signature program that people go to consistently," he says.
04-28-03, 11:21 AM
#2
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I think this will be a great way to see the old favorites, The Mole & Amazing Race! And we would never have been able to see a lot of the reality shows from other countries.
Chris
Chris
04-28-03, 11:38 AM
#4
DVD Talk Legend
I'd be interested in seeing the UK's "Pop Idol". I was kinda hoping that BBC America would air that over here, but maybe it would be a better fit on this channel.
(Even though I know who won, I'd still be interested in watching the show.)
(Even though I know who won, I'd still be interested in watching the show.)
04-28-03, 11:56 AM
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I seem to remember an interview somewhere not too long ago with the writer caught up with former reality TV contestants and Blake Mycoskie said he was on the works for something TV-related that would be revolutionary and huge regarding reality TV. Guess this is it.
If they can get Viacom on board as a partner or investor and then get access to their library, that would be HUGE! Think about all of us Amazing Race fans dying to introduce the show to friends and family. Heck, I'd love to watch the first Survivor again simply for the innocence factor.
I'd think that original programming would be a snap. Imagine how many reality shows are pitched and trashed by the networks every week. Not to mention how cheap many of these can be to produce. I have their first show idea: a "Where Are They Now?" show on past contestants. Not that I care what Vescepia (sp?) is doing, but what about Kevin and Drew from TAR1?
Glad to see Team Mycoskie is back!
If they can get Viacom on board as a partner or investor and then get access to their library, that would be HUGE! Think about all of us Amazing Race fans dying to introduce the show to friends and family. Heck, I'd love to watch the first Survivor again simply for the innocence factor.
I'd think that original programming would be a snap. Imagine how many reality shows are pitched and trashed by the networks every week. Not to mention how cheap many of these can be to produce. I have their first show idea: a "Where Are They Now?" show on past contestants. Not that I care what Vescepia (sp?) is doing, but what about Kevin and Drew from TAR1?
Glad to see Team Mycoskie is back!
04-28-03, 12:02 PM
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guys, this could be a GOOD thing.. lemme 'splain..
IF this is a TRUE "niche" channel [the way Sci-Fi used to be..
], perhaps they'll stop showing the reality shows on the broadcast nets and just show 'em on this channel??
Sounds good, no?
[grr...or what Morf said...
]
IF this is a TRUE "niche" channel [the way Sci-Fi used to be..
], perhaps they'll stop showing the reality shows on the broadcast nets and just show 'em on this channel??Sounds good, no?
[grr...or what Morf said...
]
04-28-03, 12:40 PM
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I'd like to see some of the foreign versions of some of the reality shows. For example, I can't stand Big Brother but I heard that some of the European versions were far racier. That could be interesting.
04-28-03, 01:00 PM
#11
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Thread Starter
I'm not sure how good of a business decision this is. Reality TV is white hot right now, but the problem with things that get white hot is that they burn out and no one ever looks back. This move seems to be something like creating an "All Disco" channel in 1979 or an "All 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'" channel in 2001. I have a sneaking suspicion that Reality TV will quite soon be a thing of the past and will be regarded as an embarrassing fad of yesteryear ("Remember how we all used to get together to watch 'Mr. Personality'...oh my god, we were such dorks"). On the other hand, I've been wrong before (I made this same claim about Rap music around 1985 
).
).
04-28-03, 01:02 PM
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Bwahahaha, Blake!
Hey, if it means I can watch TAR1 and TAR2, then I'm all for it. Bring on the TAR TV Channel!
Er... Reality TV Channel! Whatever...
Hey, if it means I can watch TAR1 and TAR2, then I'm all for it. Bring on the TAR TV Channel!
Er... Reality TV Channel! Whatever...
04-28-03, 01:27 PM
#13
DVD Talk Legend
Originally posted by Rogue588
guys, this could be a GOOD thing.. lemme 'splain..
IF this is a TRUE "niche" channel [the way Sci-Fi used to be..], perhaps they'll stop showing the reality shows on the broadcast nets and just show 'em on this channel??
Sounds good, no?
[grr...or what Morf said...]
guys, this could be a GOOD thing.. lemme 'splain..
IF this is a TRUE "niche" channel [the way Sci-Fi used to be..
], perhaps they'll stop showing the reality shows on the broadcast nets and just show 'em on this channel??Sounds good, no?
[grr...or what Morf said...
]
04-28-03, 01:34 PM
#14
Instead of a reality channel showcasing new shows and all, I'd be interested in a channel devoted to bringing us older shows as well, like the first Survivor, Big Brother, Mole, Amazing Race, etc.
04-29-03, 06:12 AM
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Originally posted by Morf
Sounds good to me. Throw all the reality garbage onto one channel so I can just remove the channel from my listings.
Sounds good to me. Throw all the reality garbage onto one channel so I can just remove the channel from my listings.
Put all these stupid shows on one channel so I can burn that channel from my listing. I love my cable box and the ability to remove channels that I don't want to watch.
04-29-03, 07:43 PM
#18
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There was a great article about this in the Wall Street Journal as well. I was especially intrigued by the "meta-cable" idea--the reality show about making and running the reality TV cable channel.
Really though, this shouldn't be any surprise--there's channels devoted exclusively to game shows, car racing, soap operas, and the New York Yankees.
Really though, this shouldn't be any surprise--there's channels devoted exclusively to game shows, car racing, soap operas, and the New York Yankees.
04-29-03, 07:52 PM
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I thought Cable already had a reality channel.. MTV.. Whenever I turn it on all I see is Real World, Road rules, Real World vs Road Rules, The Osbournes, "True life; I'm a _____", Making some crappy dream come true, Punk'd, etc. etc.
Do they actually play Music anymore?
Do they actually play Music anymore?
04-30-03, 02:28 PM
#21
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally posted by Numanoid
I'm not sure how good of a business decision this is. Reality TV is white hot right now, but the problem with things that get white hot is that they burn out and no one ever looks back. This move seems to be something like creating an "All Disco" channel in 1979 or an "All 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'" channel in 2001. I have a sneaking suspicion that Reality TV will quite soon be a thing of the past and will be regarded as an embarrassing fad of yesteryear ("Remember how we all used to get together to watch 'Mr. Personality'...oh my god, we were such dorks"). On the other hand, I've been wrong before (I made this same claim about Rap music around 1985 ).
I'm not sure how good of a business decision this is. Reality TV is white hot right now, but the problem with things that get white hot is that they burn out and no one ever looks back. This move seems to be something like creating an "All Disco" channel in 1979 or an "All 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'" channel in 2001. I have a sneaking suspicion that Reality TV will quite soon be a thing of the past and will be regarded as an embarrassing fad of yesteryear ("Remember how we all used to get together to watch 'Mr. Personality'...oh my god, we were such dorks"). On the other hand, I've been wrong before (I made this same claim about Rap music around 1985
).
04-30-03, 05:29 PM
#23
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally posted by Jackskeleton
I thought Cable already had a reality channel.. MTV.. Whenever I turn it on all I see is Real World, Road rules, Real World vs Road Rules, The Osbournes, "True life; I'm a _____", Making some crappy dream come true, Punk'd, etc. etc.
Do they actually play Music anymore?
I thought Cable already had a reality channel.. MTV.. Whenever I turn it on all I see is Real World, Road rules, Real World vs Road Rules, The Osbournes, "True life; I'm a _____", Making some crappy dream come true, Punk'd, etc. etc.
Do they actually play Music anymore?
04-30-03, 10:17 PM
#24
DVD Talk Legend
Another idea to fill up time is to "supersize" the old episodes. I'm sure the producers of these shows have hours and hours of unused footage. They could beef up an episode of, say, Survivor by adding a half hour or so to show more of the conflicts and behind-the-scenes scheming, especially since the "surprise factor" is gone. They are free to reveal certain conversations that might have previously ruined a surprise.
04-30-03, 10:35 PM
#25
DVD Talk Hero
Gah.
I gotta go read my Bible. This has to be a sign of the apocalypse.
I gotta go read my Bible. This has to be a sign of the apocalypse.