NATPE LATV Fest: eGuiders Evangelizes Web Video Curation

NATPE, the National Association of Television Program Executives, is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to the creation, development and distribution of digital video content in all forms across all mature and emerging media platforms.

I was fortunate to be able to represent eGuiders during a panel discussion entitled "Deepening The Audience Experience With Online Programming." It was a packed house and I shared some of my experience about what works and doesn't work when trying to extend a TV show online with video.

I cursed a little, I laughed a little, I even at one point was going to throw a chair into the audience just to mix it up a bit. There were some really smart people on the panel as well. David Bloom form Words and Deeds was moderating and he did a fantastic job at keeping the conversation moving. Marc DeBevoise, SVP, Digital Media of Starz Network was there, Greg Goodfriend, Co-Founder of EQAL (LonleyGirl15 & Harper's Globe) gave some good feedback about creating story extensions for TV shows online. Lisa Hsia, SVP, Bravo Digital Media dished some knowledge about Real Housewives of NJ and Hardie Tankersley was there, he is the VP of Innovation and Partnerships for Fox.com.

Overall, we agreed that value added content needs to be done creatively from every aspect - budgets, story, marketing, etc... I know Greg and I agree that the more the vision can come from the showrunner and organically expand the characters and themes of the show, audiences will be more engaged with the programming. As always, content is king. However, the need to be able to market and get the word out about this type of programming is still essential to its success.

Thanks to Daisy Whitney and Jordan Ryder for inviting me to participate. Some of the highlights included our panel (of course), Gavin McGarry's presentation on disrupting the old guard of TV. Running into my old friend Adam Steinman from IMG, Ross Levinsohn from Fuse Capital gave an insightful talk about finding VC money. And the debate over "What is considered a "view" when discussing online video" is always good for a few laughs and cringes. Both parties were a ton of fun and lots of quality schmoozing. Here's a few pictures from the event. Enjoy!

The Daily Online Video Fix: Daisy Whitney

One of the biggest problems I find facing original online entertainment is that there is a lack of smart people out there discussing the medium.    There is a huge explosion of online content, but it seems that original videos made for the Internet is still looked at as a novelty.   Something that is just a fad, a cute little medium on a cute little screen.   Only in the last six months to a year, have people begun to pay attention because advertisers are now starting to divert funds to new media from their traditional media buys.   Hopefully this good news will continue.   The trick will be finding the correct balance between art and commerce.    If you hit consumers with too much advertising, they will get pissed and tune out.  If you don't have advertising, another business model will have to come into play and I don't think people are ready to start paying premiums yet for original content.  

One of the few people that I have seen who is taking this medium seriously is Daisy Whitney. She is not only taking it seriously, she is smart and really gets the online video landscape. Below is a segment she's created for TV Week called the New Media Minute.  I think it is a great resource for anyone interested in following how video for the Internet is emerging.  Her website is daisywhitney.com.

Check it out and let me know your thoughts!