Ever-conscious of a good trend, TV networks and advertisers are increasingly adopting the YouTube model of viewer-created content.
VH1, currently airing the third season of “Web Junk 20,” will premiere next month the Jack Black-hosted “Acceptable TV,” which attempts to fuse TV with the Web. In February, Nickelodeon debuted a two-hour programming block called “ME:TV,” featuring contributions from 10-year-olds. TLC last week began a six-part documentary series, “My Life as a Child,” where children were given cameras to videotape their lives.
A large part of the appeal of video-sharing sites is that anyone can upload a video in a heartbeat, and that clips of Mentos exploding and men dancing are just a click away.
The appeal of amateur video on television is wrapped up in the idea that TV is still a superior medium to the Web – it’s the big leagues.
“As exciting as the Internet is, there’s still something different and perhaps more glorious about your creation showing up on national television,” says Tom Ascheim, executive vice president and general manager of Nickelodeon.
The channel’s “ME:TV,” which airs weekdays at 3 p.m. Denver time, includes videos submitted by kids and a segment called “Web Wallers” where four participants are shown via Webcam.
Reality TV, of course, has been a huge beneficiary of the public’s desire to be on TV – as have older shows like “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and “Candid Camera.” But, now, contestants might shoot, edit and star in video that gets them on a program.
Current TV, now in about 40 million homes, predates the YouTube sensation with its viewer-created “pods,” which make up a third of its programming. Joel Hyatt, who co-created Current TV with Al Gore, is understandably a little irritated that his network hasn’t always been given the credit it deserves.
“We pioneered the concept. We are the only television network totally premised on the concept of viewer-created content,” says Hyatt.
Hyatt says Current purposely wanted to level the playing field in television, rather than unveil itself as a website.
TV may want to get into the YouTube business, but YouTube is happy to stay online. A spokesman for YouTube said the Google-owned company has no plans “at this time” for distribution on TV.
