Our First Exposure on Broadcast Television

Well, at least it started off well. See press release for the lawsuit.

It’s funny.  When you talk with many of the folks who make their living in the online broadcasting world (like those of us here at the Vegas Video Network), many say that traditional media is dead (or, at the very least, dying).  Advertising is dropping. Viewership/listenership has measurably decreased. The coveted 18-25 demographic doesn’t watch at all. And yet, I bet if ANY of these “new media” producers were given the opportunity to get a show on broadcast television, they’d be all over it.

Why?  Because, regardless of what people say, it’s exciting to see your product on a medium most of us grew up on.  A medium that still has a huge reach. A place that has no problem firing Rosie O’Donnell. A platform that your mom can watch without an hour of explanation.  (“No mom, double click. . .you. . .wait. . .click the thing in your hand with your index fing. . .no faster. . .screw it, how about some pizza and we’ll watch TMC.”)

Of course, we’ve made it pretty easy to watch VVN content.  Nevertheless, I’ve seen several “new media” folks get their break on television and foam at the mouth talking/promoting it.  And you know what?  It’s exciting!  It’s acknowledgment that you can produce content that a potentially broad audience will embrace. 

And, all of a sudden, regular media is cool again.

Truth is, traditional media is at risk. No question.  We’ve been told by several knowledgeable sources many Vegas-based media properties are specifically worried about what VVN does. That may explain why they’ve often tried to duplicate many of the things online broadcasters do. Nonetheless, I just finished getting a bit of a thrill. All thanks to good old fashion television.

“Psst. Hey buddy. Wanna do a tv show?”

Toward the end of February, we were approached to produce a show for Vegas TV.  We were a bit cautious about the whole thing.  We are often asked to meet with folks who tell us they have this tv deal or that tv pilot and more times than not, it’s simply bullshit.  But when Rick Singer approached us (with his on-screen partner Ella Roberts), damn if they didn’t really have a deal with Vegas TV.  A show idea they called Let’s Talk News Now!

We know there is a lot of work involved in going from idea to broadcast. So, we got to work. We debated. Tested. Timed. Rehearsed. Argued. Tweaked. Laughed. Compromised. Brainstormed. I got pretty good at doing that whole 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 countdown thing. (When they say a show is 23 minutes, they’re serious.) And on March 21st, 2012, at 1:00PM PDT, I saw the first show produced in our studios being broadcast on television.

Gotta tell ya, it was pretty damn cool.

Sure, there were things that I wanted to change. That happens often with me. But there I was, taking pictures of my television with my Blackberry, as I sat there with Boswell and Coda, watching LTNN.  It was really fun. Although it wasn’t perfect, I thought everybody involved did a nice job.

So, congrats to Jacob, Rick, Ella, Dave, Keshia and everybody else involved in getting this show “on the air”.  I look forward to more of the same.