Love or hate Glenn Beck, and he is a man who tends to generate extremes of emotion, you cannot fault him for his ability to build and maintain an audience. He’s now putting that ability to the ultimate test by launching his own online television network called GBTV.
Glenn Beck Television
is built around a daily live two-hour show similar to the one he hosted on Fox News until recently. It will be streamed live over the Web every day at 5pm E.D.T, which puts it in direct competition with whatever show Fox News chooses for Beck’s old slot.
There will also be other original programming, all available to watch on a PC, smartphones, Apple devices, and Television sets (via Roku). That is if you’re willing to pay the asking price of either $4.95-per-month for ‘GBTV’ or $9.95-per-month for ‘GBTV Plus’.
From Insider To GBTV
There have been other attempts at this kind of venture, but those which have asked for subscription fees up-front rather than going the freemium route haven’t lasted long. Beck is a law unto himself though.
Glenn beck isn’t, unlike other attempts at online television networks, starting completely from scratch. Through his nationally-syndicated three-hour daily radio show, the Glenn Beck Program, and his recently-canceled television show on Fox News, Beck gained loyal fans and followers, many of whom already pay to be members of ‘Insider Extreme’, a kind of fan club and community for those on Beck’s side of the political spectrum.
It’s estimated that 80,000 people already pay $9.95-per-month for the privilege of being a member of Beck’s clique, and those will all automatically be converted into GBTV subscribers. That’s a pretty large and switched-on userbase to launch with.
Conclusions
I’m personally not a fan of Glenn Beck, and obviously won’t be subscribing to GBTV. But there are plenty who will do, and Beck is starting from a strong position. If he can build an online network catering to his niche audience then it would prove it’s possible to do. So begrudgingly, I wish him luck.
[Via The New York Times]
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