Original Web shows, programming made just for the Internet, seemed to be the next big thing at one point. And then along came Hulu and showed viewers and advertisers there was an alternative out there. With ManiaTV coming back online, is there still hope for Web shows making money online?
ManiaTV
When it launched in 2004, ManiaTV became the world’s first Internet television network. Which seems insane as it’s only five years ago but it really just shows how much has happened in the world of online television since then.
ManiaTV produced programming purely for the Internet, with shows being sold and distributed across the Web without ever going near a network executive. The primary ManiaTV audience was 18 to 34-year-olds, with the shows focused on subjects close to that age range’s heart, such as video games, music videos, and cutting-edge comedy. Dave Navarro, Tom Green, and Chuck Norris all had shows on the network.
Gone. For Good?
All was seemingly going well until founder Drew Massey sold three-quarters of the company in three rounds of venture capital raising. The company eventually hit financial troubles right in the middle of the current recession, and ceased operations in March 2009.
Now, according to The New York Times, Massey wants to give the venture another go. He has successfully bought back the brand name and much of its old programming for what he claims is a small fraction of the $26 million invested by the venture capitalists. The ManiaTV Web site will soon be back online, initially airing reruns of old shows.
Onwards and Upwards
Once everything is back up and running, Massey then plans on making new shows by the end of this year, again looking to appeal to the youth market. Massey is looking to run a lean company which will turn a profit by concentrating on sponsorships and product placements in shows rather than other forms of Web advertising.
Massey maintains there is room for small, Web-only programme-makers such as ManiaTV out there, even with the likes of Hulu and YouTube leading the charge for professional content. He claims, “This will be a billion-dollar business, it will just take longer than some people would like.”
Chances For Success
Massey seems to be going about this task the right way this time, keeping everything small and manageable and appealing to sponsors and product placement advertisers. However, the brand has a severely tarnished reputation at this point and will require a lot of rebuilding.
Then there is the biggest problem of all, that we live in a post-Hulu world where both viewers and advertisers seem to be less interested in original Web shows than they once were. Can ManiaTV buck the trend which has seen rivals such as 60Frames and Ripe Digital also go out of business?
Related Ad
Buy ‘The TV Writer’s Workbook: A Creative Approach To TV Scripts’
