B&C's Breakout Networks
Special Report
October 31, 2005
Democratizing television might sound like a lofty goal, but that's just what the Current network is aiming to do. The network, helmed by former Vice President Al Gore and legal-services mogul Joel Hyatt, launched Aug. 1 in 20 million homes, aiming to fill its air with short-form viewer-contributed content (or "VC2") submitted by and chosen by its target audience of 18- to 34-year-olds.
About 30% of Current's programming is submitted by its viewers, mainly amateur filmmakers. That's significantly more than the 5% the network expected viewers to provide. (The rest is produced in-house or acquired).
With most of its distribution on DirecTV, which had carried Current's previous incarnation NewsWorld International (Gore and Hyatt acquired it earlier this year), the network is on a smattering of cable systems, including some Time Warner and Comcast properties, and aims to be in 50 million homes within five years. Gore says feedback from cable operators has been "very encouraging." Wonder how he's doing in Florida. - A.B
Source: Broadcasting & Cable
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