One of the biggest differences between independent Online Video content creation versus content shown on TV is the time it takes to build an audience. While TV has the luxury of an immediate captive audience of millions, they also deal with antsy advertisers. The luxury of time indie online producers have is a key consideration in their success.

Television either works or it doesn’t. There’s a pilot, if that works there’s an initial commitment of a certain number of episodes, but once that happens advertisers and significant financial obligations are involved. TV doesn’t have the luxury of time to build an audience.

Online video success invariably comes over time. Whether it’s a one-off viral video or a series like LG15, it takes time to build an audience by word of mouth and non-traditional means of promotion.

Many good television programs have been canceled despite good writing and a strong story because they weren’t given the time they needed to succeed and because they couldn’t find the advertisers willing to work with them.

Arrested Development and Studio 60 are examples of this. Studio 60, reportedly had a very affluent audience despite its modest ratings, a valuable target for some advertisers, but network television needs to be everything to everyone. Arrested Development likewise was hailed by critics and became a cult hit, but cult hits don’t last in prime time.

Some, like Fox’s Party of Five and CBS’ Jericho have such a dedicated audience that networks returned them to air despite poor ratings, the thinking being - a core group of influencers can build an audience if given time.

Then there is the HBO model. Edgy original programming too daring for network advertisers, that can only be monetized by viewer subscription. HBO’s model is really pretty gutsy if you think about it. But they have built up the authority necessary to succeed. People trust HBO to offer great programming.

Returning to online video, producers while they lack the funding of TV, have the luxury of time to create something that works. The two-way communication capabilities of the internet allow them to create better content and to build an audience by speaking directly to their viewers.

In this way, producers can eventually build authority and a large enough audience to monetize it. The big question is whether networks with their established authority and leg-up in promotion can achieve a viable audience for online-only content when competing against those with time on their side.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 10th, 2007 at 3:14 pm and is filed under User Generated, editorial. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.