Old Folks – The Next Frontier for Webseries?
If you look at recent ComScore numbers (yes, I should provide a link but it is Monday and I’m just not in the mood to go hunting) it shows that the largest group of Hulu-watchers is over 40, which is perhaps a little surprising to those who still believe that the web is just for the youngins out there.
However, “old’ people are online in huge numbers and now that video online is so easy to access there is a new opportunity for producers of original web video. Thanks to Tilzy.TV for pointing me to one of the first really pro attemtps to tap into this massive market, the series “50 to Death.”
Creator Norm Golden and his fellow Upper West Side, New York City collaborators Joan Barber and Jon Freda have reached the age where they’re considered old by the youngins, but they don’t quite feel that way. They’re older, for sure, but not elderly. Yet for some reason society has chosen to peg age 50 with the stigma of being a ‘senior’ and with ‘old age’ (the creators actually blame the latter on the AARP, and then softly dismiss the suggestion).
How this still active, aging-but-not-nearly-immoble crowd “jousts with the 21st century” provides the premise for 50 to Death.
Although not likely to be a breakout hit, I think this sort of targeted programming is the best way to get an audience online. The biggest benefit of online distribution is that you don’t have to make a show for everyone and will often cut through the noise much more quickly if you have a specific audience in mind.
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February 23, 2009 8:49 am
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