Web Videos’ Best Hope: Lazy, Scared and Tired Network Programming

First came word that NBC would inflict Jay Leno on the nation a full 90-minutes earlier, pre-empting any chance of compelling shows to watch from 10-11PM on that network – not to mention that the vast majority of their remaining schedule features non-scripted fare.

Now comes MTV’s list of new shows that I am reprinting below from Radar:

College Life, about freshman at the University of Wisconsin. Can you say beer parties?Nitro Circus, with freestyle motocross star Travis Pastrana and his posse.

The CollegeHumor Show, set in the offices of the twentysomething-run website CollegeHumor.com.

How’s Your News? which was first seen ten years ago as a series of short films directed by Arthur Bradford. This one’s about news reporters who have disabilities.

Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, with the co-star of MTV’s Rob & Big, who is trying to grow his skateboarding business via the Fantasy Factory, a 25,000-square-foot warehouse that is transformed into a play house.

Daddy’s Girls, with Rev Run’s daughters Vanessa and Angela Simmons of Run’s House. In this outing, they move to Los Angeles and open a store to sell their apparel line while Vanessa tries to make it as an actor.

The Girls of Hedsor Hall, inspired by the British Ladette to Lady, about a dozen foul-mouthed party girls who go to finishing school. Former Miss USA Tara Conner will be the “visiting instructor” and the winner gets $100,000.

An untitled reality show which follows students of Cincinnati’s School for the Creative and Performing Arts.

It’s one thing to abandon music entirely but at least for a little while the new programming at MTV felt, well, new.  Everything on this list is a rehash, spin-off or rip-off of an existing show.   There is not one single original concept in the bunch.  I guess time will tell if the youth of America are really this hungry for generic entertainment or if they will begin to look elsewhere in greater numbers for entertainment that doesn’t treat them like a bunch of idiots.

NBC to Test Jimmy Fallon Online

The thing I love most about the explosive growth of internet-accessed video is that it is making big, established companies try all sorts of interesting experiments and letting us watch and collect the data.

Case in point, NBC is going to “test out” Jimmy Fallon’s role as replacement for Conan O’Brien on “Late Night” by putting the new show online for something like six months leading up to the change-over.

“Slated to air this fall, webisodes are expected to run about five to 10 minutes long each, and his web show will likely air on a nightly basis to establish a regular rhythm for Fallon and viewers.” (via Wired)

I can’t wait to see what NBC will do if nobody watches the web series.  Will they dump Fallon before he even gets to TV?  Also, can one develop the elements of a successful hour-long TV show on the back of a series of 5-10 minute versions?

Time will tell…

Related articles by Zemanta

• ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ to debut online
• Jimmy Fallon Gets An Early Shot At Replacing Conan – On The Web
• NBC gives Fallon webisodes to hone his late-night chops