So, MyDamnChannel had a little news a few weeks back with the launch of two new web-series, the soap-spoof “Horrible People” and the hiphop cooking show “Cooking with Coolio.” I thought I’d head over to the site and see how things were going.
I gotta say, it doesn’t look like things are going all that well. I know that they syndicate their programming so view-counts aren’t completely reliable but here’s what I found:
Horrible People #1 : 10,668 views
Horrible People #2: 10,576 views
Horrible People #3: 3,576 views
Yikes. That’s terrible. And the news for Coolio is even worse, with his most recent video barely making it to 3000 videos.
And what about the other shows on the site. Well, Andy Milanakis doesn’t have a single video over 10,000 views even with his supposed MTV fame and even David Wain’s highly vaunted “Wainy Days” is only averaging 25,000 views an episode.
Interestingly, the one show that seems to be very successful is Harry Shearer’s “Found Objects”, featuring video of newsmakers just before they go on live. These episodes are getting hundreds of thousands of views per post, sometimes into the millions. Of course, this is the only show on MyDamnChannel not to feature any original content. It’s really just outtakes and bloopers.
So, what do we take away from all of this. One, it is not easy to get viewers for web series. Two, if the webseries is mediocre or just plain bad you can simply forget about building a following (unless you feature girls in bikinis). And, three, there is no consensus yet as to what is required to make a series on the web viable.
The Hollywood Reporter, in a downright flood of net-related news today, reports that Ripe Digital has signed a deal to distribute a bunch of original series. (too bad they have allowed there to be an auto-play when you hit the link…bad form THR)
“The first series will be “Model Dating: Hawaii,” with comedian Jamie Kennedy on board as host. Debuting today, the ad-supported series will feature models dating viewers who write in to the show. Aaron and Peters also are in development on two other series for Ripe: “Are You In?” an “all-viewer-controlled online reality game show,” and “The One,” an interactive competition that looks for the next “it girl.”
I’m afraid there is a big trend out there with content providers who think the net is going to be the place to put all their second-tier (or worse) programming with the idea that, hey, it’s short so nobody really cares. This might work for a moment but it will never build any kind of valuable properties for anyone. It might make the site itself popular for a second or two, but that only lasts as long it takes to click away.
Tilzy has a nice look at the Suave/Sprint co-sponsored website In The Motherhood:
“Web video, which was once relegated to merely uploading footage of Junior’s school play onto YouTube, is now a viable form of entertainment by moms, for moms. Maybe it sounds a little dippy, but, believe me In the MotherHood, which is a branded series sponsored Sprint and Suave (actually the line is “conceived by Suave and Sprint” – get it? – a pregnancy reference. Ha!), is a pretty smart concept. After all, who buys more stuff than mom? ”
Obviously, more companies are seeing value in creating compelling original web video for people over the age of 25. It will be interesting to see if these endeavors continue to grow in terms of their scope and production value. How long will it be before people are “tuning in” to sponsor-created content instead of turning on the TV?
Three new programs up at MyDamnChannel, all of which are reviewed (and can be previewed) on the excellent web content site, Tilzy
I won’t go into full review mode, but I was sad to see how much of it looked like weak parody instead actually trying to make something that substantially stood on its own merits. Instead, they are launching a cooking show with a rapper, a nicely presented but totally unoriginal cartoon, and a mock soap opera.
This is not what will steal viewers away from their TV, even if it is all reality shows.
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February 29, 2008 6:03 pm | 
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