CollegeHumor and MTV Pair Up

ValleyWag is reporting:

“CollegeHumor and MTV plan to launch a TV show together. In the finished pilot, the Tumblr-popular Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld host, rolling clips between skits like the one in the clip below. Sam Reich plays College Humor cofounder Ricky Van Veen. Word has it CollegeHumor insisted on getting online distribution rights and that MTV readily complied.”

It seems like this path – develop it online, build a following, migrate to TV – is getting some serious traction. The big test will come when these shows actually make it to air. Will they fair any better than pilots that were developed in the traditional manner?

Pilot’s Finding New Paths

NewTeeVee has a really interesting look at the path of NYU-student created UNDER THE ARCH – a web video which caused a fair amount of buzz when it was first released last year.

“The YouTube version has since been taken down, and now that Murray has changed his privacy settings on Facebook, it’s no longer available to the public via that channel, either. But not before it was spotted by an intern working at Madwood Entertainment, which was looking to develop a show around just such a concept. Filming is now complete on a new, 22-minute version slated to be released online in three 8-minute installments.

What struck me is how the show’s development has been fueled by feedback from the public — as opposed to network executives armed with focus groups. In a phone conversation last week, Executive Producer Patrick Corcoran described the show’s casting as “organic.” He and Murray repeated the term in comments to the Washington Square News, NYU’s student paper.”

I believe we’re going to be seeing a whole lot more of this sort of thing.  WE NEED GIRLFRIENDS has followed a similar path and is shooting a pilot for CBS.

One big question is how long will the networks be able to offer a better deal than one might get simple by remaining online.  Networks tend to take all rights and can easily destroy the indie nature of these projects once they are forced to meet the needs of a much broader demographic.

The internet is designed for niche viewing. Network TV is not.