“Digital-TV link has a Katalyst”
Variety article about a Katalyst web project “I Pledge” transitioning into a pilot for TV network CW:
Originally uploaded as “The Presidential Pledge,” Katalyst teamed up with MySpace to feature celebrities pledging to volunteer their service to charitable causes in 2009. As a TV show, “I Pledge” will follow those stars as they highlight causes they believe in, and help solve a problem in the process.
Interesting. But what’s really interesting about the Ashton Kutcher / Jason Goldberg prod co is this:
Meanwhile, given the cost of piloting series, Goldberg said Katalyst “found that not only can you pilot online, you can monetize it. There’s a great business taking properties and having them live on TV.”
Katalyst’s digital team has eight different Web properties in play right now, and hopes to have between 16 and 20 up by the end of the year. Goldberg said he believed 20% to 30% of those titles might then be developed for TV.
This represents a complete makeover for the TV pilot process. And while the costs for developing and producing the Web properties need to be covered by the prod co — thereby assuming a greater measure of risk — they speed up the process of seeing what connects / doesn’t connect with viewers, and if they find significant numbers of Web viewers, that puts the prod co in a much stronger bargaining position when selling the project to potential broadcast partners.
Of course, as we’ve noted numerous times in the last year — like here and here — professional TV and film writers are actively involved in producing Web-based content.
What about you? Have you created scripted Web-based content? Have you thought about doing it? It only takes one set of eyeballs — producer, network exec, agent, manager — to see something you’ve created online to change your life overnight.
Let’s face it: We live in a “Charlie Bit My Finger” world , where a 57 second long video about an infant biting his brother’s finger has been viewed online 100 million times! For those who aren’t familiar with the Charlie phenomenon, here is some background. And here is the original video:
Combined with all the mash-ups, remixes, and remakes, it’s estimated that “Charlie Bit My Finger” has been viewed in some fashion by over 300 million viewers.