Earlier this month I met Smith Forte, VP for Online at Current TV, the new San Francisco-based television network. The company, headed by Al Gore, has set off on an intriguing business. The network pays contributors to create video segments which are used on the network. The network is a bonafide cable channel carried by many cable systems, on satellite and online.
Smith says the viewer response to the programming has been "addictive" — he says the "shuffle" like programming, meaning no two segments are seen in the same order, is very successful. Current recently made a big global expansion with a carriage deal with BSkyB
MUST READ: DECEMBER ISSUE OF WIRED
Wow, here’s Jessica Rose, the 19-year old actress who has rocketed to stardom via the LonelyGirl15 series on YouTube. She graces the cover of the new issue of Wired for Joshua Davis’ terrific article on the show and its implications. In the same issue is an article on YouTube by star-ad-pundit Bob Garfield and finally, check out the article by Frank Rose on the Chevy mash-up ad experiment.
(Photo by Peter Yang/Wired)
Al Gore, Current TV, Smith Forte, Jessica Rose, Lonelygirl15, Wired Magazine
