I was in the press room two national cable shows ago when former video president Al Gore announced a new combo cable/internet venture aimed at young people. The response was a kind of incredulity and, yes, I heard a few snickers. Here we are two years later and the switch is about to be flipped on Current TV. An idea to hire and equip 200 video journalists dropped by the wayside leaving some ill-will; AP’s David Bauder reports that only about 25 percent of the content is user-generated. The network has a multi-year contract with DirecTV plus it has some initial distribution via the channel it acquired, Newsworld International, for a launch total of about 20 million homes. That means most potential viewers will have to rely on the broadband option.
As for the idea that it could be obsolete before it starts given the new interest in internet video, talk to me when MTV Overdrive gets a higher audience than MTV. If Current fails, it won’t be because kids aren’t watching TV.