Online video has evolved in 2 stages over the past few years. The first was to get video on the web. The second is to make online video a profitable entertainment platform.
This week I had the pleasure of working with Kevin Pollak and his team to produce the Kevin Pollak Chat Show. This new stage is an exciting format for moving online video forward.
For those who aren’t aware, the Kevin Pollak Chat Show was launched in 2009 and has since produced 52 episodes (including the one produced today). The format of the show is simple — it’s an interview show where Kevin speaks with his guests. Despite its simplicity, it’s very engaging and breaks many traditional rules of TV:
There is no set duration. The show goes on for as long as the show is interesting.
There is frequent conversation with off-camera and behind-the-scenes crew.
The show has interesting guests that an audience can relate to.
Kevin Pollak has also partnered up with Jason Calacanis to launch the ThisWeekIn.com video network. The video network follows the same pattern as Kevin’s show — simple setup with engaging hosts and topics.
Will it succeed? I sure hope so. In this new online video setup, content is very good and distribution policies have finally been locked down. No longer do you have to worry about encoding 10 different files for 10 different platforms.
Before people start replicating the format — it’s important to remember that producing video — regardless of the medium is still extremely challenging. Online video production is no different. The people that make Kevin’s show happen on a weekly basis are experts in production and then in online video.
As we see the next stage of online video rise, it’ll be interesting to keep a look out for ThisWeekIn.com as well as the upcoming TechCrunch TV. Both of these studios are run by people with a strong execution strategy, the single most essential factor of success.
