Kevin Rose: 'kill your television' and join me at Revision3
Digg partners Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson want you to “kill your television” and join them instead for their “televison, revised.”
Why is it “Revision3”? According to Jay Adelson, Chairman, CEO and David Prager, COO, VP Programming:
• Revision 1: Cable, adding general interest channels, catering to “most common denominator”
• Revision 2: PC-based Internet video, indy films, no business model, no loyalty, no audience
• Revision3: TV and Internet converge. iPods, Tivo, mobile, broadband enable mass, loyal audience to shift to on-demand, niche content.
Adelson and Prager, along with Rose, are relaunching a “new network for a new audience” with new VC funding and I spoke with them to get their direct take on why they declare Revision3 is the “first media company that gets it.”
Revision3 “story”:
The roots of our web-based tech network, Revision3, started in San Francisco during our days with the international television network, TechTV. Our first experiences with this type of programming was a computer hacking web show called thebroken. Over the first year, thebroken received well over 2 million downloads, setting a trend for the viability of short, downloadable how-to and tech-based content. Fast-forward two years, when the lack of technology television programming and the loss of TechTV has re-inspired us to rejoin forces to do this on our own. Our mission is to deliver reliable, consistent, professional and fun tech content for Internet and TV distribution.
Adelson believes “truly revolutionary Internet television” isn’t about “putting television programming on a computer.” Revision3 strives to be “everywhere and anywhere” and is “neutral to distribution platform.”
Revision3 distribution partners include:
• iTunes
• YouTube
• BitTorrent
• Google Video
• Palm…
Revision3 “Fall Lineup”:
Diggnation: Kick back with a beer and get hosts Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht’s humorous, and street-wise take on timely news stories from the top of digg’s homepage.
Mysteries of Science Explained: Revision3’s resident crackpot scientist provides the answers to life's great mysteries.
Control-Alt-Chicken: A new form of cooking show for geeks, one in which the chefs don’t know how to cook!
PixelPerfect: Be amazed and learn as master digital artist Bert Monroy takes a stylus and a digital pad and treats it as Monet and Picasso do oil and canvas.
Infected by Martin Sargent: Aguided tour of humorous, fascinating, and weird content on the Web--all in a unique hilarious, erudite style.
Geekdrome: Two geeks debate movies, comics, and video games with verbal sparring along the lines of a Kevin Smith movie.
Systm: Systm's how-to episodes educate viewers on how to build, use, and take advantage of technologies and inventions that enhance their lives.
InDigital - Your Life in Gear: Hosts Jessica Corbin, Hahn Choi, and Wil Wheaton look at the latest gadgets and high tech products that define life in the modern world.
thebroken: Legendary underground technology show with a hacker mentality that caters to the elite (or wannabe 1337) computer user using a mixture of seriousness and irreverent comedy.
Revision3 may tout its “edgy” programming and claim to want to “kill your television” but its business model actually harkens back to the early days of television when shows were made possible by brand “sponsorships.”
For example, Kevin Rose might “integrate” talk about GoDaddy hosting in an “honest” way during an episode of Diggnation.
Adelson believes Revision3’s style of “product placement” will be more effective for advertisers and more lucrative for Revision3 than 30-second spots inserted within the programming. Investors apparently agree, Revision3 will formally announce a new million dollar round of funding tomorrow from:
Greylock Partners (Digg, Facebook, LinkedIn)
Marc Andreessen (Netscape, Opsware, Ning)
Don Hutchison (Goodmail, Exite@Home)
Michael Tanne (Wink, Cloudmark, XDegrees)…
ALSO SEE EXCLUSIVE KEVIN ROSE INTERVIEW:
Digg: Kevin Rose Talks "The Real Deal"