Online entertainment studio My Damn Channel is planning to launch the first live, daily comedy channel in partnership with YouTube next week. It’s part of the Google-owned video network’s initiative to build out its catalog of original, cable TV-like programming.
The channel, called “My Damn Channel Live,” will be hosted by writer and comedian Beth Hoyt (see above) every weekday at 4 p.m. ET. Half-hour shows will run on Wednesdays, accompanied by 10-minute “blasts” the other four days of the workweek, My Damn Channel CEO Rob Barnett tells Mashable.
The format will follow the style of late-night talk shows, featuring a range of interviews with celebrity guests and premieres of videos from My Damn Channel’s other comedy series. Where the channel will differ is in its interactions with the audience: Comments left by viewers on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter will be tied into the content of the show.
“The single most important element of any live show is the audience,” says Barnett. “So we’ll have someone dedicated to monitoring all the social feeds, and the host and guests will be interacting with the audience live. We’re also going to create contests for people to engage with the show and win access to private events,” he adds.
As GigaOm points out, live, original programming is still a challenge for YouTube — and all web publishers, for that matter. The average American sits in front of a television set for more than five hours per day, but spends a mere nine minutes watching video from his or her desktop, according to Nielsen. YouTube, meanwhile, says the average visitor spends 15 to 25 minutes on the network each day. By prompting viewers to tune in for 10 to 30 minutes every afternoon, My Damn Channel and YouTube are attempting to alter the way audiences approach the network.
The last live comedy series hosted on YouTube was done as part of an advertising package with HP.
Hewlett-Packard sponsored a week-long program during which actors from the Upright Citizens Bridgade Theater took skit ideas from the audience and performed them live on Google’s video-sharing site. Viewers were invited to send in ideas for skits by emailing their submissions to one of HP’s Internet-connected ePrint printers positioned on the stage.
This time, YouTube will be footing the bill. The site has allegedly invested $100 million in its premium content program for the year.
Source: Mashable
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