Tuesday, March 13, 2007

DIY television 'revolution' comes to Britain

The Guardian reports in 'Al Gore brings DIY television 'revolution' to Britain' that Al Gore has unveiled the British version of his Current TV network...which he claims is the first example of "television for the internet generation":

He said the new service, which relies on viewer-created content for more than a third of its schedule, marked a media revolution that would prove as pivotal as the invention of the printing press. Current TV, which launched yesterday on the Sky and Virgin Media pay-TV platforms, is aimed at the 18- to 34-year-olds increasingly turning to the net, mobile phones and a myriad of digital channels to complement mainstream media habits.

Instead of a traditional schedule, programming is made up of various branded "pods" of three to eight minutes in length designed to be "snacked on". Subjects may veer from a first person report from Somalia to a polemic on Britishness via coverage of a "guerrilla gardener" who plants flowers in public spaces, all interspersed with more conventional segments covering music, news and adventure travel. Through a tie-up with Google, the channel airs a three-minute news bulletin every hour based on what users of the search engine are looking for.


Sounds like it could be either a good platform for collaborative media or another example of quick-fix youth sound-bites...

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