An Interview with The Founder of Webcastr, Tim Devine.
What is webcastr?
Webcastr is a worldwide internet portal for video channels.
Why webcastr? Why now?
Well, that's the interesting question. About a year ago we looked at the internet video space and tried to figure out what was missing. At the time, it was mostly clip services like Grouper, Revver, YouTube, etc. A lot of the content was, frankly, amateurish - someone's cat balancing on a ball to a Madonna song, mentos in coke bottles, that kind of thing. We looked at this and said, where is the interest that is being served? Surely, there must be a way to aggregate more useful content based on people's particular interests.
At the same time, groups of various media entrepreneurs were in the early stages of creating specialty channels, niche programming, if you will, that catered to the needs of smaller, more focused constituencies who wanted programming that reflected their various specialized interests. We thought, why not create a platform for these channels to be combined into a service that would allow viewers to go to one place to see the best in specialty programming that is being created for the web in a channels style format?
Isn't that what cable was supposed to do?
Sure, and for many years it did just that. But as the world continues to splinter there is just not enough room on cable television to accommodate all the various types of television now being created. At the same time, producers from all over the world now have access to low-cost production facilities yet may not be able to fill a 24 hour programming schedule at all times.
These factors, combined with the on-going improvements in video compression codecs and the further worldwide penetration of broadband access is what is contributing to the current explosion in ITV and the need for a service like webcastr.
So what is the goal with webcastr?
The first stage is to provide an off-site outlet for broadcasters who are trying to expose their channels. We assume most producers will show their programming on their own sites and that's fine. But if they want to cross-pollinate with viewers who are interested in more than they can find on their local television outlet, we are the next place to go. I'm happy to say the early reception has been great. We are adding channels all the time.
Along with that comes the user experience. People are coming to us from all over the world to see things that they know and to discover shows and channels they've never heard of. It's a growing blend of the known and the unknown.
What about broadcast television? Is that a part of the plan?
Absolutely. We are in discussions with a number of traditional broadcast media outlets to air their programming as well. We envision a day when you will be able to see all the world's TV live and online. We plan to be a conduit for that.
What can you offer advertisers that's different than what they already have access to?
Obviously, online advertising is an explosive area as well. What really got the ball moving again was the ability to place advertising against video programming. It's much like the television model but online. The difference here is the advertising can be more targeted based on things like viewership tracking and specialty programming. There are also micro and macro components at play here. Smaller advertisers can run ads against specific niche programming, while global brands can get worldwide coverage that they can rarely get in the traditional broadcast space. Ad shops used to have an expression that said that half of all advertising is wasted, but no one knew which half. That number is coming down.
Lots of online video outlets have been criticized for copyright violations. What is your view on that going forward?
I come from many years in the music business, so I respect copyright 100%. People need to get paid for their creative output or they won't continue to produce creative work. We don't currently offer a user generated outlet because so many users either purposely or inadvertently upload content that they don't own the rights to. We may loosen up that end of the business based on certain deals coming down the pike, but at the end of the day, whether it is deemed fair use or falls within the DMCA, we intend to fully respect copyright issues.
What's the future hold for webcastr?
We have no idea. And that's the fun part. All I know is we fully intend to be there.
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