YouTube's new premium content push featuring the likes of Madonna and Ashton Kutcher spurred speculation that the Googleowned site is issuing a direct challenge to the television industry.
That suspicion was given further credence by reports that Google is considering offering paid cable-TV services to consumers. For Michael Hirschorn, chief creative officer of the recently launched IconicTV and one of the nearly 100 content providers participating in the initiative, there's something much bigger taking shape. The programming veteran believes that YouTube's initiative shows that walls between traditional television and digital video are collapsing. As evidence that the barriers are weakening, he cites the explosive growth of connected televisions and tablets.
"The new terrain lives in between TV and the Internet," said Hirschorn. "It requires a nimbleness and where appropriate, a humility, to be open to all the change that is approaching."Iconic is a joint venture between Hirschorn, a former Vh1 executive and the author of a controversial Atlantic piece on the demise of the New York Times, and Larry Aidem, the former chief executive of the Sundance Channel.
Iconic's initial offerings are Life and Times, which will focus on Jay-Z's cultural and artistic interests, "Uno Dos Tres," a bilingual channel featuring music, dance and telenovelas; and "Myish," a platform for emerging indie singers. Each channel will be responsible for 50 hours of programming a year, and in return, YouTube will advance the content creators a nine-figure sum against ad revenues. Hirschorn declined to comment on how any profits would be split.
Ultimately, cable networks may begin making carriage deals with YouTube. As part of the new offering, Hirschorn said that You-Tube is shaking up the way it is organized - a rhizomatic format that may have helped turn David at the Dentist into a viral phenomenon, but hasn't allowed the company's modest efforts at hosting premium content to get off the ground.