Tuesday's Wall Street Journal featured an article about a new internet site offering high-quality, new video content specifically produced for this site.
As I wrote here, and here, it was only a matter of time until some smart, funded directors and producers established their own website to offer new video content directly to viewers, without broadcast or cable networks.
Two MTV veterans have launched Lifestyle Television at LX.TV. Right now, it's primarily, as my consultant friend S, describes it, a series of commercials about luxury goods, without the bother of a plot or drama to interrupt them. As she said, it's as if Morgan Hertzan and Joseph Varet, the founders, learned from MTV and have eliminated the dramatic content, to focus on the more-lucrative advertising and placement revenues.
Seriously, LX.TV represents the onset of a business model which could well eventually drive high-quality drama off of even cable TV. For now, the content could be described as a high-quality video shot by following some twenty-something beautiful people in Manhattan around after hours. After seeing one segment about a $200 drink made with ingredients from one of the site's sponsors, S opined that, with topics like this, even she would consider joining Al Queda to fight the decadent West.
Nevertheless, I think the debut of LX.TV heralds the coming of direct-to-viewer dramatic video content over the internet. The founders are established creative and business executives from the cable world. They are starting by featuring personalities from cable networks, thus legitimizing the site, as well as lending more viewer interest in the programming.
When iTV arrives from Apple next summer, the technical pieces will be complete for viewing sites like LX.TV on your television. Add better dramatic content, a payment mechanism such as PayPal, and there's no reason why more established production companies won't begin developing new dramatic content for their own websites.
The future of direct-to-consumer video content has arrived.....
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