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Creator of the Idol franchise Simon Fuller - Source: Reuters -
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Simon Fuller, the creator of the multimillion dollar American
Idol TV franchise, is betting on the internet for his latest
venture - a multimedia interactive reality show that debuts on
video-viewing site Hulu.com.
If I Can Dream follows five aspiring artists bidding for stardom in
Hollywood in what is billed as a groundbreaking marriage of social
networking and the fast-growing market for television shows
streamed on the internet.
It will also be the first recurring show available to select
international audiences on Hulu - the joint venture between NBC
Universal, News Corp and Walt Disney that allows viewers to stream
TV shows over the web.
In what sounds like a cross between Idol and Big Brother, 30-minute
weekly episodes on Hulu will track the triumphs and set-backs of
two actresses, a musician, an actor and a model looking to break
into show business.
Viewers will also get unedited access, 24/7, to their lives through
50 cameras in their shared Hollywood Hills house on the
website .
Fans also can interact with the five through texts, blogs,
MySpace, Twitter and Facebook.
As the five artists make it or break it, the public can choose new
hopefuls who have auditioned via MySpace.
Fuller, the British media mogul whose 19 Entertainment managed The
Spice Girls pop group and soccer player David Beckham, called the
venture "the dawning of a new age".
"The next frontier (in entertainment) is the video world of
authentic real time interaction," he said in a statement.
Almost 178 million US internet users watched online video in
December 2009, when viewing reached a record 33.2 billion videos,
according to digital measurement company comScore.
Fuller's vision has won the backing of blue-chip business partners
Pepsi and Ford Motors , although long-form standalone video on the
internet has yet to fully establish itself.
"One of the future directions of programming is allowing consumers
to interact through social media," said Jon Gibs, vice president of
online media for Nielsen.
"Whether or not we are in the market yet for a truly successful,
purely online program is a bit different."
The toughest challenge will be promoting If I Can Dream in the
crowded Hulu market, which saw more than one billion video streams
in December, according to comScore.
The five artists have visited Sydney, Berlin, Rio De Janeiro, Tokyo
and Taipei to promote the show in the past few weeks and Fuller has
joined forces with Clear Channel Radio to further boost audience
awareness.
But a few days ahead of the launch, the If I Can Dream websites
and videos had attracted only a handful of views.
"If it's not strongly promoted to a large core audience, it will be
problematic, particularly if you have to get people to change their
behaviour," Gibs said.
