Webcastr.com:  The Future of Internet TV?

by Mick Kleber

Interview with Tim Devine, founder of Webcastr.com, a new company whose slogan says it all - ‘the Best of Internet TV.’

Why would a well-known music business executive walk away from a successful career (and a seven-figure salary) to become the next Internet entrepreneur?  Just ask Tim Devine, founder of Webcastr.com, a new company whose slogan says it all - ‘the Best of Internet TV.’

A year ago, Devine was sitting at the top of Sony’s Columbia Records West Coast operation as GM and SVP, Artists and Repertoire.  A man whose shrewd skills as a talent scout, dealmaker and corporate player helped plump record company coffers to the tune of half a billion dollars across the last two decades, he’d been instrumental in the careers of such diverse artists as U2, Prince, Devo, Bonnie Raitt, the Beastie Boys, Blind Melon, The Offspring, Train, Switchfoot and dozens of other name acts.  But now he found himself awash in an entertainment technology sea change that was swamping the traditional label model. 

“There was a seismic shift happening,” Devine recalls.  “It was painfully obvious – especially with the video revolution – that the frontier of opportunity in entertainment is in digitization and the web.”  With every URL now the platform for a potential media empire, Devine opted out to build and rule his own.

Now sitting in the offices of The Devine Company at the center of Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, Devine is excited about the pioneering feel of his new enterprise.  “It’s early days,” he says with a gleam in his eye.  “We’re helping to create a whole new kind of media.”  Turning to his computer, he navigates briskly through a portfolio of web commerce ventures he’s currently developing that range from real estate to automobiles to entertainment. Webcastr.com, the crown jewel the collection, is focused on is the burgeoning field of internet television. Devine is quick to explain what that is.

“There’s a lot of misconception about this still nascent field. To most people, the phrase ‘internet television’ simply means user-generated uploaded clips (a la YouTube or Revver) or perhaps traditional television repurposed for the web, like say, Hulu. We believe it is something wholly different than that.”

With production costs plummeting and web distribution on the rise, “Channels are popping up everywhere, many of which are branded, focused and really serve a specialized audience,” Devine explains.  “We’re creating a portal, a network if you will, for these branded channels to exist in an environment much like the early days of cable TV, but on the web.”

“The biggest challenges in the web video environment are dealing with production values that are all over the map as well as just the sheer volume of material,” he continues.  “How can viewers conveniently determine what should be on their programming menu without wading through a vast junkyard of marginally watchable stuff?  I felt there was a need for a site that made it easy – one-stop shopping for only the best and latest on-demand video content on the web.”

Devine points to the familiar names that have already signed on to his network. From the Wall Street Journal to Vanity Fair; from TV Guide Broadband to FHM magazine, traditional media are launching internet video channels to expand the reach of their brand with quality content that acts as an extension of their principal outlets.

But Webcastr is not just for established brands. “We have exciting new content creators like CelebTV, Young Hollywood, Automotive TV, the Green Energy Channel, the Space Channel, the Bike Channel, Digital Daily and others that sit right alongside names like CBS, MTV, TMZ and the NHL.”

Beyond the channel experience, Webcastr also offers a selection of up-to-the-minute news, show business, and informational clips from around the web, as well as lifestyle clips on gaming, technology, art, animation, travel, cooking, health – plus the requisite sexy fashion videos and bikini babes. “The web generation has a certain lean. They want information, but they also want to be entertained,” says Devine. “Today’s audience defines news very broadly. They want news that reflects their social culture and their special interests – stylish and sexy, but also smart.  Webcastr is designed to be their video newsstand.”

From moment to moment, the site’s front page may feature anything from global warming, to the situation in Darfur, to the Victoria’s Secret lingerie show to the latest celebrity meltdown – or all of the above.  Paris Hilton and Pervez Musharraf are suddenly on equal terms.  Devine’s role as chief curator of this eclectic mix brings a skill set to bear that’s been honed on literally thousands of record album projects.  “I learned long ago that you don’t sign a band just because you like their music.  It’s all about understanding what the audience wants and serving them.” 

Webcastr’s ability to do just that differentiates it from the rest of the video aggregation pack, and the concept appears to be working. With nearly 200 content providers already on board and an Alexa ranking that is up 1,500% in the just last four months alone, the site is rapidly gaining traction around the world. “We have viewers tuning in from over 100 countries. When people come to visit us, I hand them the remote and say, ‘find this stuff on your regular TV.’ They can’t do it.” says Devine.

Though currently in beta, Webcastr has already garnered attention on the webpages of Forbes, MarketWatch, the LA Times and others who took notice when a tsunami of traffic overwhelmed the site’s server capacity due to the exclusive debut of Britney Spears’ video from her latest album.  How they managed to scoop the competition remains a trade secret, but as technological and creative refinements continue, Devine and his team are busy at work building the post-YouTube video experience.

“Growing up, my heroes were always guys like (CBS founder) Bill Paley and later Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch; guys who seized the moment that allowed them to quickly build media empires in an age of technological expansion, first with transcontinental terrestrial broadcasting, then later with satellites.” Clearly Devine feels that just such a moment has arrived for Internet TV.

“We believe the next five years are going to show enormous growth in the advent and development of both specialized and branded video channel-based programming for several reasons. First, there are well-defined constituencies for nearly every endeavor known to man – mountain biking, photoshoppers, mac enthusiasts, snowboarders, food and wine lovers – you name it. Just like in print, you also have advertising bases to support these fields. Secondly, unlike starting a cable TV channel, you can take advantage of lower production costs, and you don’t have to create a 24-hour slate of programming on a daily basis,” explains the web media maven.

Replete with state-of-the-art features – including widgets, bookmark links, RSS feeds, interactivity enhancements, Facebook and myspace fan sites, and more to come – which drive increasing engagement with the continuously mutating programming mix, Webcastr provocatively suggests that perhaps the future of television is evolving right before your eyes. Meanwhile, one thing is certain.  With music, extreme sports and dream girls du jour alongside finance, politics and breaking world news, Webcastr is a seductive melange of eye candy, infobites, and specialty snacks ready made for today’s digital consumer.

“Let’s put it this way,” says Devine. “It’s not your father’s newspaper.”

To see exactly what this blend of video programming is all about, check out www.webcastr.com.

Mick Kleber is a Los Angeles-based creative director/producer specializing in the arts, health and faith.  He is the former Chief Creative Officer for Spotlight Health and Capitol Records VP, Video and Media.