I just learned about a new TV show called i-Caught that is coming to ABC from Kent Newsome. It sounds like Kent is unimpressed:
i-Caught, a new show with a Web 2.0 worthy and grammatically challenged name, will get a six-week run on ABC starting August 6. If it does well, it might return midseason.
It won’t do well for one reason. ABC, and the other TV networks, are superfluous to the user generated video movement. YouTube, Google, the blogosphere and hordes of other online media hubs already constitute a distributed video on demand system that exists without the need for a traditional broadcast medium.
ABC brings nothing to the table users can’t get elsewhere, whenever they want it, and generally without all the advertising.
I am going to have to hold judgement until I see the show. I think that traditional media companies will continue to thrive by creating additional value to user-generated content. Whether we are talking about TV, magazines, or radio, there is some great user-generated content out there and at least 10 times as much crap. New programs and magazines will start popping up where the content is user-generated, but the value is in the selection. I am going to assume that is the thinking behind i-Caught as well.
If I was in journalism school right now, I would be focusing on editing. At least until there is a way for only the most entertaining YouTube videos to end up on my TV without editorial intervention.
