CURRENT-TV Upfront: Olbermann Is the Sizzle; Bar Karma and New Series Are the Steak - Simon Applebaum

Current TV39s first Upfront presentation last week may have featured network founder and former Vice President Al Gore and the networks new centerpiece Keith Olbermann but the highlight was the new weekly series Bar Karma the medium39s first anthology drama audiencecrafted from almost headtotoe from gaming legend Will Wright and Nickelodeon veteran Albie Hecht As the audience for Current TV39s firstever upfront event filed into the Paley Center For Media in New York39s main auditorium Jennifer Hudson39s hit tune quotSpotlightquot played in the background You couldn39t have asked for a song better reflective of what this channel reachable to 60 million US TV households after fiveandahalf years in existence worked up last weekCurrent39s big story of course was the introduction of Olbermann who is making the channel his new primetime home plus he has an equity stake and role as chief news officer but equally big news was the introduction of Bar Karma which premiered on Current last Friday night Just two weeks into this year39s Upfront cycle there39s no question we39re in for more channels than ever taking part Two of the three networks at bat so far are firsttimersThis was Current39s opportunity to answer all the speculation over what direction the service would take more than a year after former MTV Networks39 executive Mark Rosenthal became CEO Here39s the scorecard on what transpiredVenue Paley Center pales in comparison to other upfront facilities in size and sizzle However the formal auditorium look worked well with Current39s push to be taken seriously as a channel for innovative series Nice touch the network39s new bigletter logo waving like an American flag on the stage while tunes like quotRevolutionquot by The Beatles were playing Grade Aminus Presentation Rod Serling39s original opening narration for The Twilight Zone noted his creation as quotthe middle ground between light and shadow between science and superstitionquot Current went the same route to demonstrate its existence as home base between 247 news networks and realitydocumentary services quotThere39s a huge opportunity for us to provide smart provocative insidetheaction programsquot Rosenthal maintained The clips and commentary worked best when highlighting that point An extended Bar Karma discussion with the program39s creators clearly showed the program39s potential but may have left some in the crowd confused over why a drama albeit one viewergenerated in the same way as much of the network39s content and commercials is on the network39s lineup Grade BplusNews Value You knew Keith Olbermann would make his first formal remarks since leaving MSNBC there He did and didn39t disappoint receiving an extended ovation for hooking up with the channel We also got a first look at 4th ampamp Forever a documentary series about Long Beach Poly high school in California and its remarkable number of football players doing well in the NFL which may end up winning critical raves later this spring Poly football coach Raul Lara made his first trip ever to NY to be part of this presentation and Current execs hosted him at the hit Vince Lombardi Broadway musical following the event The network also announced its new reality series Smoke Jumpers Grade AminusHost Group effort this time from Current cofounders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt to Rosenthal and programming consultant Brian Graden another MTV Networks executive grad Meatandpotatoes talk delivered straight and with no big punch lines Graden scored with his onstage interview with Raul Larahow about a show for him Grade AOverall Grade Aminus Current largely met the challenge of clarifying its programming approach to advertisers doing so in a forward manner The momentum of landing Olbermann catching TV observers by surprise helped the causeTwo more observations from the passing paradeThanks to the newly posted MediaBizBloggercom Upfront Schedule you now know what networks are in the upfront event batting order Here39s a short list of who39s yet to make a move Lifetime AampampE History AMC ABC Family BBC America and all the channels Comcast brought into its NBC Universal merger VersusGolf ChannelEStyleG4 Also wonder if ReelzChannel will enter the game in the wake of obtaining The KennedysOne of the great guessing games around upfront time is what will Discovery Communications emphasize during its spectacle scheduled for April 14 Knowing the company39s 2011 modus upfront operandi appears much more of a guess In the last five months alone Discovery turned Discovery Kids into The Hub coowned with Hasbro turned Discovery Health into Oprah Winfrey Network coowned with Harpo returned Discovery Health to life by mixing it with Fit TV and launching 3net its 3D venture with Imax and Sony Add to that contemplating diginet makeovers of Planet Green and Military Channel Given the coownership Discovery might consider separate presentations for The Hub and 3net perhaps even OWN elsewhere That way they get the main event treatment instead of being sandwiched in or left out of this main event Discovery did this in the past with their Spanishlanguage services and the result was some welldone events and will do so again there May 18 Until the next time stay well and stay tunedSimon Applebaum is hostproducer of Tomorrow Will Be Televised the Internet radiopodcastdistributed program about the TV scene The program runs live Mondays and Fridays at 3 pm Eastern time noon Pacific time on wwwblogtalkradiocom and on replay at wwwblogtalkradiocomsimonapple04 Sponsorships are available through wwwsonibytecom Have a question or reaction Email it to simonapple04yahoocomRead all Simonamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Tomorrow Will Be TelevisedCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory Group its employees or other MediaBizBloggerscom contributors Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors

Become a Thought Leader. Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership

CURRENT-TV Upfront: Olbermann Is the Sizzle; Bar Karma and New Series Are the Steak - Simon Applebaum

Author

Publish date

Channel

Simon Applebaum

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

More Videos:

Become a Thought Leader. Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership

CURRENT-TV Upfront: Olbermann Is the Sizzle; Bar Karma and New Series Are the Steak - Simon Applebaum

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Simon Applebaum

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

The payment was successful

Cookies