http://www.current.tv/
Current is the first national network created by, for and with an 18-34
year-old audience, offering 24 hours of independent programming.
The award-winning TV network adopts what has made the Internet
the medium of choice for young adults—customizable content and
consumer participation. It offers unique short-format content created
in the voice of its viewers and uniquely tailored to their interests:
everything from technology, fashion, music and videogames, to the
environment, relationships, spirituality, politics, finance, and parenting...
subjects that young adults can rarely find on TV. Current also
enlists its viewers to become creative partners, providing an open
forum to submit viewer-produced content, making it the first television
network whose programming is supplied in part by the very audience
who watches it.
CURRENT
A New Concept in Television Where Viewers Help Create the TV They Want to Watch
Welcome to Current…
In the 80s, MTV shook up conventional TV programming by offering young viewers a new kind of content. In the
90s, the Internet pulled viewers, particularly young adults, away from television by offering them
on-demand, personalized media. In the new millennium, it’s time again to bring those young viewers back to
television and to learn—from them—about what’s going on in their lives.
Meet Current, an award-winning TV network that adopts what has made the Internet the medium of choice for
young adults—customizable content and consumer participation. To a generation reared on cable television
and the Internet, Current offers unique short-format, nonfiction content created in the voice of our viewers and
uniquely tailored to their interests. Current is the television homepage of the Internet generation.
Current is the first national network created by, for and with an 18-34 year-old audience, offering 24 hours of
independent programming. Current adds a new form of audience collaboration and connection to television
programming, ensuring that the hopes, dreams and passions of a generation are shared in a voice that young
adults can recognize: their own. Current enlists its viewers to become creative partners, making it the first
television network in history whose programming will be supplied in part by the very audience who watches it.
The network is the brainchild of former Vice President Al Gore and entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, and broadcasts
into 20 million U.S. homes (expanding to 28 million as of June 1). Headquartered in San Francisco, the
network’s programming slate is smart, bold, authentic and fresh.
“The Internet opened a floodgate for young people whose passions are finally being heard, but TV hasn’t
followed suit. Young adults have a powerful voice, but you can’t hear that voice on television…yet,” explains
Gore. “We intend to change that with Current, giving those who crave the empowerment of the Web the same
opportunity for expression on television. We want to transform the television medium itself, giving a national
platform to those who are hungry to help create the TV they want to watch.”
The participatory model of Current represents a giant leap in seven decades of television. “Until now, the
notion of viewer participation has been limited to sending a tape to ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos,’ calling
an interview show, taking part in an instant poll, or voting someone off an island,” Gore adds. “We’re creating a
powerful new brand of television that doesn’t treat audiences as merely viewers, but as collaborators.”
Today’s Technology Trends Meet TV
In the past few decades, we’ve seen a cultural shift toward more and more consumer control. Back in 1979,
Zagat offered a nascent glimpse of this trend, rocking the world of restaurant reviews by replacing the opinion
of an “expert” with an unabashedly authentic bent. By the mid-90s, the rise of the Internet led to pioneers like
GeoCities, Amazon and eBay, all companies premised on consumer participation and control.
Today, Mozilla’s open-source software allows users to customize their Web browsing experience. Similarly,
the hottest new products appeal to consumers’ need for choice and control, with TiVo, iPod and even the first
custom-built, branded sneaker, NikeID, leading the pack. A growing army of bloggers are “citizen journalists,”
with South Korea’s OhMyNews having close to 40,000 citizen reporters who provide that newspaper’s content.
But the television medium has yet to catch up with viewers’ demand for choice and control. Our young adults
want it—and even expect it—in every part of their life, including their media. Current’s television programming is
the first ever to meet this demand.
In addition to demanding more control and personalization in their products, this younger generation also
wants to be in-the-know. At the same time, they don’t relate to traditional news formats, and instead rely on
the Internet or satire shows like “The Daily Show” to keep them informed. With other products catering to
their need for choice and control, it’s up to television to change for the new generation. Current finally delivers
programming that covers what’s going on in their lives, told from their perspective, delivered in a voice they
recognize, welcoming their direct input and showcasing their talent.
Harnessing a Generation’s Creativity and Need to be Heard
Although a large share of Current’s programming is professionally produced, the unique component to our
offering is “viewer created content,” or VC2. As members of the online “Current Studio,” viewers can tap into
an online assignment desk from our programming executives and go after the same stories that our inhouse
production team produces. After shooting and editing a piece, they can upload their video segments via
Current’s website (www.current.tv). What’s more, each submission is showcased online so that fellow viewers
and collaborators can review and rank submissions, potentially voting the best ones onto the air. An incentive
program rewards prolific contributors, offering to pay them up to $1,000 per piece, depending on how many
make it on air. In addition, viewers can create “viewer created ad messages,” or
V-CAMs, for Current sponsors. Producers earn $1,000 per aired V-CAM, and have a chance to earn more if a
sponsor decides to distribute a spot beyond Current’s broadcast.
A coterie of young hosts, some culled from our online studio, add an authentic personality to the broadcasts,
using a conversational approach and a dash of the outrageous. To bring out the best in our studio contributors,
Current offers a comprehensive online training program developed by some of the best young creatives in the
industry. This free online training program, called the VC2 Survival Guide (www.current.tv/studio/survivalguide)
is the first of its kind, teaching anyone with a digital video camera and computer how to produce segments.
Expert-led modules include storytelling, shooting and editing.
