Why indy video is better for local TV

According to TechCrunch Joost won’t have User generated content. The company is inking big deals with Viacom and Warner instead. I don’t think this will hurt independent video creators. It will only make them more interesting partners. For whom you ask? For local TV stations that’s who.

Hey TV stations,
Why pay for expensive content from the big three TV dinosaurs? Make your shows local, hyper-relevant, and fresh. Sell new ideas up to New York and LA instead of the other way around. If you work with creative people formally known as your audience you can create a new sustainable business. There are thousands of people out there in your town with video cameras. This pool of content will only change.

If you go with the old way of doing things and franchise Viacom’s content property you’ll have to compete directly with Joost? Can a small business with a licence to only reach a finite physical area compete with that? In a decade or two the majority of the generation used to watching TV sets will have passed on.

(I started this blog post a few months ago and never posted it. It seems even more relevant now that Joost is out. I have a lot more thoughts about this but this will do for now. Watch out local TV!)