MUMBAI: This is an initiative that seeks to tap the new media platform of television being delivered over the net. It also aims to bypass the traditional TV network model.
American television producer Brian Knappmiller is partnering with Internet communications firm Effects and streaming video service provider Maven to launch The Fix in a few months time.
The parties say that this is the first real online television network providing 100 per cent original programming. Knappmiller has already inked deals with celebrities and rock bands to create their own shows; product placement firms are on board as well, providing additional revenue for The Fix.
Knappmiller and Effects founder Ruben Navarrete are currently in negotiations with some interested venture capitalist firms. They decided to create The Fix after a television show they produced was passed over by the networks, even though the show boasted an impressive fan base of over two million people. Both had previously explored ways to enhance television with the Internet. The decision to launch an online network on the Web was the answer.
Navarrete says, "With The Fix, we are completely bypassing the traditional network television model. The Internet gives us the global distribution and mass audience television series need to be successful, along with the on-demand delivery so many viewers want. The Fix will truly be television on the viewers' terms."
He adds that right now online video content in general is currently limited to amateur video and rebroadcasts of television shows created for network or cable television. The Fix will be entirely different, creating all original programming with the same production values as traditional network and cable television. All shows will be original first-run and available in virtually any form a viewer desires, be it their Video iPod, cell phone, or DVR - or to burn to DVD and share.
He adds, "No one has seen anything like The Fix. We are taking the best of the Internet and the best of television to give viewers a network where they are in control of how and when they watch."