TAPP TV
– Subscription TV connecting super-fans to the personalities they can’t get enough of
TAPP is building online video channels around celebrities, allowing super-fans close-up access to the people they adore. Fan-supported subscription channels you can watch on any device – your phone, tablet, pc, or TV.
Location: San Francisco
Size: 11-50 employees
Funding: Round in 2014 (Unknown Amount)
Markets: Digital Media, Television, Subscription Businesses
Type: Privately Held
Founders: Mike Greer, Jon Klein, Jeff Gaspin
Sarah Palin’s Tapp Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTp8qdzlLWw
(From TAPP’s website) BRAINCHILD OF TWO LIFELONG DISRUPTERS
Jeff Gaspin and Jon Klein first met 20 years ago while pioneering reality television at NBC and CBS, respectively. They were ahead of the curve then, and they’ve stayed there – helping to usher in the era of online video in the 2000’s, and now turning their sights to media’s next frontier: subscription television.
Digital media enables stars to reach their biggest fans directly on a smartphone or tablet – eliminating the network, studio, and cable system middlemen. Plummeting production costs mean that subscription channels built around ultra-niche personalities and their super-fans can become highly profitable in a very short time. Glenn Beck, Louis CK, Jon Stewart, Rand Paul, and WWE, among others, have all entered this lucrative arena.
Now imagine a single platform featuring scores of these subscription TV channels, showcasing the biggest names in endless niches all the way down the long tail. A niche Netflix. Sirius for subscription television. Generating big data troves about viewer behavior. That’s TAPP.
For personalities, we supply soup-to-nuts service – creating and producing their channels, distributing them over the Web and on apps, handling the marketing, and managing the back-end technology, payment processing, and data analytics. For consumers, we’re making a fantasy come true: the chance to watch micro-channels built around their interests and their idols.
For the television industry as we know it today, it’s a major disruption. Just as reality TV and online video were when Jeff and Jon blazed those trails.
TAPP – LIST OF SERVICES
-Preogramming Strategy
-Production (provide studio space and crew)
-Back-end Technology (Updates and enhancement on platforms; lower streaming cost)
-Front-end UX Design
-App Development (apps for each channel)
-Payment Processing
-Marketing
-Distribution
-Customer Service
Channels:
The Sarah Palin Channel
https://sarahpalinchannel.com/
The Sarah Palin Channel is a member-supported online channel offering supporters of the candidate for Vice President of the United States and former Alaska Governor unprecedented access to and interaction with Governor Palin.
Governor Palin serves as executive editor, and oversees all content posted to the channel, which includes timely videos and her commentary on important issues facing the Nation. Additionally, the channel offers subscribers a behind-the-scenes look into Sarah’s personal life as mother, grandmother, wife and neighbor.
The Sarah Palin Channel is a community where Americans who share her ideals can share ideas, discuss the issues in-depth, and find solutions. Channel members will also have the ability to post their own videos, send questions to Sarah and participate in online video chats, where they can talk directly with her and other subscribers.
New Life TV with Steve Arterburn
Steve Arterburn is an American author, speaker, counselor and radio talk-show host. His popular radio call-in show, New Life Live, features Arterburn, a human relationship expert, and his co-hosts, dispensing Christian-based advice to three million weekly listeners who call in on a variety of problems—marriage, anger, grief, anxiety, abuse, addictions and other issues.
New Life TV delves into subjects such as Life Recovery, Sexual Addiction, Relationships and Marriage, and Counseling, teaching one how to live a better, more fulfilling life. New Life TV offers members the opportunity to interact with Arterburn and his co-hosts during regular video chats.
Steve has a large and very passionate following of fans who are hooked on his radio show, devour his books, flock to his workshops – and are eager to see more from him. He talks about things you just can’t discuss on traditional television. His shows on New Life TV are more jarring, honest, and emotional, thanks to the authentic connection he has with his audience.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAPP_TV
TAPP TV – “TAPP” stands for TV APP – is a subscription-based online video content network, home to individual “channels” built around public personalities with large followings. It was founded in 2013 by Jeff Gaspin, former chairman of NBC Universal Television, and Jonathan Klein, former president of CNN US. Michael Greer, former CTO of the Onion, is TAPP’s co-founder and CTO.
TAPP TV subscribers pay $9.95 per month or $99.95 per year to receive daily video content from subscribed video channels. Each channel is sold separately.
TAPP TV’s investors include Discovery Communications and Demarest Films, as well as individual investors including Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google, and investment bankers Ken Moelis, Peter Ezersky and Michael Huber. In addition to Gaspin and Klein, the TAPP TV board includes Sean Atkins, senior vice president and general manager, Digital, at Discovery Communications.
In March 2014, Gaspin and Klein announced plans to launch of roster of channels on the TAPP platform in 2014. TAPP launched its first channel on March 20: New Life TV, featuring Steve Arterburn, an American syndicated radio host with 2 million weekly listeners to his New Life Live program. Arterburn is a Christian counselor, author and motivational speaker, focused on relationships, family and addiction. He is the founder of New Life Ministries and Women of Faith.
TAPP’s founders have cited Glenn Beck’s Blaze TV (http://www.theblaze.com/tv/), which launched in 2012, as one inspiration for their business model. Reports have put The Blaze’s subscriber base at 300,000 people paying $9.95 per month.
In The Media:
TheGrill: Innovators Talk Opportunities, Pitfalls for Video Content in the Digital Age (Video)
10/7/2014 The Wrap
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM9FBBP2Pa8
Traditional programmers “really have to throw out the playbook and start fresh,” Jeff Gaspin tells TheWrap’s annual leadership conference
Creating digital content in the age of digital can be an extremely liberating experience for young filmmakers — but it can also pose numerous challenges when digital and traditional media are still trying to reach common ground and a mutually beneficial way of working together.
That was a big topic at the innovators’ panel at TheGrill conference at the Montage Beverly Hills on Tuesday, where MiTu Network Beatriz Acevedo, BuzzFeed Motion Pictures president Ze Frank, TAPP co-founder Jeff Gaspin and indie film producer Sev Ohanian discussed the opportunities and stumbling blocks as they attempt to bring compelling video content to an audience with entirely new viewing habits than the previous generation.
The panelists were among the pioneers from TheWrap’s second annual Innovators List, which acknowledges rule-breaking, risk-taking mavericks who are thinking differently about the rules of film and television production.
As someone who’s had his feet in both traditional and digital media, Gaspin, the former NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman, offered his perspective on what challenges making the tradition entails.
Hint: It requires a lot of adjustment.
In the past, Gaspin noted, programmers were in the position of defining what viewers watched. It’s a whole different ballgame these days.
“That has changed 180 degrees in that the viewer will watch only what they want to watch,” Gaspin noted.
Those with backgrounds in traditional programming “really have to throw out the playbook and start fresh,” Gaspin said — adding that he envied his fellow panelists because “They don’t have the same learnings that I have that I’m trying to unlearn.”
Acevedo conceded that she too had experienced a teachable moment or two in the development of MiTu. She recalled one early project where “we made the classic mistake” of hiring traditional talent that, according to conventional wisdom, should have worked. But didn’t.
“After two views we learned that this show was not very successful,” Acevedo recalled. “We decided we needed to take a cue” from young content creators.
Frank, whose BuzzFeed recently expanded into mid-form and long-form video, said that he views such “oops moments” as an essential part of the growing process.
“For us, it’s constant; it’s literally our process baked in, is that you fail,” Frank said, “So yeah, there’s a lot of oops moments, but it’s kind of critical to the process.”
But while there are plenty of potential pitfalls to navigate, the rewards can be plentiful — particularly for the new breed of content creators, who find themselves not only to be able to make the content they want without creative restrictions, but also receive outside support while doing so.
“These latino millennials have been craving new content for a long, long time we do have our soaps and our game shows and our soccer, and that is fantastic, it still does really, really well on broadcast, as you all know. But we still craved something else,” Acevedo said. “These latino content creators decided to take it into their own hands and create the content they’ve been craving themselves. We wanted to be that new generation media company with MiTu who would sort of nurture them and foster them and help them grow. And this is the principle with which we have built MiTu.”
“As a young filmmaker — only a couple of years ago I was making YouTube videos in my backyard with my friend — what Ze and Beatriz are doing now is shocking,” noted Ohanian, who made headlines earlier this year with “Seeds,” a short film that was shot on Google Glass. “It’s literally mind-blowing to people who are just starting off to be able to make their own content and have that freedom, but have the support that comes with both of your respective companies — that’s not a small point for us at all. I think that is incredibly admirable, and the fact that you guys are giving opportunities to young filmmakers who are just starting off and giving them the support that they would never have otherwise — that’s huge.”
TheWrap also named to its Innovators List TAPP co-founder Jon Klein, Seriously CEO Andrew Stalbow, Whisper CEO & co-founder Michael Heyward, Techstars managing director Cody Simms, actress-director-philanthropist Angelina Jolie, “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, General Assembly CEO & co-founder Jake Schwartz, and Is or Isn’t Entertainment founders Dan Bucatinsky and Lisa Kudrow.
TheWrap’s 2014 Innovators List: 11 Thought Leaders Who Are Changing Hollywood
10/1/2014 The Wrap
http://www.thewrap.com/thewraps-2014-innovators-list-11-thought-leaders-who-are-changing-hollywood/
Jeff Gaspin & Jon Klein, Co-Founders, TAPP
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-IdEyhu-GM
TAPP Chairman Gaspin (formerly of NBCUniversal) and CEO Klein (formerly of CNN and CBS) see a TV future ruled by subscription channels. The two long-time friends launched TAPP (short for “TV App”) as a subscription-based, online video platform for big personalities such as Sarah Palin. For $9.95 a month, Sarah Palin Channel subscribers get to watch the former Alaska Governor and GOP VP nominee discuss everything from Obamacare to her “award winning BBQ salmon recipe.” TAPP’s backers include Discovery Communications and Google’s Eric Schmidt. While it’s not yet clear how many people will pay $9.95 a month for such programming, TAPP is targeting a range of personalities in categories like sports, politics, religion, entertainment and fashion. – Jon Erlichman
Sarah Palin Launches Her Own Channel Online
7/27/2014 Variety
http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/sarah-palin-launches-online-video-channel-1201269982/
Sarah Palin — former governor of Alaska, erstwhile candidate for VP of the U.S. and polarizing public figure — has unveiled a new subscription-based Internet TV network that promises direct access to her and her supporters.
The Sarah Palin Channel, which costs $9.95 per month or $99.95 for a one-year subscription, will feature her commentary on “important issues facing the nation,” as well as behind-the-scenes looks into her personal life as “mother, grandmother, wife and neighbor.” Palin serves as executive editor, overseeing all content posted to the channel.
“I want to talk directly to you on our channel, on my terms — and no need to please the powers that be,” Palin, who is also a Fox News contributor, said in a video announcing the channel. “Together, we’ll go beyond the sound bites and cut through the media’s politically correct filter.”
Palin is producing the channel in partnership with Tapp, the online-video venture formed by Jeff Gaspin, former chairman of NBCUniversal Television, and Jon Klein, former president of CNN U.S.
The conservative pol’s online network is modeled on TheBlaze, the online-video network and website that ex-Fox News host Glenn Beck launched in 2011. TheBlaze TV is now also carried on Dish Network and regional cable systems.
Subscribers to the Sarah Palin Channel will have the ability to post their own videos to the website, submit questions to her, and participate in online video chats with her and other subscribers. The site includes a national debt ticker, and a countdown clock showing the number of days left in President Obama’s second term.
Active U.S. military members can subscribe free of charge, according to Tapp. For both monthly and yearly subscription plans, the first two weeks are free and users can cancel at any time during the trial period.
Gaspin, Klein and co-founder Michael Greer, former CTO of The Onion, announced Tapp in March 2014. The company’s first channel is Steve Arterburn’s New Life TV, hosted by the relationship counselor and radio host. According to Tapp, the Arterburn channel became profitable less than four months after launching.
Tapp investors include Discovery Communications and individuals including investment bankers Ken Moelis and Peter Ezersky. They were recently joined by Luminari Capital, a venture fund founded by Daniel Leff focused on digital video investments.
Other TV personalities that have jumped to the Internet include ex-CNN host Larry King, who now has an online talk show produced with Ora.tv, and Katie Couric, who joined Yahoo as global news anchor. Paula Deen, who lost her show on Food Network after racial comments that she made came to light, is planning to launch her own cooking channel online this fall.
Is Sarah Palin the founder-in-chief of her own TV channel?
3/17/2014 Upstart
http://upstart.bizjournals.com/companies/media/2014/03/17/is-sarah-palin-launching-tv-channel.html
The UpTake: Sarah Palin may be about to prove her entrepreneurial spirit once again but by seizing yet another media opportunity.
Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is preparing to launch her own TV channel, according to a report on Friday by Capital New York, a blog that covers New York business.
The channel, tentatively called “Rogue TV,” will be hosted by Tapp TV, launched last week by former CNN chief Jon Klein and former NBC Universal entertainment executive Jeff Gaspin.
Capital New York’s source told the site that Palin’s channel, which is expected to cost $10 per month, and will be like a “video version of her Facebook page,” including video commentaries from the former governor herself, discussing current events and political issues.
In spite of resigning from her role as governor of Alaska and losing in her bid for the vice-presidential office with presidential candidate John McCain, her endorsement among other political candidates remains sought after.
Already this year she has endorsed Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.); Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R), who is running for governor of the Texas; and tea party politician Katrina Pierson, according to a Huffington Post report.
Sarah Palin plans ‘Rogue TV’
CAPITAL 3/14/2014
Fox News contributor and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will be launching her own digital video channel, tentatively called “Rogue TV,” a source familiar with the project told Capital.
The channel will be available through Tapp, the digital video service founded by former CNN chief Jon Klein and former NBC Universal entertainment executive Jeff Gaspin. Subscriptions will cost $10 per month.
Rogue is expected to launch in April or May, and it would be one of the first of the digital channels offered by Tapp.
Palin’s channel will feature video commentaries from the former Republican vice-presidential candidate, discussing current events and political issues.
It will also have advice and guidance from Palin, such as tips for parents and recipes. There are also tentative plans to have subscribers engage in regular video chats with Palin.
Representatives for Tapp did not respond to a request for comment on the plans.
Palin’s large social media presence (four million Facebook fans, one million Twitter followers) is probably a big factor in Tapp’s recruitment of her. She may not have a daily radio or talk show, but she clearly has loyal fans.
The New York Post reported early this week that Palin was approached by Gaspin and Klein, but that she hadn’t committed to doing the channel for Tapp. In fact, our source says, production has already started on her channel, and she has recorded a number of segments.
Palin is currently a contributor to Fox News Channel, after re-joining the cable network last June. She also hosts a reality show for The Sportsman Channel called “Amazing America.” Rogue is a different beast, however, with daily updates, focusing on more personal messages. It isn’t clear whether Rogue would affect either of Palin’s existing deals.
The addition of Palin raises questions about what sort of content Tapp channels will feature.
The W.W.E. and Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze have confirmed that subscription digital-video products can be good business. But the wrestling company has decades of archival video and hours of original content each week to fill its channel, and TheBlaze has hours of original content every day, including shows hosted by people other than Glenn Beck. Both also hew to high production values in their products. In other words, successful implementations of the business model have also demonstrated a significant commitment of time from talent—and money from the backers—in the long run.
What other talent Tapp is lining up has not yet been revealed, but we hear that Tapp has been casting a wide net, seeking out both political personalities like Palin, as well as entertainment and lifestyle personalities.
The company’s website paints a picture of what to expect, with a word-cloud featuring topics like “paranormal,” “faith,” “relationships,” “fantasy sports” and “science.”
TAPP Scores Funding From Eric Schmidt For Subscription Video
3/12/2014
http://www.socaltech.com/tapp_scores_funding_from_eric_schmidt_for_subscription_video/s-0053987.html
Los Angeles-based TAPP, a new startup co-founded by Jeff Gaspin, the former Chairman of NBC Universal Television, and Jon Klein, former president of CNN/U.S., said this morning that it has scored funding from a number of high profile investors. TAPP said that its investors include Discovery Communications, Demarest Films, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, as well as Ken Moelis, Peter Ezersky and Michael Huber. Details on the funding and backing of the startup were not anounced. According to TAPP, it will offer up a subscription video platform featuring “thought leaders” in the areas of sports, politics, religion, relationships, entertainment, lifestyle, fashion, and fitness, offering up daily content and subscription-only access to those thought leaders. The company also said its co-founder and CTO is, Michael Greer, who was head of technology and product development for The Onion.
(Jon Klein interview) Amazon Wants You to Fire Your TV Provider: Klein
4/3/2014
http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2014-04-03/amazon-wants-you-to-fire-your-tv-provider-klein
Former CNN, NBC Execs Want to ‘TAPP’ Palin for New Streaming Video Service
3/11/2014
With an appearance on Bloomberg TV Tuesday, Former CNN president Jon Klein and former NBC entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin announced their new online streaming video venture called TAPP, short for “TV App.” As for the types of personalities the pair hopes to feature on the service? According to Klein, Sarah Palin is exactly the type of person they are looking for.
“We are not talking about specific talent,” Klein said in response to rumors that they have been in talks with Palin about the venture. “I will tell you that Sarah Palin is the kind of personality who has a massive social presence, and a core group of followers and supporters who hang on to her every word. That is exactly the characteristic that these channels are looking for.”
Similar to Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze.com, TAPP will consist of multiple channels and shows that users can stream online for somewhere in the $10/month range. “Everybody’s got someone, one person at least, that they would pay $10 per month to get more of,” Klein added. He envisions a world in which “everyone has a TAPP channel” the way anyone can have a YouTube channel today.
TAPP’s initial batch of investors includes Discovery Communications, Demarest Films and Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt.
(VIDEO) Former CNN, NBC Chiefs Launch Video Channel ‘Tapp’
3/11/2014 Bloomberg
CNN, NBCU Alums Jon Klein, Jeff Gaspin Team Up for Online Video Venture
3/1/2014 Variety
Sarah Palin reportedly target by firm for channel akin to Glenn Beck’s the Blaze
Two of the biggest names sitting on the sidelines in the media business are teaming up for an online video venture.
Jeff Gaspin, formerly chairman of NBC Universal TV Entertainment, and Jon Klein, previously president of CNN, are launching Tapp, a series of digital subscription channels that will be built around particular celebrities.
“Not every celebrity or talent out there has the ability to get on cable but they still have rabid fans,” said Gaspin, who will serve as chairman of Tapp, which will be run day-to-day by CEO Klein. “We think this will allow all those people to have an outlet.”
Former vice presidential aspirant Sarah Palin was identified as one such individual they were approaching, according to a report Monday in the New York Post. Gaspin and Klein declined comment on any specific individuals being courted.
Such a venture is not unlike the Blaze, a successful subscription service launched by former Fox News Channel personality Glenn Beck. Given the challenges of monetizing ad-supported content, paid channels are becoming more in vogue, from YouTube’s own experimentation with that format to the Chernin Group’s investment in Crunchyroll, a company that specializes in that business model.
Gaspin and Klein have lined up well-known investors including Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt, Discovery Communications and Demarest Films, in addition to investment bankers Ken Moelis, Peter Ezersky and Michael Huber. Tapp’s founders dclined to specify the level of investment but made clear it will be a lean operation.
“This is my third startup and you learn early that you want to spend as little as possible to make sure as much of that investment ends up on the screen,” said Klein, who counts the Feed Room among the companies he’s started.
The first of what they describe as dozens of channels will be launched in the coming months. Talent involved will range from household names to more niche attractions.
For $9.95 per month, or $100 a year, per channel, Klein and Gaspin are betting on luring enough subscribers to make Tapp a booming business. “Glenn Beck and the WWE are proof that passion drives subscription,” said Gaspin. “We’re very confident that the fans who feel the most passionate about certain personalities will pay for access to a high-quality product.”
Gaspin exited NBCU in late 2010 after Comcast acquire the conglomerate. Klein left CNN in 2010, and was later succeeded by Jeff Zucker — who happened to be Gaspin’s boss when he led NBCU as CEO.
In addition to the Discovery investment, the company also has the company’s senior VP and GM of digital, Sean Atkins, sitting on Tapp’s board. Klein indicated that the Discovery, which knows a thing or two about personalized channels from its launch of OWN, could collaborate with Tapp in the future.
Jeff Gaspin, Jon Klein to Launch Online Video Platform TAPP
3/11/2014 The Hollywood Report
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jeff-gaspin-jon-klein-launch-687588
The television veterans are building a subscription video platform around personalities with super-fan followings.
Two longtime television executives are making a bet on digital with the launch of online video platform TAPP.
Jeff Gaspin, former chairman of NBC Universal Television, and Jon Klein, former president of CNN, tell THR that the subscription-based platform will be centered on personalities with super-fan followings. TAPP, which stands for “TV App,” will launch its first channel in the coming weeks.
“We really wanted to come up with channels that were talent-based and that were really geared toward the super fan,” says Gaspin. “As opposed to long-form scripted or reality content, we really wanted an intimate experience between the channel lead and the fan base.”
The New York Post on Monday reported that Gaspin and Klein were courting Sarah Palin for one of those channels. They tell THR that they are not ready to announce the personalities that they plan to work with, but they envision a wide-ranging group that comes from lifestyle, sports, politics, arts, sciences and other backgrounds.
Initially, each personality will have their own channel available on mobile devices, laptops and Internet-connected smart TVs. The company plans to eventually create a TAPP hub where someone could subscribe to and watch multiple channels.
TAPP is acting as a full-service shop for its talent and will provide back-end technology, app development, production, marketing, distribution and data analysis.
“There are a lot of stars that have an intense following and would like to connect with that following and monetize it in more ways, but they don’t know where to start,” says Klein. “We’re trying to provide an end-to-end solution for them. That leaves the stars free to do what they do best, which is delight their biggest fans.”
Klein and Gaspin have assembled a robust group of initial investors that includes Discovery Communications, Demarest Films, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt and investment bankers Ken Moelis, Peter Ezersky and Michael Huber. Sean Atkins, Discovery senior vp and general manager of digital, has joined the TAPP board.
The online video space has become densely populated in recent years with players such as Google’s YouTube, Netflix, Hulu and others. But Gaspin says that TAPP sets itself apart through its talent.
“You can’t duplicate our personalities,” he says. “We believe having a series of personalities keep us in a separate and distinct marketplace.”
Adds Klein, “Unlike YouTube, we’re not trying to create stars out of total unknowns — we’re trying to take stars and give them a foothold and presence on a whole new platform. I think everybody is looking for what the next big disruption in media is going to be. Our investors see TAPP as uniquely positioned to lead that next big disruption.”
What This Former CNN Head Learned From Glenn Beck About One-Person Media Brands
Co. Creative
Jon Klein doesn’t care that you haven’t heard of Steve Arterburn.
That might seem surprising, since Arterburn is the first personality to anchor a “channel” of online video content on Tapp, Klein’s newest venture. Impressed by the success that personalities like Oprah Winfrey and Glenn Beck have had by striking out on their own to create personal TV channels, Klein–a former president of CNN–teamed up with former NBC chairman Jeff Gaspin to create Tapp.
The long-term vision of Tapp is to build a digital platform that serves as host to many such personality-driven channels. Earlier this month, Tapp launched its first channel, centered around Steve Arterburn, a syndicated radio host and the founder of New Life Ministries. New Life TV, the new Tapp venture, is a subscription-only digital channel that viewers can access for $9.95 a month. Currently incarnated a standalone website, New Life TV launched with such programs as “Bible Integration” and “Women Can be Holy and Horny.”
All of which brings us back to why Klein doesn’t care if you’re not an Arterburn fan, and are therefore unlikely to shell out more than a Netflix monthly subscription rate to saturate your life with his thoughts. All that matters to Klein is: Enough people are. Arterburn has a strong enough base of “superfans”–people who simply trust Arterburn to parse the world more than anyone–to make an Arterburn-centered channel a viable business proposition.
And the world is saturated with countless Arterburns, niche celebrities you can expect to see launching Tapp channels soon.
We caught up with Klein to learn more about Tapp, the echo-chamberization of media, and why Glenn Beck is the ultimate example of the modern celebrity-as-network.
FAST COMPANY: What’s been the most eye-opening thing you’ve experienced since launching Arterburn’s channel this month?
JON KLEIN: The fervor that superfans feel for their idols. What we’re trying to do is connect superfans to the people they adore by using the medium of online video and membership in this exclusive club. But what’s surprising is how personal the audience feels that is. One subscriber was so moved she asked if she could do a Skype chat with Steve on the channel. She went and did that. She told a story about how she was in love with her pastor, and though she felt he was in love with her, they can’t hook up. She was feeling a lot of pain from that, and wanted Steve’s counsel. The reason she felt comfortable doing that was because of the exclusive nature of the channel. She knows exactly who the audience is, where they’re coming from–it feels like a safe environment for her. And that happened on Day Two of the channel’s existence. It bears out a hunch that superfans are out there yearning for a deeper connection to the people they admire most.
When did you first start thinking about superfans as a niche market?
I was at Obama’s acceptance speech in Denver and was walking around with one of our CNN contributors, Roland Martin. Though Martin was very good on air, he wasn’t a household name. But we were stopped every five feet by someone calling out his name, people hugging him, stopping him to say how much he affected their lives. I thought, “Wow, there’s a breed of person out there for whom Roland Martin, of all people, has taken on a special meaning.” Soon after that I was in the office of Sanjay Gupta, the noted chief medical correspondent. Sanjay had a hundred ideas, many of which had nothing to do with television–projects he wanted to start, books he wanted to write, films he wanted to make. By the time I left, I thought, “Boy, it’s gonna hit Sanjay at some point that he no longer needs CNN as much as CNN needs him. He has his band of followers, and technology enables him to reach that audience and monetize it.” I was worried a company would come along and create that, and lo and behold, that’s the company I created.
People already worry about media silos–that we have two Americas only listening to their own echo chambers. Doesn’t this take that to a new level?
That phenomenon is happening with or without Tapp. There’s no fighting a trend. When you watch Jon Stewart, you don’t think you’re in an echo chamber. You think he’s right. And that is true of everybody inside their own echo chamber. Our theoretical subscriber is a blend of both: they’re paying eight bucks a month to Netflix for a wide variety of input, they’re probably also going to a general news source online as a starting point, and then they’re also indulging their appetite to drill down more deeply, to burrow down into a silo. Tapp channels a form of online binge viewing, giving you as much material as possible from the person you most idolize.
What metrics do you look at when deciding to approach someone for their own channel?
We look at some quantifiable indicators, and some ineffable ones. We look at things like, not only the size of social footprints, but also the engagement: the Klout score and other signs of a highly engaged, motivated fanbase. We look at what their fans pay for. And then we look at the “burn” that the talent has. How driven are they to communicate and stay in touch with their biggest fans? How much of this is a way of life, not just a calculated business decision? Lots of fan sites and fan clubs crop up, then die quickly, because they lack the soul of the celebrity they were built around. They come off as arid, cynical spaces. Then you look at people like Glenn Beck, who just throw themselves into every touchpoint with their followers, with everything they’ve got. It’s that spark, that passion–that sense that they don’t know how to do it any other way.
This interview has been condensed and edited.