PASEDENA, Calif. – Broadband video may be all the rage in today’s telecommunications arena, but Mark Cuban thinks the Internet is shooting airballs with regard to producing quality original programming.
The outspoken founder of 24-hour HD network HDNet and owner of the Dallas Mavericks National Basketball Association team said television will remain the dominant platform for the distribution of popular content, especially as technology such as HD becomes more prevalent in consumer homes. And that’s despite the recent flood of cable and broadcast networks launching video-rich Web channels.
Speaking with reporters after HDNet’s Television Critics Association presentation here Tuesday announcing the network’s signing of former CBS News anchor Dan Rather to host a weekly news series, Cuban said that with thousands of Web sites competing for eyeballs, no content provider is going to spend the necessary dollars to create quality broadband-exclusive programming that has little chance of generating a significant financial return via advertising or sponsorships.
"Broadband is old news," Cuban said. "It’ll be a little bit faster, a little bit prettier and there will be a few more features. But there’s never going to be a hugely successful broadband program."
Cuban also decried conventional wisdom that the Internet is becoming the main platform for the aggregation of news.
"I think people are so fixated on the Internet and so fixated on digital media that they forgot about the opportunity that good old television presents," he added. "And when you combine some of the basics of television with high-definition … Dan Rather and the ability to be unleashed and uncensored, I think the payoff is what will draw viewers."
Rather will have creative control of the New York-based series, including all staff hiring, according to the 74-year-old newsman. Rather joins HDNet after leaving CBS News in June over uncertainty about his future role with the network once his contract was set to expire in November.
An often emotional Rather said the exclusive three-year agreement with Cuban will allow him the freedom to do the type of stories he wants to do without fear of censorship. While not criticizing CBS or other corporation-owned news organizations, he said the HDNet deal releases him from having to answer to a higher chain of command.
"I’m committed to independent journalism," Rather said. "News at its best is a wakeup call, not a lullaby. And I’m not in the lullaby business."
The Rather signing should provide HDNet with a major shot in the arm with regard to securing distribution, according to Cuban, who would not disclose financial specifics of the agreement. "I think telling and uncovering stories better than anyone else is not only good for HDNet, but good for all of our viewers, as well," he added.
Cuban said he isn’t concerned about Rather’s recent controversies hurting the network. Rather has been the target of conservatives who accused him of being biased in his reporting.
"We’ve talked about it,” Cuban added. "He’s going to get out there and do the best he can, so it’s not a concern of mine at all."
Ed. Note: This story is reprinted with permission from Multichannel News (www.multichannel.com) and is the first in what is to be a semi-regular story trade series between Cartt.ca and the largest multichannel trade media organization in the States. Basically we’ll run a few of theirs and they’ll run a few of ours.
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