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Home » Talk Local to Me: Comcast Taps Marc Scarpa for Social TV

Talk Local to Me: Comcast Taps Marc Scarpa for Social TV

(Image: Vidblogger Nation’s Ann Spade gives viewers the low down on Sacramento.)

With an economy that’s not getting any better and alternatives like Netflix and Hulu continuing to garner loyalty, cable TV execs worry that a new generation of viewers might not show up.

That’s not a universally held idea. Time Warner’s Jeff Bewkes is among the cable CEOs who spots monthly cable fees as among the last items to feel the hit of a tighter personal budget. But that still doesn’t mean any of the major cable systems view the rise of the Internet lightly.

Case in point: Comcast On Demand Local service recently launched Vidblogger Nation; these short three-to-five-minute episodes by Facebook-aware video bloggers offer takes on local people, places and things. No mystery to this effort: it’s an attempt to pull the younger smartphone-obsessed generation back into the fold. Headed by participatory media director-producer New Yorker Marc Scarpa, the project is available in some 10 markets nationwide at launch.

(To fix its battered customer service reputation, Comcast, the No. 1 U.S. cable TV provider, launched Xfinity early last year. Pushed through by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Xfinity re-brands the company’s triple-play service for bundled Internet, telephone and TV, adding tweaks like live sports on the web, improved download speeds and the ability to watch some shows online.)

Heralded by Scarpa as the “first-ever Social TV Network”, local talent with “strong Facebook and Twitter followings” create short diary-style segments on local topics such as fun places to go, local personalities, things to do and other topics not so unlike those that show up in the color segments of local news stations.

Scarpa has built his name on finding ways to use computers, the Internet, cellphone and other technologies to make more interactive experiences for viewers. His varied background includes a gig as the first New York Chair of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council and producing the web show ‘Grammy Live’ for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. For a 2007 MySpace streaming of a Linkin Park concert, Scarpa says that he was the first to pull off the intercutting of realtime video from fan’s mobile phones with the concert’s live HD TV feed.

“It’s not a video log, it’s not a reality show, it’s just folks sharing their adventures and experiences with the viewer, who are also participants in the programming,” says Marc Scarpa, founder of SimplyNew Studios, producer of the shows. Comcast ordered some 360 episodes in all, with a decision by the end of November whether to commit to the series.

Scarpa says that TV is moving towards an all-IP universe, with an immersive web presence key to blurring the boundaries between web TV and cable TV. Finding a social TV look-and-feel for the cable giant’s current local fare, which hasn’t changed from standard studio presentations in years, is key.

One major hurdle, however, hasn’t changed since the earliest days of TV and Internet video: whoever is in front of the camera needs to be a compelling actor who can put a narrative across. Scarpa faces an added barrier: a huge corporate structure with layers of management ready to nix content that might be too cutting or salacious, the very spice that pulls in hundreds of thousands of viewers to YouTube and other social media sites.

Would be viewers are left with segments such as “Off Limits”, where erstwhile video blogger Jeff Wisenbaugh “sneaks into Spartan Stadium at Michigan State” and makes a go at not getting arrested, or “Beach Front Fun” where one Ann Spade is “off to the waters!” of the sluggish Sacramento River, which, we’re advised, is the city’s “beach.” Viewers may be unsure if they are instead watching a health report, as they face a number of perky reminders to “put on your sunscreen!”

These are still heady times for the cable industry. But as the main audience for broadcast TV ages, growth is hard to come by—profits are high because a push to offer premium services brings in more money, not more viewers.

Comcast, Cablevision, HBO, Turner and other major cable companies now offer TV Everywhere, which allows subscribers to watch TV shows online. But the audience that watches on a 50-inch plasma in the living room isn’t necessarily the same as those who will watch on a laptop or smartphone.

Cable continues to fight a rearguard action. As new generations turn to Netflix, Hulu and newer options for video entertainment, will they also toss in $100 per month for a cable subscription?

About Dan Ochiva

New York City-based journalist and NYCPPNEWS founder Dan Ochiva writes and consults on film, video, and digital media technology.

Community & Partner Links

How Sony’s New Virtual Sound Technology Can Change How We Hear Films

Kami Asgar and Jessica Parks are post-production heavyweights who work with major studios, namely Sony. As a sound designer (Asgar) and as a post executive (Parks), their collective resume touches on everything from Apocalypto to Grandma’s Boy to Venom.

Parks has recently shifted her focus from supervisor to hands-on sound design, and we talk about how it’s never too late to pivot on your career path and find the thing you love doing wherever you are in life.

Click on this link to read the rest of the article on No Film School’s site.

NJ – Governor Murphy signs $14B Incentive Program Bill – the NJ Economic Recovery Act of 2020

 Film tax credits — amending existing programs to include provisions for so-called New Jersey film partners and New Jersey film-lease partners and allowing an additional $200 million of tax credits annually over 13 years.

Click this link if you want to read the full article on the Lexology site. http://bit.ly/35NtDx6

Film Commish announces date for production restart

In her December 18, 2020 news update, MOME Commissioner Anne del Castillo announced that the Film Office is now accepting permit applications for production activity that begins on July 27th.

She also announced awards now (Awkwafina) and more. To read all of the Film Commish’s bloggy sort of news column, click here.

Stimulus Offers $15 Billion in Relief for Struggling Arts Venues

The coronavirus relief package that Congressional leaders agreed to this week includes grant money that many small proprietors described as a last hope for survival.

For the music venue owners, theater producers and cultural institutions that have suffered through the pandemic with no business, the coronavirus relief package that Congress passed on Monday night offers the prospect of aid at last.

To read the full article on The New York Times’ site, click here.

If you want to start production, here’s the latest news from the Mayor’s Office

Phase 4 production guidance is available on the Film Permit website. All production activity, whether it requires a Film Permit or not, must comply with New York Forward Industry Guidance.

For more information see, please refer to the State Department of Health’s Interim Guidance for Media Production During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Please review the guidelines and FAQ before submitting permit applications. The Film Office is operating remotely, so please allow additional time for Film Permit processing.

The above paragraphs contain links to the various FAQ – just mouse over the relevant words.

Nikon to Stop Making Cameras in Japan

Nikon has fallen on hard times as of late as its camera sales have cratered, and now there’s a new indicator of how dire its financial situation is: the company is reportedly pulling the plug on making cameras in Japan after over 70 years of doing so.

To read the full article on Petapixel’s site, click here.

NVIDIA Uses AI to Slash Bandwidth on Video Calls

NVIDIA Research has invented a way to use AI to dramatically reduce video call bandwidth while simultaneously improving quality

What the researchers have achieved has remarkable results: by replacing the traditional h.264 video codec with a neural network, they have managed to reduce the required bandwidth for a video call by an order of magnitude. In one example, the required data rate fell from 97.28 KB/frame to a measly 0.1165 KB/frame – a reduction to 0.1% of required bandwidth.

To read the rest of this article on Petapixel, click this link.

 

 

 

Union Health Plan Dodges Film Workers’ Suit Over Virus Relief

Law360 (October 9, 2020, 5:22 PM EDT) — The Motion Picture Industry Health Plan’s board can’t be sued under ERISA for allegedly flouting its duties when it relaxed plan rules in response to COVID-19, a California federal judge has ruled, nixing a proposed class action filed by two cinematographers who still couldn’t qualify for benefits.

In an order entered Thursday, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner granted the board of directors’ motion to dismiss Greg Endries and Dee Nichols’ Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit accusing board members of breaching their duty to treat all plan participants fairly.

Endries and Nichols, members of Local 600 of the International Cinematographers Guild, said in July that the board left them and others “out in the cold” in its attempts to address the problems COVID-19 caused for plan participants.

But Judge Klausner agreed with the board’s contention that the case, which alleged a fiduciary breach, should be tossed because plan administrators don’t act as fiduciaries when they amend health care plans.

Read the full article on the Law360 site by clicking here.

Russo Brothers Received Close to $50 Million From Saudi Bank

Anthony Russo and Joseph Russo photographed at the PMC Studio in Los Angeles for the Variety Playback Podcast.

The Russo brothers, directors of the all-time top grossing film “Avengers: Endgame,” quietly secured a roughly $50 million cash infusion for their production company AGBO from Saudi Arabia earlier this year, multiple sources tell Variety.

In a deal brokered and closed at the beginning of the pandemic, the Russos received the investment from an undisclosed Saudi bank in exchange for a minority stake in the brothers’ Los Angeles-based shop.

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