/Interview/ The brains behind: My Damn Channel
09/11/2009 | Filed under Discover > Interview
Web series platform My Damn Channel made its name with You Suck at Photoshop. We talk to founder and CEO Rob Barnett
.net: How has My Damn Channel developed since its launch two years ago?
RB: We’ve produced over 700 original videos since launch, earning over 70million total views on our site and on our syndication network. We set out to make the best original series with top talent in music and comedy connecting our artists with sizeable audience, major sponsors and multiple revenue streams. My Damn Channel video stars include Harry Shearer, Don Was, David Wain, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Jonah Hill, Illeana Douglas, Keanu Reeves, Grace Helbig, Coolio, AD Miles, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Sam Seder, Sarah Silverman, Isla Fisher, David Cross, Andy Dick, Stella, Kristen Schaal, Slash & Duff, and Ozzy Osbourne.
.net: What kind of content are you aiming for? And what do you offer film makers, actors and sponsors? Has it become easier to get them on board?
RB: From the start, we didn’t believe in trying to create the most viewed site with the most viewed videos. That’s called “YouTube.” Many other sites feature a sea of content. We built an island for artists and fans interesting in creating a community dedicated to higher quality comedy, music and entertainment. Individual channels and series can deliver audiences in the millions for advertisers, who get customised distribution and guaranteed traffic for the shows they sponsor. Every artist deal is transparent and simply made in three parts: 1) we agree on concept and budget; 2) we pay for everything; 3) we recoup production costs and share remaining revenues. We just passed our second birthday (that’s 90 in web years) and since we launched, every month we’ve seen an increase in the volume of pitches.
.net: What’s currently the most popular show and why?
RB: Spärhusen kicked off the ‘new fall season’ – created by Illeana Douglas, who stars with Keanu Reeves. The first episode got more than 200,000 views. Our most-viewed series to date have been You Suck at Photoshop, Wainy Days, Pilot Season and videos by Harry Shearer. In every case, we’re putting gifted, smart artists behind the wheel to drive completely original, extremely funny work directly to their fans.
.net: What effect has (what is probably) your most successful show to date, You Suck At Photoshop, had on My Damn Channel? Any chance of another season?
RB: This phenomenon proved that new media – at its best – does NOT play by old rules. The show inspired our audience, advertisers and sponsors to endless possibilities that exist when you create in a new way and take audiences on magical journeys into Geekland. There are always rumours about the whereabouts and potential return of the web’s most infamous tutor.
.net: How did Cookin’ With Coolio come about and will there by another season?
RB: Coolio called our office with an idea too simple and fun to pass up. We knocked out 10 episodes in a weekend and got a full page in Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, multiple late night appearances, and big views on our site and in syndication. Coolio followed “Cookin’” with a reality series on Oxygen. Our kitchen door is always open.
.net: How do you finance My Damn Channel, and when did it become profitable?
RB: My Damn Channel was financed through venture capital investment. We first became profitable on a monthly basis in 2009.
.net: What tools and technologies are under the hood of the site? For example, how do you let artists customise their own channels?
RB: Our site is built on a Microsoft.NET framework with our own Flash-based video player. Our site design provides interchangeable elements on each channel – customised for our artists based on their feedback.
.net: Which provider have you partnered with for the video delivery on mydamnchannel.com and why?
RB: We partnered with Limelight Networks based on their support, service and pricing.
.net: What are still the biggest challenges for web TV?
RB: In many ways, we’re all faced with the kind of challenges that confronted early cable TV pioneers. You win the game by first creating a clear brand that can serve a distinct, sizeable audience. As a programmer, my job is to attract the best talent and produce the highest quality entertainment for our audience and for our advertisers, who demand real results and scale. Since new media companies should not live by online advertising alone, we create brands, characters and content that drive multiple revenue streams on all digital platforms.
.net: What’s next for My Damn Channel? Any new shows in production? And what about a mobile version?
RB: Our ‘new fall season’ launched in October (we decided it was funnier in ‘quotes’) featuring talent including Illeana Douglas, Keanu Reeves, Rob Mailhouse, Todd Spahr, Wallace Langham and the new (animated) Knights of the Round Table with Sir Sean Connery, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Richard Branson and more.
We’re also launching a new B2B and B2C play called RAMP (Radio and Music Pros) now at www.MyDamnChannel.com/RAMP
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