Current TV has launched what it is calling "Current Mobile"–regularly airing user-generated programming that showcases video from mobile phones; the programming is sponsored by Sony Ericsson. (Note: Current TV, which is targeted at the 18-34 demographic, is the brainchild of former US vice president, Al Gore, who serves as the chairman of its parent company, INdTV Holdings, and his business partner, Joel Hyatt, who serves as INdTV’s CEO. It features short-form informational content, dubbed "pods," much of which is contributed by viewers via its Web site. The channel, which pays for all user-generated content that it airs, also invites its viewers to help determine its programming schedule by voting for video submissions on its site. For an in-depth interview with Current TV’s president of programming, David Neuman, see [itvt] Issue 6.17.) According to Current TV, user- generated content–which it dubs "VC2" for "Viewer-Created Content"–now accounts for over 30% of its programming. The channel also recently began inviting viewers to create advertising for its sponsors (note: for more on Current TV’s implementation of user- generated advertising–which it dubs "viewer-created ad messages" or "V-CAMS"–see [itvt] Issue 6.75 Part 3).
According to Current TV, "Current Mobile" pieces should be shorter than the channel’s regular short-form video programming, and should "capture moments rather than full stories." The channel points out that it will be easier for viewers to generate mobile video than regular video content and that "for those without a videocamera, it can be the first way to start contributing video." It has created a special area on its Web site (Current TV Mobile) where viewers can upload mobile video, and says that viewers whose mobile video is selected for broadcast will receive $100. When mobile video airs on the channel, it is framed inside a graphic that represents a mobile phone display and that is branded with the Sony Ericsson logo. In order to "jumpstart" the new program, Current TV is organizing a summer promotion called "Mobile Vision," in which it is inviting viewers to use their mobiles to capture "moments from summer festivals, hot street fashion, rants" and other subjects, a list of which is posted on its Web site. The site also allows viewers to vote for (or "greenlight," in the channel’s terminology) their favorite piece of mobile video: every Thursday at 5:00PM PST, through August 31st, the video with the most votes will be named, and the viewer who submitted it will receive $500 (the channel says that winning mobile videos will be "considered" for broadcast by its programming department). "For an increasing number of people, the cell phone is not only the preferred communication medium, but the preferred way to consume video content and to shoot it as well," Current TV’s David Neuman said in a prepared statement. "It’s highly portable and easy to use when life’s most interesting or surprising moments need to be captured. We look to transform those who use mobile devices for fun into paid ‘phonojournalists.’"
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