Which way the wind will blow for Web in the coming years ?

Ice Cube's Plans for a TV-Style Web Network
By Janet Kornblum
USA Today

"We figured we needed to think about how could we still be part of entertainment in this future that's coming out at full speed," says Ice Cube, whose new movie, "First Sunday," opens this weekend. "We didn't just want to be providers of a product. We wanted to be a full-blown network. I think we're going to have programming that's way more interesting than what you can see on your daily television or even YouTube."First he became a top rap artist. Then he turned his talents to the movies as an actor. Now Ice Cube has a new line to add to his resume: Internet entrepreneur.



Cube and his partner DJ Pooh, a record producer and screenwriter who also is a self-described techie, are the latest entertainers to launch a Web site showcasing all sorts of videos, original to music to user-generated.

However, Cube and Pooh aren't just looking to promote their own work. They have loftier ambitions: to create a TV-style network with multiple channels and high-quality video that can support everything from short videos to full-length movies.
Extreme Sports, Rap Videos

UVNTV (short for U View Network Television, at uvntv.com), still in rollout mode, now features about a dozen channels run both by large companies and individual artists. Each channel will be screened for quality but will run its own programming. For example, Snoop Dogg's Snoopadelic channel features his rap videos; Nextreme TV shows clips of extreme sports such as snowboarding jumps.

All videos are shown in a new Microsoft-developed format called "Silverlight" that promises definition high enough to be played on big screens. Shows can be viewed by time or on-demand. Like most Web sites launching these days, UVNTV includes community-building features along the lines of MySpace Latest News about MySpace.

Eventually, the founders hope thousands of people, studios and corporations will bring their material to UVNTV, drawn by artistic freedom and the opportunity to bring their material to a new audience -- and make money in the process. They're inviting everyone from fledgling filmmakers and performers to established stars, networks and companies.
Sharing Ad Revenue

Channel partners will share advertising E-Mail Marketing Software - Free Trial. Click Here. revenue with UVNTV or sell their own ads on their own channels.

"We figured we needed to think about how could we still be part of entertainment in this future that's coming out at full speed," says Cube, whose new movie, "First Sunday," opens this weekend. "We didn't just want to be providers of a product. We wanted to be a full-blown network. I think we're going to have programming that's way more interesting than what you can see on your daily television or even YouTube."

However, building a network does not necessarily mean people will flock to see it, says David Card, analyst with JupiterResearch. Building a new destination site from the ground up "is the hardest thing to do," he says. "There are dozens and dozens of companies doing this. But more importantly, the big guys are doing it, too."

Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey agrees that the odds are against start-ups like UVNTV. "Every person trying to create one of these YouTube Latest News about YouTube sites has to face the fact that YouTube serves 200 million video views a day. That is a very powerful force," McQuivey says. "You don't just come in and unseat that without providing benefits that are demonstrably better than what YouTube is already providing."

Cube says they're not competing with YouTube or other existing networks, but adding a needed new player to the mix. "Yeah, [artists] can throw [content] up and hope that it gets seen on a YouTube or whatever. But here you can present it the way you want it. And if you get enough people to come and watch, you become a major player in entertainment."
Undeterred by Naysayers

Even if they fail at launching a full-blown entertainment and social destination, there's no harm in trying, McQuivey says. "It's not going to cost a lot, and it might inject some interest in their careers."

However, he adds, "It's not going to make a lot of money and it's not going to bring them a new fan base. But it won't hurt. If nobody comes to visit, they're not going to be embarrassed. If everybody comes to visit, great -- you're lucky."

Pooh is undeterred by naysayers. "People are going to doubt anything that you do," he says. "People have doubted everything we've done, coming from the inner city. Ice Cube and I have had the No. 1 record in the country, [Cube has had] the No. 1 movie. I've had the No. 1 video. And we now will have the No. 1 Web site.

"Nobody thought YouTube would be big," he says. "I told people about YouTube, and they thought it was the stupidest idea in the world. People were wrong. We're preparing for the future."

© 2008 USA Today. All rights reserved.
© 2008 ECT News Network. All rights reserved.