Revision3, Digg Launch Internet TV Show

Internet broadcaster Revision3 is launching a new Internet TV show Thursday in conjunction with popular Web site Digg. The show, The Digg Reel, provides a quick and quirky review of the best and brightest videos out on the Internet as determined by Digg’s loyal voters.

“When Digg launched the video section of Digg.com, it immediately became one of their most popular areas, but no one can watch all of it and 99.9% of it is terrible,” said Jim Louderback, CEO of Revision3. “But Digg allows the community to highlight the best videos out there, and we put another layer on top of that, taking the top 6-8 every week and adding clever commentary from our host and site visitors.”

The Digg Reel is hosted by Jessica Corbin, who also hosts Revision3’s Tekzilla. Corbin and a producer select the clips and write the introductions, keeping the show’s pace light and quick. The show will be advertiser-sponsored, with Internet-domain registrar Dotster serving as the launch sponsor.

“All of our stuff will be ad-supported,” Louderback said. “People want stuff on the Internet for free, and if it’s not, they’ll find a way to take it anyway.”

He added, “The nice thing about this is that it’s a known quantity with an engaging and interested host and vetted content. Advertisers have a real issue with videos on user-generated sites because they never know what they are going to get. Here, we are creating an environment where they can be associated with cool user-generated videos. We’re finding that’s a really good experience for marketers and advertisers.”

Digg has become a central location for Web surfers who want to know what content is the most popular on the Web right now. Many articles and videos posted online give people the option to “Digg It!” through clicking a button. The top items are featured on the site, along with the amount of Diggs they’ve received.

Revision3 and Digg were each started by Kevin Rose, Jay Adelson and David Prager, although the two companies are separate now, with Louderback running Revision3.

The first episode of The Digg Reel is currently available, with subsequent episodes posting every Wednesday at 4 p.m. (EST). Revision3’s Internet shows are available on Apple’s iTunes, BitTorrent, DivX, YouTube, Zune Marketplace and PyroTV, among others.

Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.