TechCrunch just posted an idea for a way to save failed, but awesome, television shows: to make Netflix the distribution model.
I second this…with a twist.
How about instead of the Netflix model, we do the kickstarter model? I know tons of Firefly fans (myself included) who’d be willing to ante up more dough than we payed for the series DVD sets to see the show come back.
It’s the crowdsourcing age, so let’s get to it. If a service existed solely to pull the middlemen out of the system and let the content-lovers fund the project (and I think the stats show there are enough of us), then let us fund it.
With a Kickstarter model, it would prevent projects from going to completion unless the fans come through on the funding side, so the fans would have no one to blame but themselves if the funding goals are not met.
And I do understand that this kind of venture won’t be cheap, but with the advent of emerging digital filmmaking technologies it’s getting cheaper every day, and since advertisers, tv studios and other distributing middlemen won’t need their cut, it seems that costs would be reduced significantly.
Let’s imagine that Firefly Season Two has 10 episodes.
TechCrunch estimates that about 4.5 million viewers watched Firefly regularly. Let’s say 1 million of those are willing to buy episodes at $1 each. I don’t think it’s any stretch to assume that at least 500,000 would be willing to pay much more (say 30 bucks for a season). I’d put up 100 bucks (serious). Let’s say there are 100,000 others like me (go to the forums – I don’t think it’s a stretch).
Right there you have 35 million without breaking a sweat. And again, if you don’t have enough by the funding deadline, the crowds’ credit cards aren’t charged and back to square one it goes.
Just throwin’ it out there…
Ford Seeuws 