Sarah Palin to launch 'Rogue TV.' Is this the future of US politics?
Sarah Palin is apparently launching her own 鈥淩ogue TV鈥� channel. It will cost subscribers $10 a month and air over the digital video service Tapp, according to a , which broke the story.
It鈥檒l have video commentary on the news, plus recipes, parenting tips, and 鈥� who knows 鈥� maybe cellphone footage of the former VP candidate fishing and hunting and so forth. Think of it as a 鈥渧ideo version of her Facebook page,鈥� an anonymous source with knowledge of the venture told Capital New York鈥檚 Alex Weprin.
On its face, this move makes sense for Ms. Palin. She鈥檚 huge on social media, with more than 4 million Facebook followers, and a pay TV channel might allow her to monetize some of that devotion. Glenn Beck has done very well by leaving Fox News and starting his own Blaze TV channel, for instance. So this could put the Mama Grizzly at the forefront of the digital media revolution.
After all, Tapp has mainstream credentials. It was founded by Jeff Gaspin, a former chairman of NBCUniversal, and Jonathan Klein, former president of CNN US. aims to be a sort of Netflix for famous people, providing production and distribution services for people such as Palin who have millions hanging on their every move.
OK, maybe you鈥檙e not interested in Palin鈥檚 every move, unless she does something like mangle the story of Paul Revere鈥檚 ride or mispronounce a foreign leader鈥檚 name. Trust us, Palin has a big following.
鈥淐learly, entertainers with large fan followings are seeing a potential cash cow in taking their offerings straight to their supporters,鈥� Adweek鈥檚 Sam Thielman writes .
Is this where US politics is headed? Yes, we know Palin is a semi-politician at this point, as much a celebrity as a public figure. But if a TV channel makes sense for her, wouldn鈥檛 it also be a good idea for political candidates who evoke emotion and devotion among followers? Like Hillary Rodham Clinton? Or Ted Cruz?
In that context, a TV channel could be a step beyond a Facebook page or Twitter feed for potential presidential candidates. Politicians now routinely make important announcements on social media, where it鈥檚 easier to control the rollout than it is in the 鈥渓amestream鈥� 鈥� excuse us, mainstream 鈥� media. Pay video could generate lots of cash while further burnishing political brands.
鈥漃alin鈥檚 ahead of the curve,鈥� on the right-leaning Hot Air site.
And what about elected officials? An 鈥淥bama TV鈥� campaign channel could have tapped his followers' enthusiasm prior to the 2012 election, though we鈥檙e sure there would be lots of FEC regulations that would apply to such an effort鈥檚 cash flow.
Look, President Obama was just on 鈥淏etween Two Ferns,鈥� a digital fake talk show on the Funny or Die website. Which White House will be the first to build on this and create its own talk show, on its own digital channel? With a weekly reality show devoted to presidential duties? And maybe a show for kids that stars White House pets?
As digital production and distribution gets ever-more automatic and cheaper, this could be the public engagement future for politics of all kinds. You betcha.
