‘GBTV Is the Future’: Beck Announces Details of New Live Streaming Video Network

GlennBeck.com:

In a story first reported tonight by The New York Times, Glenn Beck, and his company Mercury Radio Arts, are proud to announce the creation of GBTV - a live streaming video network featuring Glenn’s new daily two-hour show and a wide range of original and licensed information and entertainment programming.

The network will be the new home for Glenn Beck and his daily show, which will be expanding to two hours and feature Glenn’s unique fusion of entertainment and enlightenment. Mercury’s own S.E. Cupp and Brian Sack will be contributors to the new show when it launches on September 12th.

For months, Glenn has been teasing a major announcement that would change the way you receive information and entertainment. “GBTV is the future,” said Glenn. “The confines of traditional media no longer apply. GBTV is about getting active in the community, participating in stories, and finding new ways to deliver news, information and entertainment directly to the audience.”

Read the complete news releases here.

The New York Times:

On Tuesday, Mr. Beck will announce a first-of-its-kind effort to take a popular — but also fiercely polarizing — television show and turn it into its own subscription enterprise. It is an adaptation of the business models of both HBO and Netflix for one man’s personal brand — and a huge risk, as he and his staff members acknowledged in interviews in recent days.

“I think we might be a little early,” Mr. Beck said of his plan for the Internet network, called GBTV, which will cost $5 to $10. “But I’d rather be ahead of the pack than part of it.”

The business decision by Mr. Beck’s company, Mercury Radio Arts, hinges on an expectation that more and more people will figure out how to view online shows on their TV sets through set-top boxes and video game consoles — and that they will subscribe directly to their favorite brands.

Eventually, Mr. Beck said, his goal is to have an array of scripted and unscripted shows alongside his own daily show, which will simply be titled “Glenn Beck” and will run for two hours on weekday afternoons.