Gore TV launches on Sky and Virgin Media

by Ben Bold, Brand Republic 12-Mar-07, 15:10

LONDON - Former US Vice-President Al Gore is bringing his TV channel, Current TV, to the UK today in an attempt to 'democratise' TV by broadcasting programmes made by viewers.

Current TV, which will be carried on Virgin Media and Sky platforms, is targeted at 18- to 34-year-olds and will feature a wide array of non-fiction videos.

Speaking at a press conference, Gore described the channel, which has existed in the US for two years, as "TV for the internet generation".

Gore said: "Traditional television fails many viewers because it beams programmes at them with little regard for their input and no opportunity for interaction. Current facilitates a conversation with and among our viewers."

The majority of content will be produced by consumers, who can submit online three to six minute "pods" that are then shuffled on Current TV's website. Internet users can then vote for "pods" to appear on the channel itself.

Aside from consumer-generated "pods", other content will include a satire dubbed 'Supernews', 'Google Current', which examines the most searched for internet content, and a "pod" created by U2 singer Bono about bandmate the Edge.

Current TV has also signed up a number of other partners in the UK. These include The British Library, which has signed a 12 month agreement to archive one user-generated video per month. These will then be collated to create a video snapshot of the UK called 'The Citizen's Diary of Great Britain'.

In the US, the format has become popular since its launch in 2005 and is available in 40m homes.