Anschutz Corp’s AEG, which owns numerous sports and entertainment arenas, will take part in the venture.
The three firms will form a company called Network Live, and in the wake of online content commitments from CBS News and kid fave Nickelodeon, the new company will offer concerts and comedy shows over Internet, satellite radio, and possibly even mobile virtual network operators if they’ll license the programs.
Kevin Wall has parleyed the critical and commercial success of AOL’s Live 8 concert coverage into the chief executive’s post at Network Live. “We’re creating the network of the future,” Mr. Wall said.
Network Live will derive its revenues from ad sales and licensing content to other providers. No pay-per-view component has been planned, an unheard-of development in the days before broadband.
With AEG’s involvement, and its ownership or management of such facilities as Staples Center in Los Angeles and the Manchester Evening News Arena in England, it is likely content for Network Live will originate at an AEG property.
“This joint venture will produce an enormous variety of live, original entertainment programs,” said Hugh Panero, President and CEO of XM Satellite Radio. “Live music has always been an essential part of the XM listening experience.”
Network Live and Mr. Wall may wish to pay attention to broadband over power line services being offered by Current Communications to Cinergy customers in the Midwest, as well as IBM’s partnership with CenterPoint on a Houston-based trial of BPL delivery.
Should those offerings become the start of widespread BPL expansion, Network Live could easily be the driver behind more consumer adoption of broadband technology. Being able to reach into heretofore dialup-only markets with entertainers those markets would never see live could be huge business.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
