$30 million online venture proposed for striking TV writers

At the beginning of the TV writers strike, I predicted that some enterprising writers would discover that the TV networks are becoming less relevant as a mass distribution channel and decide to go it alone. While the proposed $30 million enterprise is not exactly a go it alone business, it would provide an additional outlet and potentially some financial backing for independent producers.

Out of work and newly wise to the state of content being distributed online, a group of professional writers is looking to start their own production and distribution company. Aaron Mendelsohn, writer of the Disney film Air Bud and an active WGA member, is captaining the efforts, and says he has gotten a group of “A-list” film and TV writers on the team. He’s also partnering with online community experts from Silicon Valley and raising “north of $30 million” in venture capital, with the idea of launching a company called Virtual Artists later this year. (from GigaOm)

With both sides dug in, the strike will likely continue, making more ventures like this a certainty. I see one big problem with the business model for this proposed company. Online distribution is not a problem in need of a new solution. Funding projects is another story. If any of these ventures plan to succeed, they need to pay attention to this. They also need not over fund talent to produce great results. “A” list writers tend to be just as spoiled and egotistical as “a” list actors. They’ll likely only be interested formula driven, big budget projects with “a” list actors. Very high burn rate on small seed money. I’ll bet on the creative folks who never had a steady network gig to do most of the real innovating.