‘It’s On With Alexa Chung’ & The ‘New’ Convergence

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I feel like I need to begin this post with a disclaimer — I didn’t watch yesterday’s premiere of “It’s On With Alexa Chung” though I did go to the site and watch a highlight. I also read Sunday’s preview in the New York Times, reg. required, and had this thought: It’s 1999 all over again.

Back in ’99 when I worked at Oxygen, the big buzzword was…”Convergence!” I have a feeling the term had different meanings for different companies, but for us it was about the TV team working really closely with the web team to make sure we were somehow in sync. Of course, the web team was tiny compared to the TV team, but we tried hard to integrate what was happening online with what you saw on TV whether it was “in the crawl” that ran at the bottom of the screen or playing along online with a tv game show.

It seems as though “social media,” i.e. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are the new “convergence” mechanisms for online audiences to “participate” in television. In some ways you could argue that MTV and Alexa are a a little late to this party. Current TV (where I worked before leaving to produce Ypulse full time), kicked off the concept of uploading video that could appear on TV and G4′s “Attack of the Show” has been successfully highlighting funny viral videos from YouTube for awhile now (and there’s also a little show on MTV’s sister network called iCarly). Current was also the first to really integrate a live Twitter stream (into the presidential debates) before it became a staple on CNN. ABC Family has been really successful with its online viewing parties as well. That said, you could argue that MTV’s “Basement Tapes” was the grandfather of putting user generated content on air and that TRL did a pretty good job of streaming online comments during the show.

What’s “new” is evidently going where your audience already is vs. forcing them to come to your site to upload or comment — having a Facebook page where you can interact with fans and a Twitter account where fans can follow your musings and whereabouts in between shows. Will this type of interactivity a.k.a. “convergence” a.k.a. MTV’s way of “recognizing and embracing what they’re [our audience] doing” make “It’s On” a hit?

Similar to the post I wrote about Best Buy’s greatest asset being “Blue Shirts on the ground,” Alexa Chung’s success largely depends on whether viewers (on-air or online) connect with her and her style of hosting. Being on Facebook and Twitter may attract curious viewers, but if they don’t like her, they won’t be back. If they do, then her social media presence only helps amplify her success.

Separately, but sorta related, I highly recommend reading this piece on AdAge.com about TV going the way of newspapers and why — it makes me think that all the “convergence” or social media in the world tacked onto traditional television viewing may not solve the bigger challenges ahead.

Sorta Related
It’s On With Alexa Chung Gets Off To A Bumpy Start [New York Magazine]

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Categorized under: TV

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