Bud.TV: the hangovers keep on coming

Steve Safran March 13th, 2007

I fear I’m coming close to writing the epitaph on Bud.TV and it will read as follows: “Good idea, badly executed.” The concept is great - start your own broadband video channel with branded entertainment and subvert the old broadcasting model. But Bud.TV, as we noted at the time of its Super Bowl launch, made several terrible choices - the lack of good programming was certainly among the most prominent. It was Cory who wrote of the onerous registration process that included the requirement you enter your mobile phone number: “…asking for my mobile phone number is over the top. I’ll never watch, and neither will most people, which will doom this to failure.” And that appears, indeed, to be the case. Still - it’s not all Anheuser Busch’s fault. Attorneys general from 23 states are looking into whether Anheuser Busch is doing enough to keep out the kids through their age-verification process. (Which, obviously, is a joke.) Why? It’s not like you can download beer. Someone else will take this concept and be successful with it. Don’t write off the concept - but it may be time to kick the keg. (From the Hollywood Reporter Business RSS)