New Live OTT Network, TalkCentralAmerica Makes Millennial Viewers the Heart of the Program
TCA Network launches four continuing series focused on hot contemporary genres – urban music, millennial moms, speed dating and gossip/culture commentary -- built from video-call-ins made by viewers via smartphones and web devices
NEW YORK(13 Jan 2016)
TalkCenterAmerica (TCA) -- the video programming platform backed by proprietary technology from digital media startup The Video Call Center– will launch a new OTT (Over-the-Top) Television Network on January 20, 2016 with a schedule of four live weekly series built from curated video-callers in real time with show hosts using smartphones, pads, and laptops. TCA Network programs devoted to four genres with high appeal to millennial audiences – urban music, millennial moms, speed dating and gossip/culture commentary – will put the audience at the center of the conversations with hosts, guest artists, and cultural experts/influencers.
“This is a network for and by millennials, keyed to the subjects and using the digital tools essential to their lives,” said Tom Wolzien, founder and chairman of TCA’s parent The Video Call Center, LLC. “TalkCenterAmerica® takes the desire of today’s millennial video audiences to be part of the story through instant social media commentary and enables them to engage in immediate live, video interaction with a show host, guests, and other video callers. Television/ Web video viewers are no longer just passive content consumers. They become the dynamic source and focus of our programming. They are no longer just following somebody else’s conversation.”
Coming January 20 – Four live OTT series with millennial appeal
Premiering January 20, 2016 the four initial series of the new TCA Network are:
Rush 2 Crush (Rush2Crush.tv ) What do The Dating Game, The Bachelor, MTV's Next, and Baggage have in common? They are old – produced for a generation who doesn't Snapchat, get drunk at brunch, or have DIY tattoos. TCA’s solution? Rush 2 Crush -- 8 singles call in. 16 "dates". 30 second speed dating. Suggestive topics. Pair the most compatible. New episodes live-stream Wednesdays at 9pm Eastern.
OMGossip (OMGossip.tv) Be honest -- we like to talk gossip. Call it your guilty pleasure, or boast about it, but in the end, we all feel the same way. We love to talk about celebrities -- their decisions, their fashion, their romances, their artistry. And we all have something to say. Which is why OMGossip is the place to be. Forget celebrity news shows and perfect anchors talking down to you. Your voice is equally important. So come hang out with us, join the OMGossip conversation via Skype, and let's gossip. Host Jeremy Hassell (VH1, MTV, E! News) leads the discussion with regular people from around the world, all talking gossip. New episodes live-stream Wednesdays at 9:30pm Eastern.
FanJamTV (FanJam.tv ) Connecting Artists & Fans Across the Globe! FanJamTV destroys all access barriers to your favorite Artist, from nonexistent replies on social media to the barricades that separate the crowd from the stage. FanJamTV is your VIP ticket to interact with your favorite artist face-to-face as well as an intimate and exclusive live performance. New episodes live-stream Wednesdays at 10pm Eastern.
The Milk (TheMilk.tv ) Produced especially for moms – TheMilk is about you, it’s about me, it’s about the women behind the word “mom”. You just had a baby, and you still are a partner, a wife, a daughter, a friend, a boss or an employee, a sister, and now, also, a mother. The expectations placed on you don’t vanish when you have a child, but your focus on yourself can and will unless you make the decision to be a badass and continue to “mother”, or care for, yourself. Now it’s time for your nourishment. Come kick it with your new BAMs (Bad-Ass-Mom) friends. We are here to talk about the things no one talks about. The icky, the wonderful, and the “oh-god-please-don’t-make me-vocalize-this”. New episodes live-stream Wednesdays at 10:30 pm Eastern.
At launch, TCA Network’s four new programs will live-stream on the TCA website www.talkcenteramerica.com , the websites of each individual series, and be distributed over the network’s YouTube channel www.youtube.com/talkcenteramerica , accessible via most OTT devices. For a preview of what’s to come on TCA Network– check out OMGossip’s pilot episode at OMGossip.tv .
TCA Network -- A whole new way of engaging with television
“As millennials ourselves, TCA’s hosts and production team are looking forward to dynamically engaging with our millennial audiences and sparking vibrant, compelling conversations. As video content producers, we know we need to keep the user experience seamless to achieve that goal. That’s the joy of working with the TCA technology and workflow solutions. On both sides of the camera – from caller acquisition through video stream selection and on to streaming out to the net – TCA puts our viewers at the heart of the program,” said Tom Porpiglia, VCC Production Manager and Executive Producer for TCA Network
Translating the popular format of radio call-in shows to the video space, TCA Network uses IP video technology, innovative broadcast studio design and proprietary production/automation software created by parent The Video Call Center to connect with viewers who have video chat capable devices. Viewers with webcams, smart phones or tablets can make live video calls to TCA-enabled TV programs, where the production team can screen the callers and the talent can use special assistive automation to directly switch between the calls themselves. Because TCA eliminates the need for a production control room, and otherwise drives efficient workflows, the cost of producing live “video call-in” shows is dramatically reduced.
Prior to launching its OTT network, TCA and The Video Call Center have produced more than 120 hours of interactive video call-in programming for broadcast television and the web, including 27 half and one-hour programs broadcast over the stations of TEGNA Media’s KUSA-TV Denver. These shows include the news special “Balance of Power: You Make the Call” following the Republican Presidential Primaries Debate in Colorado, “Theater Trial” a crime series chronicling the July 2015 trial of the Aurora, Colorado theater shooter, and the Denver Broncos pre-game series “Broncos Tonight: You Make the Call.” Program highlights of those broadcasts can be viewed on the VCC website www.thevideocallcenter.com .
About Talk Center America and The Video Call Center
TalkCenterAmerica is the web/OTT program platform of The Video Call Center, LLC. TCA Network delivers a totally new approach to live IP video acquisition, caller based content, and host television program control through assistive automation (no control room). VCC LLC is owned by Wolzien LLC and TEGNA Inc, which is a significant investor and customer. VCC provides extremely efficient video caller program production services on a work for hire and co-production basis. The specialized Video Call Center caller acquisition and host automation technology is covered by US Patent 8,767,031 issued in July 2014, with other patents pending. On air caller drop rate for IP video is one percent. See www.thevideocallcenter.com for details.