Current TV
Current TV was an American television channel which broadcast from August 1, 2005, to August 20, 2013. Prior INdTV founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, with Ronald Burkle, each held a sizable stake in Current TV. Comcast and DirecTV each held a smaller stake.
The channel started out with user-generated content made by viewers in 15-minute blocks. The channel later switched formats to become an independent news network aimed at progressive politics. Neither format brought the success that Gore and Hyatt had desired.
On January 2, 2013, it was announced that Current TV had been sold by Gore and Hyatt to Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera Media Network. AJMN stated it planned to shut down the Current TV channel, retain its off-air staff, and to launch a new New York City-based channel named Al Jazeera America. Current had operated in the same way with Newsworld International, a predecessor to Current. They also said they planned to scrap the channel's programming lineup and brand. Al Jazeera America replaced Current TV on August 20, 2013, at 3:00 pm Eastern, 2:00 pm Central time. The former headquarters would become the home of Al Jazeera's all-online digital channel AJ+.
History
2002–2006: Launch
After the 2000 U.S. presidential election, Gore and Hyatt wanted to start a conventional cable news network. The plan evolved into making a viewer-generated channel aimed at an audience demographic age 18–34.On May 4, 2004, INdTV Holdings, a company co-founded by Gore and Hyatt in 2002, purchased Canada-based cable news channel NewsWorld International from NBCUniversal for the express purpose of launching their new network with the space on some digital cable lineups that NWI had. The new network would not have political leanings, Gore said, but would serve as an "independent voice" for a target audience of people between 18 and 34 "who want to learn about the world in a voice they recognize and a view they recognize as their own." Other reports said that Gore hoped that the channel would help change the tide of "consolidation and conglomeratization" of the media by leading the change to "democratization." The news network was said to be a combination between CNN, MTV, and blipverts. In the summer of 2004, Gore and Hyatt announced their new network, named INdTV, with a series of public recruitment events. The first of these events was held at the Bambuddha Lounge in San Francisco's Tenderloin, on August 25, 2004.
On April 4, 2005, the former vice president with business partner Hyatt announced that they had changed the name of the network from "INdTV" to "Current TV". The new television network launched in the United States at midnight EDT on the morning of August 1, 2005. The first person heard on the channel was Conor Knighton, a staple during the early years of the channel introducing the channel with the show Google Current.
2006–2008: Expansion and Yahoo! partnership
On September 20, 2006, Current TV started a short-lived partnership with Yahoo! to supply topic-specific "channels" to the Yahoo Video website. Called the Yahoo! Current Network, the first four channels, "Current Buzz", "Current Traveler", "Current Action", and "Current Driver" quickly became the most popular videos on the Yahoo Video web site. There were Yahoo branded segments on Current TV, similar to the Google Current segments. Additional web channels were planned. However, on December 6, 2006, Yahoo and Current TV announced the end of their relationship. Madeline Smithberg co-creator of The Daily Show, was the Executive Producer for this project.On October 6, 2006, a deal was announced with BSkyB to create a localized UK and Ireland version of Current TV for its Sky satellite service. This version went live on March 12, 2007, on Sky channel 229 and Virgin Media channel 155. The first documentary aired on the launch was 'Tracking William, a Night With a Paparazzo' from director Daniel Florencio, a prolific contributor of the channel. In 2007, Current TV started video-on-demand service on Virgin Media. Current TV was also added to the Freewire IPTV network on channel 178. The channel closed on March 11, 2012, following BSkyB's withdrawal of support and a failed rescue attempt from Current TV.
On January 31, 2007, Current TV launched on Dish Network.
On September 16, 2007, Current TV won an Emmy award for Best Interactive Television Service at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. This was the first year in which this Emmy was presented during the primetime broadcast. The award was presented by Masi Oka of Heroes fame and MySpace founder Tom Anderson, and Al Gore and Joel Hyatt accepted the award on their behalf.
On February 8, 2008, it was announced that the network would also be available on the Italian Sky Italia satellite digital platform on channel 130. According to the official website, broadcasts started on May 8, 2008. On June 6, 2008, it was announced that the network would also be available on the Italian 3 DVB-H mobile operator, free of charge. The channel closed on July 31, 2011, following failed distribution renegotiations with Sky Italia.
Current TV partnered with Twitter for the 2008 Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates, allowing viewers who watched the Current TV version of the debates to post live on Twitter and have their opinions shown on screen, live.
2009–2010: Financial troubles and IPO plans
On January 28, 2009, Current Media Inc. announced that it intended to launch an initial public offering on the NASDAQ to raise US$100 million. However, it announced in early April that it was scrapping the plan due to "current market conditions" and that no securities had been sold, and all activity regarding the proposed IPO had been discontinued.In June 2009, Current TV received approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to establish a Canadian version of the channel, which would be a joint venture of Current TV and the CBC, with the CBC taking 80 percent ownership. The channel would be required to feature at least 35% Canadian content. The new service was planned to begin in Fall 2009, pending approval by the Treasury Board, but those plans were put on hold later that year.
In July 2009, Current TV made a series of changes due to financial reasons and the failed IPO. CEO Joel Hyatt resigned to a new vice president position and was replaced by Mark Rosenthal, the former COO and president of MTV Networks, with a plan to reform Current TV to more traditional programing. Lisa Derrick of The Huffington Post predicted that Current TV would undergo a transformation similar to MTV's transformation during Mark Rosenthal's 1990s tenure at MTV, from MTV's multi-minute music video format to longer 30 minute/1 hour reality television programing. Ultimately its assorted pod format was discontinued in lieu of traditional 30-minute block programing. Some elements of the pod format survived inside the themed 30-minute programing. In July 2009, 80 in-house staff were laid off, about 25% of Current's staff, and plans were announced to air licensed TV series and films and other content that was not produced by Current in-house or by the VC2 system. Andrew Wallenstein of The Hollywood Reporter predicted Current would make its targeted demographic a decade older from early 20s to early 30s, and add more less-serious entertainment programing to its then mostly news and reality/documentary format.
In late 2009, after the announcement of the Comcast-NBC Universal merger, Comcast Corporation submitted a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that revealed it owned a ten percent stake of Current Media LLC. Current received three Emmy nominations in the news and documentary category in 2009.
In mid-2010, Current's Vanguard journalism program's piece, Oxycontin Express, received a Peabody Award, a first for both Mariana van Zeller, the journalist behind the story, and Current TV. Current also received a Headliner award. Around this time, a report by Reuters on the network's ongoing problems suggested that it could have blossomed into something akin to YouTube's video-sharing platform, MSNBC's role as a left-leaning news outlet, or even the Oprah Winfrey Network. "In retrospect", the report concluded, "what's distinctive about Current's troubles was that Gore's vision had so much potential. It's uncanny how close he was to capitalizing on several key trends that transformed the media world, only to watch others do so."
2009: North Korea incident
On March 17, 2009, the North Korean military detained two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, working for Current TV, after they allegedly crossed into North Korea from China. On March 30, 2009, North Korean state media reported that preparations were under way for indictments and a trial, saying, "The illegal entry of US reporters into the DPRK and their suspected hostile acts have been confirmed by evidence and their statements." The two faced trial on June 4. On June 8, Reuters reported that the two reporters were found guilty of illegal entry and committing "hostile acts against the DPRK" and subsequently sentenced to twelve years of hard labor. On August 4, BBC News reported that Lee and Ling were pardoned amidst a visit by former U.S. president Bill Clinton to North Korea.2011 major format changes
Beginning early in 2011, Current TV started implementing major changes in programming and personnel, beginning with the hiring of Keith Olbermann. To signify these changes, Current unveiled new imaging and a new logo in May 2011, designed by branding firm Wolff Olins and Loyalkaspar.On February 8, 2011, Keith Olbermann announced that he had been hired to host a new primetime show on Current TV and was named Chief News Officer with an equity stake in the network. In April 2011, Olbermann announced that his nightly program would retain the same title from his time at MSNBC. On June 20, 2011, Countdown with Keith Olbermann relaunched on Current TV. The program aired Mondays through Fridays at 8 p.m. Eastern Time and was based out of New York City. Olbermann stated on The Colbert Report that Current TV was planning to make a nightly news segment consisting of his show and others that would launch later on Current TV.
In August 2011, Current announced that it had hired former CNN Bureau Chief and SVP of Programming David Bohrman as the network's new president. Bohrman later announced that after filling out its prime-time lineup, Current would also gradually begin shifting towards "a full daytime, morning schedule of news, information, analysis, conversation, context – all based on the events of the day" from an independent, progressive perspective.
On September 15, 2011, Current also announced that it had hired Shelley Lewis, former CNN and PBS executive producer, as executive vice president of programming.
On September 20, 2011, the network announced that Cenk Uygur of the internet-based TYT Network would be launching a TV edition of the internet news program The Young Turks in the fourth quarter of 2011. The program was broadcast from Los Angeles and aired weekdays at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. The program premiered on December 5, 2011.
On September 21, 2011, network president David Bohrman named Jason Odell as executive vice president of technology. Odell had an extensive career at both CNN and NBC, and was most recently known for creating and implementing CNN's "holographic" technology during election coverage.
On October 12, 2011, the network announced that it had hired former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm to host her own weekday prime-time program The War Room with Jennifer Granholm. The program launched on January 30, 2012, at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.