Comments on: Subscriptions: The Secret to a Sustainable Web Series?

By: Sonja

Sonja — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:55:41 +0000

I’m a little bit confused about the numbers presented here. If it cost $60,000 to produce one season, and they had 11,000 subscribers, each paying $10, doesn’t that mean that the subscriptions alone generated $110,000? Which would more than cover the cost of production? If they got extra income from product placement and their online store, seems like this show is well in the black.

By: Has Dr. Horrible Really Helped Build the Web Series World? : Online Video News «

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 07:02:08 +0000

[...] Light star Crystall Chappell, as just one example, has had success bringing soap opera fans to her ongoing subscription series Venice. But there aren’t a lot of other creators with the followings to pull that off, especially at [...]

By: Fernando

Fernando — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 21:16:14 +0000

I’ve been reading through a bunch of archive stuff on NewTeeVee, and this is one of the more heartening articles I’ve read so far. To the extent that this example is a precedent for self sustaining video content on the web that doesn’t require massive audiences – surely that’s a good thing for broadening the base of production?

By: Liz Shannon Miller

Liz Shannon Miller — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 19:38:35 +0000

I’m very clear in this piece about the advantages Chappell and the show had as a result of “Guiding Light.” The point I find interesting is that a small fanbase is all you need to support a modestly-budgeted original series, provided you can make the subscription model work.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 05:02:50 +0000

The show’s pretty good. I got into season 2 despite being a 35-year-old guy who doesn’t even like soap operas. Charging for subscriptions is the only way to go. Nodoby’s willing to sit through an ad any more. I’m amazed that advertisers still pay for network TV time.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 04:52:07 +0000

Most of us are so busy that we don’t have the time or desire to watch ads, and the TV industry knows that, so subscriptions are becoming a more important part of the revenue model. I think that goes for any sort of produced video, and it will probably hold true for YouTube to some degree.

By: Patrick Bardwell

Patrick Bardwell — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 21:59:54 +0000

So what is your conclusion, Liz? Is the The Secret to a Sustainable Web Series, subscriptions?

I think subs have nothing to do with the success, but rather the built-in, huge audience from “Guiding Light.” Otherwise, every web series creator would just have a subscription model.

The $10 was just a made up amount to charge. They weren’t actually looking at price points. How can you in this medium? They just put together a web series for fun and then hoped they could make some money back.

These actors are successful and have money to burn on a side project like this. This success is a rare case and not normal for most web series creators.

By: Scott Jensen

Scott Jensen — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:42:06 +0000

Interesting to read. I wonder how many $10 subscribers they would need to cover all costs. What their real break-even point is. I would also be interested to know what they are doing to try to bring in more subscribers. Have they explored a swap deal with product placement advertisers where part of the deal is they advertise the webseries on the products that appear on the show?

By: Dani Austin

Dani Austin — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:11:12 +0000

Hmmm, Guiding Light gave us a lame 1950s style romance with two grown women content to stare and hold hands for the rest of their lives. Outside of Otalia they gave us even lamer storylines. Sorry I am definitely not one of those still moping around, looking at old clips and waxing poetic about all that Otalia/GL wasn’t. Fans are still sticking around but for Crystal and Jessica as Gina and Ani mostly. Season 2 has vastly improved over Season 1 and kudos go solely to Crystal for that. Here’s hoping Season 3 recognizes the true draw of the series in the Crystal and Jessica pairing and they are reunited.

By: kelltwomyn

kelltwomyn — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:59:55 +0000

Season 2 was amazing. The production values were excellent and the decision to change the format to episodic really changed the dynamic. The writing and acting were so much better than most of the drivel on television. I would rather watch Venice than TV. I think the show is a bargain at $9.99; I would pay more. Looking forward to season 3!