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TV News- Horror Mag Fangoria Sinks Teeth Into TV
http://news.aol.com/entertainment/tv/articles/_a/horror-mag-fangoria-sinks-teeth-into-tv/20060828071309990001?cid=918
2006-08-28 07:13:30
Horror Mag Fangoria Sinks Teeth Into TV
By Chris Marlowe
Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Aug. 28) - Horror fans might want to add garlic and silver bullets to their firewall. The genre magazine Fangoria is launching a broadband television network as part of parent company Creative Group's efforts to reach its devoted, highly targeted but elusive audience.
FangoriaTV.com already is offering on-demand movie trailers, public domain and independent movies and other content as it tests the platform. The broadband network launch, which will be announced Oct. 1 during Fangoria's convention in Secaucus, N.J., expands the groundwork to a broadband television product.
The programming will be a mix of original programming, news, movies, shorts and more.
"We own the No. 1 horror magazine, but I'm a TV guy," said Fangoria president Tom DeFeo, who is also a Creative Group principal. "We have a high-def horror channel in the works, but in the interim we decided broadband was both the next best thing and the future."
The broadband platform also will provide a way of monetizing some of Fangoria's existing original content, like its Fangoria Radio program on Sirius Satellite Radio. Co-hosted by cult favorite Dee Snider of Twisted Sister and "scream queen" Debbie Rochon, the program features guest appearances by Clive Barker, Bruce Campbell , Billy Mumy, Sticky Fingaz and other stars of the horror genre.
"Subscription opens a gateway to access whatever is on offer," DeFeo said. "We have the 15-year-old Chainsaw Awards (set for Oct. 15 in Los Angeles), which we co-produce for TV with Fuse, and Fangoria Comics starting next year, and other things in the works."
DeFeo said some of the content will remain free but that most of it will be on a monthly subscription basis with some material requiring an added premium. "Every week will be fresh," he said. "The horror fan really wants information, to know everything there is to know about the latest and the greatest."
He also will tap existing close relationships with the studios to host clips, interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and other film extras.
"When you click on FangoriaTV.com, you're going to get a four-hour block of free programming that we offer," DeFeo said. "We have to watch out for kids, so it will all be carefully chosen to be appropriate for a wide audience."
That concern for propriety is another reason DeFeo finds broadband attractive. "The horror fan wants it uncut and uncensored," he said. "Even on basic cable it has to be trimmed, and that will piss off fans. With a subscription we can give them what they want."
Pricing has not been determined, but DeFeo said he hopes to offer discount packages for those who subscribe to FangoriaTV and the magazine or Sirius.
What DeFeo is focused on now is the consumer experience. "I wanted the feel of it to be so that if a non technical person comes to FangoriaTV they can just click on it and enjoy," he said. "And I'm a stickler for quality, so they're going to get near-DVD quality."
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