USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Live At 9: 30’ puts on a show for streamers
New music variety gig to air on public TV first, then on to the Internet
New music variety show Live
At 9: 30 hits public TV later this week, but it already has a streaming strategy ready for its all- important online second act.
Streaming viewership is perhaps more important than traditional broadcast for the fledgling series, based at the well- known Washington 9: 30 Club music venue. That’s because those most likely to become repeat viewers are among the 18- to 34- year- old Millennial generation. Millennials stream 14.8 hours of video weekly on average, accounting for over half their time spent watching TV, finds a recent survey by The Diffusion Group.
Each hour- long episode of Live At 9:30 has four or five musical acts — Garbage, El Vy, Mister-Wives, Ibeyi and Yonder Mountain String Band are up first. “It is a unique challenge because our show is going to air on public television, which has an older demographic, but the club obviously has a younger demographic, including cord cutters,” executive producer Michael Holstein said.
To reach the non- payTV audience, Holstein has a dual- pronged video plan for Live At 9: 30, which debuts Saturday on public TV stations across the U. S. ( check local listings). On June 9, the first episode will land on the show’s website, (LiveAt930.com). Subsequent episodes will be available on the website each month on the 9th, while older episodes will remain in rotation on the site.
Show creators hope daily updates will make the Live At 9:30 website a regular stop for fans. “It’s not just a blog and still photos,” Holstein said. “There will be a lot of video. It might be a great performance, but we only have an hour for each show, and we are filming about 60 bands. It’s just an embarrassment of riches of content.”
In August, after the first six episodes have been broadcast on TV, they will be available for binge- watching on Amazon Prime. The rest of the first season lands on Amazon in December.
An entertainment lawyer, TV producer and longtime frequenter of the 9: 30 Club, Holstein came up with the idea for a variety show that flips the Saturday Night Live model. “Where they break up the comedy with music, we will flip it and break up the music with other things,” he said.
Live At 9: 30 is a fast- moving hour that features four or five musical acts — each usually gets three songs — with interviews, comedians, video shorts and wacky animations between performances. The well- polished video production gives viewers all- access angles from the front row, above the stage and behind drummers and keyboardists. Holstein deploys as many as 16 cameras for filming, including several handhelds and up to six GoPros.
Also deployed: a 4K camera and a cable cam that flies from the upstairs of the club toward the stage. “It gives you a bird’seye perspective,” Holstein said.