Blueprint for Podcast $uccess

LA Radio Personalities Rule Paid Internet TV

The Heidi and Frank Show, with more than 6,000 paid subscribers viewing the show online a total of 100,000 hours over its first six weeks, is now the #1 paid subscriber-supported Internet TV show in America.

Heidi Hamilton and Frank Kramer are successfully pioneering an emerging trend in media today: Paid Subscription Internet TV. After leaving 790 AM KABC, a leading talk radio station in Los Angeles, Heidi and Frank launched a new internet TV network with two original internet-only shows:

1  The Heidi and Frank Show, streamed LIVE daily at 10am-noon PST.
2  After Hours, streamed LIVE Fridays 1-2pm PST.

Language and subject matter of the "After Hours" shows is even more edgy than the "Heidi and Frank Show".

Unlike other radio personalities, Heidi and Frank chose not to make available free podcasts of their shows. The free podcast business model is great for hobbyists, but so far it has largely failed to enable broadcast talent to generate enough revenues to pay for bandwidth and personnel. Though a few podcasters sell advertising, very few advertisers are satisfied with usage metrics.

Without strong support from advertisers, podcasting is not a viable business for professional talent.

Instead, Heidi and Frank chose a different path, the "paid subscription" model, where fans are invited to become members of their site by paying a small monthly subscription fee.  The better they are, the more subscribers they will attract.
With this model in mind, Heidi and Frank organized their site around four types of  "fan experiences":

• Free Content
• Paid Content 
• "Live" Content
• "On-Demand" Content

Why focus on "fan experiences"? Because now that Heidi and Frank are producing subscription-supported Internet TV, they work directly for their subscribers. The best way to serve their existing fans and attract more subscribers is to provide them with the very best web experience possible — one that includes free and premium content and one that provides "live" and "on-demand" content experiences.

The Free Content Experience

Free content is updated daily and includes:

• The "live" audio stream of the "Heidi and Frank Show" as it is broadcast from 10am-noon PST.
• The "live" audio stream of Heidi and Frank's "After Hours" show, every Friday 1-2pm PST.
• Original videos produced by Heidi and Frank.
• Unforgettable YouTube videos selected by Heidi and Frank.
• Links to the wild news stories Heidi and Frank chat about each day.
• Access to VIP members' comments and shout outs to Heidi, Frank and their producer, Smeez.

The VIP Members-only Content Experience

VIP Members of HeidiandFrank.com buy a monthly or annual subscription to the site and gain access to members-only benefits and premium content including:

• The "live" video stream of the "Heidi and Frank Show" as it is broadcast from 10am-noon PST.
• The "live" video stream of Heidi and Frank's "After Hours" show, every Friday 1-2pm PST. 
• Commercial-free audio and video podcasts of the "Heidi and Frank Show”.
• Commercial-free audio and video podcasts of "After Hours”.
• Commercial-free on-demand audio streams of all episodes of the "Heidi and Frank Show" and "After Hours”.
• Commercial-free on-demand video streams of all episodes of the "Heidi and Frank Show" and "After Hours", with separate video streams from each of 4 HD video cameras including a composite stream showing all camera views together.
• On-demand access to show highlights and clips from the "Heidi and Frank Show" and "After Hours”.
• Members-only email directly to Heidi and Frank.
• Member-only chat during each day's live broadcast.
• Member-only message boards.
• Members write comments and shout outs to Heidi, Frank and Smeez.

Designing the Show

When Heidi and Frank made the transition to the Web, the dynamic duo committed to “doing it right”. They built a professional broadcast studio in Frank's backyard guesthouse. They installed 4 HD video cameras to deliver the high-end video stream their members deserve. They also chose the best technology partner, Nox Solutions, who manages Internet ecommerce solutions for other major on air personalities like Bill O'Reilly, Laura Ingraham, Dennis Miller and Lou Dobbs. Said Nox Solutions CEO Payim Zarabi, “This is the tipping point in Internet TV — the case study that talking heads will point to one day. Heidi and Frank are democratizing their broadcast by creating content their viewers want, and they’ve spun this into a successful business model.”

Find out more here.