Super Deluxe's John Buzzell and Jim DiStefano

Thanks to a Metafilter thread I found this interview of Super Deluxe's John Buzzell, VP of Product Development and Jim DiStefano, Community Director.

From The Apiary:

"Jim: Thanks for the kind words. We're excited about Super Deluxe too. We began brainstorming in late 2005. Product development started soon after and content development kicked off in Summer '06.

The core product team was led by John Buzzell, and consists of Todd Dominey, Robert Occhialini, and myself. This team was responsible for the design and development of Super Deluxe.

The elephant in the room with all broadband networks is: How do they make money? Quality doesn't come cheap, and it sure seems like a lot of time and money went into the site. Is there pressure to be immediately profitable?

John: Broadband programming is strategically very important at Turner, so management isn't pushing us too hard for short term financial results. It's important that we stay true to our artists and the brand we're trying to build. This is reflected in our 'soft launch' strategy. Instead of going for broke with a huge media buy, we're confident enough to let things spread virally--the way that anything good grows on-line.

Besides the videos, what are some of the other features with the site that are worth checking out?

Jim: Well, we're certainly not trying to out-do other social networking sites, but we recognize that people communicate that way, so we didn't want to hold them back. Super Deluxe's social network is built to allow like-minded comedy fans to find each other and share their favorite artists and videos. Our artists and advertisers are active members of the community . Cross-pollination is encouraged, and it's already happening in some spots. It's great to see."

Super Deluxe - Its Alive

Super Deluxe launched at some point in the last 12 hours. "Fresh like Hot Pockets. Hot like bad breath" They have a number of featured performers including Dave Foley and Brad Neely. They also have Fark TV.

The content pages have all of the standard items; description, rating, embed, comments and send by email. All of the ads seem to be internal.

The site's main navigation: Series, Shorts, Artists, People and blog.

From the blog: (Zena Tsarfin)

"Even right f’n now, we’re wheeling and dealing with everyone from A-list Hollywood comedians to that loner weirdo from your local Jamba Juice. You know the one - he goes home and channels his rage into oddball flash-animation strips to bemuse you. Our goal is to create content that’s a harmonious - and hilarious - middle ground between those two extremes.

The other beautiful thing about Super Deluxe is that even you, mere plebian, can join the party. We welcome you to put your best video up on our People page and start your own cult following; or simply become a member and enjoy the ride."

WSJ on Turner's New Media Strategy and Super Deluxe

From yesterday's subscription required article, we get some more insight into the Turner new media strategy for '07.

From the article:

"In recent months, the team has launched ACC Select, a subscription site which airs Atlantic Coast Conference basketball games along with other college sports; CNN Pipeline, a subscription-based online news video service; and another such service, Very Funny Ads, which shows humorous television commercials. This month, the company plans to launch SuperDeluxe, a site with original short-form comedy clips.

"We're building businesses outside our core that allow us to compete for other pools of money," says Turner Entertainment Group President Mark Lazarus. Turner's cable networks are performing better than those of many rivals, but the gradual decline in cable advertising growth to just 3% in the first nine months of 2006 from more than 25% annually a decade ago, has forced the company and its rivals to look hard for other revenue streams."

And some more info from our friend David Rudolph:

"Late last year, David Rudolph, the Turner executive who heads the Atlanta development team, challenged his colleagues to conceive and implement a new business concept in 30 days. "The goal was to say within the company that it doesn't take years to go from idea to launch," he says.

Mr. Rudolph wanted to see if it would be possible to film college athletic events and create a "TV-like experience" on the Web on a production budget of $1,000 per game. The idea was to focus on sports that aren't covered by broadcast and cable networks but have a small and loyal following. Using off-the-shelf video components, the team assembled a game kit with four cameras for about $35,000. In May, ACC Select covered its first event, a Georgia Tech baseball game. The production cost: just under $1,000.

The service launched in September and now covers about 100 live events per month at a cost of about $1,200 per game. Users pay about $5.95 per month or $3.95 per game to watch."

Turner's David Rudolph on Super Deluxe and Second Life

I was fortunate enough to get an invitation to last night's MIT Enterprise Forum of Atlanta event on "TV Transformed."

From the website:

“New media” companies are being snapped up as industry stalwarts realize that they’re staring at a new reality. Despite the predictions for a new world of video on your PC, phone, MP3 player and even set top boxes, issues remain: how do you deliver TV-quality content over the Internet? Who delivers it? How do you make money? Who makes money? Is this the end of the TV Star? The technologies adopted will determine the future of what we’ve always known as television."

The panelists were Jim Louderback from Ziff Davis, Michel Billard from Itiva Digital Media, David Davies from Scientific Atlanta (A Cisco Company) and David Rudolph from Turner.

I thought the panel was strong and gave a good overview of upcoming issues for video content distribution and consumption. Most of the questions were handled by David. It easy to see why he is a rising star at Turner. He commands and communicates a strong understanding of the content business.

I got a chance to ask two quick questions:

1. What is going to be super about Super Deluxe?
2. When is CNN going to open a news desk in Second Life?

David said Super Deluxe is going to offer high powered original content in a social network type of environment. Earlier in the presentation David made some great comments about meta-tagging content both from a content production and from an end user standpoint. It seems Super Deluxe will employ both methods of tagging content and thus will seek to provide an easier way to find relevant video entertainment online.

David said CNN was going to open a Second Life news desk "very soon."

Turner's Super Deluxe Team

Digging around a little reveals some of the Super Deluxe team. From the announcement we know about Mark Lazarus and Drew Reifenberger. Then there is Greg Tyree's blog mention. Greg is the TBS, Inc. VP of Web Development for Internet Technologies.

The creative director, Todd Dominey makes a brief mention of the project. Joseph Trotz is working on the ad technology. Dead Frog says that one content contributor could be Eugene Mirman.

Turner's Super Deluxe

The Hollywood Reporter announces Turner's new broadband property, Super Deluxe.

From the article:

"Time Warner-owned Turner Broadcasting is scheduled to announce today its intent to launch a new multiplatform brand in January boasting original shortform videos laced with edgy humor from professional comics and ambitious amateurs alike.

Dubbed Super Deluxe, the free, advertiser-supported venture will target men 18-34 with a mix of live-action and animated material that won't skimp on profanity and toilet humor. "It's like cable TV without the rules," Turner Entertainment Group president Mark Lazarus said.

Super Deluxe's online incarnation will be equipped with community tools that enable users to establish profiles, post videos and interact. The Web site collapses the traditional distinction -- and distance -- between performers and consumers, putting user-generated content and original output from notable comedians side by side.

Turner also is making deals with relatively unknown content creators and is expected to sign other amateurs who establish a presence on Super Deluxe to development deals. In addition, Turner is open to functioning as a studio for select site members, helping with financing and other arrangements."

A quick Googling of "Super Deluxe" urls would seem to indicate Turner is going to have to get creative with the site address.