I mentioned on here a few months back that I anticipated more and more businesses looking to leverage video streaming online and Budweiser looks set to be the newest kid on the block looking to tap into this opportunity. Bud TV will be delivering yet another blow to network television as it looks to create some exciting via its website. Launching in February 2007 bud.tv is said to be dedicated on sports and entertainment primarily, but will also look to branch out into news and movies as time goes on.
Backing
At first glance I did think that this would be fishing trip from Budweiser to see what kind of response they got from their media arm but looking at the backing which they have it is clear that this is not the case at all. In fact as stated at PaidContent, the program has over $30 million in backing which it will be using to bankroll the initiative. The press release alone namedrops the likes of Kevin Spacey and Vince Vaughan, not to mention the fact that they claim all video will be produced to DVD quality and it will also be able to be played full screen on any computer.
Having this backing could see Budweiser move well ahead of many rivals which were started on a budget of far less, get this right and Budweiser could completely takeover video streaming online, get it wrong and the beer giant is more than robust enough to bounce back from any failure.
Under The Radar
Whilst we may not have seen it at the time, looking back we should’ve known that the beer giant was up to something in the multimedia field after they began to create their own humorous shorts. This has in fact turned out to have been an early bit of research which they were doing into in-house production and design.
Super Bowl
There is a very real possibility that unlike other years, 2007 may very well not feature a Budweiser Super Bowl ad, and that will be because of a shift in strategy moving money to their own service instead. The February launch would certainly indicate something like this.
Social
The one thing which we don’t know, and something which is highly likely to be the key to the success of bud.tv is whether or not it will be fully social. We don’t know what sharing options there will be or whether or not they will be able to link people watching the same content. If Budweiser have worked smartly then this, along with the content will be an area which could see them absolutely nail this launch. On the press release image there is a channel called Bud Tube, which certainly conjures up images of YouTube-esque content and a play on Bud/Buddy. Perhaps we’re looking too deeply into it but we will know way more in February, watch this space.
