Viewer-Driven Platform "I'd Watch That" Lets Audiences Decide Which Shows Get Produced For Broadcast And Cable Television

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- If you've ever watched television and wondered, "How did THAT show ever get on the air?" you're not alone. Instead of relying on the opinions of more than 200 million television viewers, broadcast and cable networks put their trust in fewer than 500 executives to decide which shows get made. Television viewing audiences will now get to speak their minds and networks will be able to improve their success rate using I'd Watch That (www.idwt.com), a viewer-driven online platform to identify, finance and develop quality content for broadcast and cable television networks.

The process currently used to create new television content is outdated, inefficient and expensive, with more than $2.75 billion spent every year on developing new programming, but less than ten percent of those shows becoming successful. I'd Watch That provides a meeting place for content creators, avid television fans and network executives to connect and turn great ideas into reality.

I'd Watch That enables creators to upload a 90-120 second pitch, or Sizzle, which is randomly shown to the community of reviewers for ranking and feedback using a proprietary methodology that eliminates bias and predicts which ideas have the best chance of connecting with a real audience. Viewers get to express their opinions and have a say in what gets produced; creators of the most favorably ranked sizzles are awarded $25,000 to produce a 5-7 minute pilot; and networks get access to the highest-ranked pilots, ratings and consumer data at a fraction of current development costs.

I'd Watch That was developed by Big Picture, Inc., a Northern California-based company founded by a group of media, entertainment and technology entrepreneurs. Early investors include William R. Hearst III, Chairman of the Board, The Hearst Corporation; Barry Schuler, former CEO of America Online; John Fisher, Managing Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson; and Inspiration Ventures.

"Consumer data plays virtually no role in the current decision-making process of what gets chosen for development on broadcast and cable television," said Tom Zito, CEO and Co-Founder of Big Picture, Inc. "Using the crowd to both source and select new shows will significantly improve the efficiency of the system, reduce development costs and identify content that is appealing to viewers."

Despite a myriad of new technologies and platforms, the average American still watches an average of 5.5 hours of programming on a television set every day, with advertisers spending approximately $75 billion a year to reach those viewers. The ability to find new programming that connects with viewers determines how much of that $75 billion a network will be able to garner, making it critical for the networks to have a means to identify and secure appealing content more efficiently and accurately than the current development process permits.

Big Picture, Inc. is a privately held company that develops technologies and services for the media and entertainment industry. The company is based in Northern California. More information is available at idwt.com, on Twitter (@idwttv) and Facebook (/idwttv).

Contact: Steve Honig
The Honig Company, LLC
818-986-4300
[email protected]

SOURCE Big Picture, Inc.