Online Media and a Passion for Public Ideas
An Interview with Executive Chairman Brian Gruber of FORA.tv
Oct 28, 2009
Gruber is founder of FORA.tv. His background in media and marketing is impressive and far reaching. He was the first head of marketing for C-SPAN and built the network’s affiliate sales and marketing organization leading to the launch of C-SPAN II. He has also worked for and consulted with a variety of media companies such as Scripps, Howard Cable, Heritage Cablevision, Comcast and others. Gruber’s international experience includes head of marketing for Australia’s leading cable television service FOXTEL.
FORA.tv’s model differs from other online media businesses by constantly evolving. “The company started with a standard high-value niche content, on demand, ad-supported model,” says Gruber. “It leveraged free content from one or two hundred elite partners. If anything, it trended away from YouTube lowest common denominator content to a focus on the best and the brightest, and tried to popularize and monetize that category.”
A Unique Model and a Passion for Public Ideas
Brian Gruber combined his passion for online media and public ideas when he founded FORA.tv in 2005. Gruber tells Suite101 that he started out in the cable TV business in an era when dozens of new brands were created around new genres of programming not previously thought to be economic-documentaries, news, and public affairs.
“I saw the advent of online video as an opportunity to create a content service around access to the world's smartest, most interesting and most important thought leaders, speaking at public forums, or fora,” explains Gruber.
What makes FORA.tv unique is a high quality partnership with the world's great public forums. It has a unique set of viewing tools and options for sharing, downloading and watching chapters of exactly the part of an event the audience would like to see. In Gruber’s words: “it is ‘aspirational,’ with a high degree of respect for its viewers.”
Suite101 wanted to know how this model fits with today’s online media market. Gruber answers: “all high value niche editorial players have to figure out a balance between free ad-supported, and paid premium content, with other revenue streams to get to profitability. There is a general collapse in the ad market, with virtually unlimited supply, low CPM ad rates, and clutter. Everyone better evolve, diversify and innovate on the user side, the technical side, and the revenue side.”
Strong Partnerships Lead to Success
Gruber’s history of success rests on his ability to build strong partnerships and surrounding himself with a talented team that shares his vision. “Be well capitalized,” says Gruber. “Wrangle a strong group of investors, board members and advisers. People will gravitate to projects with passion and the right values.” Gruber’s outgoing personality and enthusiasm for his work is irrefutable as he talks about FORA.tv and the possibilities for ventures like it.
Gruber had a very clear idea and worked to differentiate his venture with have a vision of what success looks like. “But above all,” he tells Suite101, “surround yourself only with people that share your passion, you enjoy working with, and most importantly don’t forget to have fun.”
The Next Generation of Online and Social Media
Suite101 asked Gruber to comment on the hurdles of the next generation of online and social media. He advises to focus on integrating opportunities, applications and partners to deliver unique, highly valued, and used new media experiences. “I think that will ultimately focus on sorting out paid content models before the great editorial institutions suffocate from loss of subscription, advertising and newsstand sales,” states Gruber.
The economy has left its mark with FORA.tv and for Gruber’s team. “It's time to hunker down, persevere, and sweat out the next two years until the macro environment changes while still executing and innovating.” Attracting capital in a capital market with no pulse is a major challenge for a business like FORA.tv. In addition, Gruber and his team are working to diversify revenue streams and becoming relevant to a large enough slice of media consumers.
His advice to emerging entrepreneurs in this new economic reality is to “persist, with passion, joy and a smart plan.”
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