Document Actions
TDR Q&A: Ben Relles of BarelyPolitical on Being Bought by NNN
(
0 votes)
BarelyPolitical founder Ben Relles and his team first got recognition over the summer for "I Got a Crush on Obama", an R&B music video featuring Amber Lee Ettinger. His production company has since released a few other videos online, and earlier this week it was acquired by Next New Networks. Here he talks about the deal, and what we can expect in the future from BarelyPolitical.
How did you end up in this partnership? Had you been looking for a sponsor, or did Next New approach you after the success of Obama Girl?
I had been looking for someone to partner with on the site. I was looking for someone with a shared vision, who at the same time would want to preserve the nature of our work. After meeting Herb Scannell, CEO of Next New Networks Inc., we were both convinced that BarelyPolitical.com was a great fit with NNN and the NNN vision and way of operating.
What does this mean for the films? Will you have the freedom to ramp up production values (not that they weren't good already, but...)? Will you have more resources to produce more videos?
I think production values will actually stay very similar. What I love the most about online video is that the most “talked-about” videos are usually based on an idea. The public grows wary of ideas when they are presented in a way that the pubic perceives as too slick or too packaged. However, we expect that we will be able to produce a greater volume of videos more frequently on a wider range of topics.
Are there any political implications to making videos for them (rather than independently)?
No, NNN has given me creative control of our site. We are an “equal opportunity” satirist. We want to develop videos that are edgy, innovative and funny, regardless of political orientation.
In showing your stuff with Next New, are you going to steer clear of other distribution networks? Is this exclusive?
At this time, our videos will be distributed by NNN. NNN is deploying a super distribution model that allows its videos to be posted to all online sites, including MySpace, Break.com, MetaCafe, etc. If anything, this partnership will make it easier for our videos to be on more distribution networks.
What projects have you got in the pipeline? How soon can we expect them?
\We’re excited for the post-November 2008 election when we will have a new president, new senators and a new congress -- all potential “subjects” for BarelyPolitical.com. We will also have a new music video debuting this week. Following that, there will also be a lot more election coverage -- and something along the lines of Jenn Prediger’s "Bushies" card.
