I just heard about a new television channel that provides “a trusted source of scientifically developed content for dogs.”
Is this what President Obama has in mind when he says ubiquitous bandwidth will free all Americans to explore new horizons? And, at the end of the day, is this what broadcasters’ are being asked to give up their wireless spectrum for?!!
The Roku Internet streaming service is now offering a new channel for dogs. You read that right, DOGTV is designed exclusively for canine viewers. For a $9.99 monthly subscription, consumers get instant access to (wait for it)… all of DOGTV’s programming streamed to their TVs for convenient viewing for dogs when left home alone. [Roku launched the first player to stream Netflix to the TV in 2008, and today streams more than 500 entertainment channels to millions of customers.]
DOGTV is new to the Roku platform but has was actually launched this past February, as an on-demand channel in San Diego, where it has been viewed by more than 30 percent of the dog owning households in the test market. It must be too much hot sun.
Gilad Neumann, CEO of DOGTV, said there is a “growing international demand” for the canine programming. Really?
The producers of DOGTV say the channel is “scientifically developed, endorsed by pet industry leaders and backed by four years of clinical research.” It sounds like online long-form product placement to me. These so-called “producers” say they have spent "hundreds of hours" creating content that caters to a dog’s "well-being and unique sense of sight, hearing and movement detection.”
The say everything from the visuals—the scenery, scenarios, color palettes and camera angles—to the audio soundtracks is selected with a dog’s experience in mind. (I wonder if the audio includes a high frequency track heard only by dogs.) The programming is organized into relaxation, stimulation and exposure segments that provide “the right balance for the daily cycle of stay-at-home pups.”
DOGTV is currently available in San Diego on Time Warner Cable and COX Cable TV. As for online access (how ling does your dog spend online each day?), DOGTV is also available at www.dogtv.com/online/.
OMG.
