The name Wayans has long been associated with anything funny.
So the fact that earlier this month Damon Wayans launched WayOutTV.com,
an Internet site in collaboration with
Google's YouTube,
should come as no surprise.
WayOutTV.com
will showcase videos produced by emerging young comedians selected by
Wayans.
The Wayans family has a venerable comedy brand. Damon and his brothers
Keenen, Marlon, and Shawn, and sister Kim have long brought a selective
and distinctive style of satire to film and television shows such as
Hollywood Shuffle, I'm Gonna Git YouSucka, the groundbreaking In Living
Color, and My Wife and Kids.
WayOutTV.com joins the trend of other celebrity comedians hitting
consumers directly with comedy product including Will Ferrell's
FunnyorDie.com and MyDamn-Content.com by Harry Shearer. Further, the
site hits at a most opportune time as the entertainment environment
continues to evolve toward a world of on-demand leisure. Appointment
television of days past, according to many analysts, is on death row, if
it isn't dead already. Consumers, particularly young audiences, prefer
to watch entertainment content when and wherever they want.
WayOutTV.com aligns with an upward trend in terms of African American
online usage. According to the 2007 Media Audit by Houston-based
International Demographics, African Americans spend 117 minutes per day
online-up from 68 minutes in 2006.
Additionally, given that recent Nielsen reports suggest that African
Americans are the earliest adapters to new media devices and content
relative to other groups should also bode well for Wayans' new venture.
As the Web proves to be a place for more and more content providers to
introduce their product to audiences, analysts contend that branding
will be the key competitive advantage to an increasingly cluttered
marketplace.
Because barriers to entry are low, allowing anyone with a digital video
camera, a computer, and determination, to place a video on YouTube, name
recognition and quality will determine who wins eyeballs and repeat
visitors. And with the name Wayans, Damon could clearly be way ahead of
the pack.
