“Not just news and not just Jews”

Thus speaketh John Odoner, CEO of the soon to be new network Jewish TV (JTV) in an article in Broadcasting & Cable. Not counting Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm Jewish viewers are an undertelevised market. Think about it- Telemundo for the Spanish-speaking crowd, BET for the hip urban black demo. JTV is supposed to debut in September.

Will it work?

Elie Rosenfeld, COO of the Joseph Jacobs Organization, an advertising and marketing agency specializing in Jewish consumers, says a network like Odoner's could probably get some carriage in the major markets. "There is certainly enough of a market to greatly increase the amount of Jewish-related television, because it's a community that is underserved," he says.

Or won't it?

"The barrier to entry is too high and the size of the audience is too low," says Jay Sanderson, CEO of the not-for-profit Jewish Television Network (JTN), which began life in the 1980s with plans to become a full-fledged network but instead morphed into a production company. "

Sanderson sounds a little bitter. However, his JTN was launched before VOD and the multitudes of smaller cable networks that can now be seen (NFL Network, Golf Channel, Discovery Wings, etc….) made specialized cable nets an all to common sight.

Cathy Rasenberger, of Rasenberger Media, which helps launch start-up networks, perceives Odonor's optimism as 'naiveté,' especially in such a 'hostile environment' for any new network.

"Most entrepreneurs believe their idea is unusually superior to others," she says. "But there is no economic model for this. It's just way too small a demographic to support a network. There's no way he'll launch in that many homes."

Rasenberger believes there may never be a big enough market for a full-fledged network but there will be more opportunities as cable operators develop a business model for video-on-demand.



Would you watch JTV?