Mojo HD
by George Winslow -- Multichannel News, 2/10/2008 7:00:00 PM
As high-definition programming proliferates, programmers are increasingly doing what they’ve long done with standard-definition channels — trying to create brands that can successfully target niche audiences. That strategy recently led to the rebranding of one of the industry’s oldest HD channels, INHD, which relaunched in 2006 as Mojo HD.
In Demand Networks originally created the channel to offer their cable operator owners — Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks — HD programming but “we recognized that to maintain our leadership position we were going to have to stand for something other than technology,” president and CEO Robert Jacobson said. “We knew that in a very short period every well established programmer would have an HD channel. If our offering only stood for programming in HD, we would have no differentiating element.”
Since the change, Mojo has been ramping up its original programming, launching six new series in the fourth quarter of 2006 and seven in the first quarter of 2007, according to vice president of programming Emilio Nunez.
Overall, Mojo is planning about 12 to 14 original programs a year, including Survival School and I Bet You. “It used to be that the majority of the programming was acquired, but now the majority is original,” Nunez said.
While studio programs are much easier and less costly to produce in HD, he adds that they have focused on fare that takes the viewer out into the world “where we are not constrained by sets and have some amazing visuals,” he said. Travel and reality fare featuring strong characters are also part of the mix.
Of In Demand Networks' overall push to expand its HD content, Jacobson said, "We began to transition our entire programming to HD a couple of years ago. Today we have virtually all of the Hollywood movies available in HD and virtually all of our event pay-per-view programming."
In Demand Networks has also expanded the number of baseball, hockey and basketball games available in its sports packages and is offering HD versions of The Howard Stern Show. It will also aggregate content for Comcast, which announced at the International Consumer Electronics Show a plan to expand its high-definition programming choices to over 1,000 by the end of 2008, Jacobson said.
Three and a half years ago, Mojo built a large studio in its Manhattan headquarters. “By bringing everything in-house and building out our post production facility as HD-capable we paid a small premium in terms of cost at the time, but the facility paid for itself in less than a year,” said Keith Koby, head of post production engineering at Mojo and In Demand Networks.
Having the HD-capable facility also has helped them dramatically expand Mojo’s original production. The facility has 29 edit bays, two 5.1 audio rooms and has 80 terabytes of storage.
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