KCET, a Southern California television station that was once a PBS affiliate, has signed a 5-year deal valued at $50 million to create local programming with a 3D modeling and scanning company, Eyetronics (web, Facebook). Among the assets Eyetronics brings to the partnership is a large catalogue of vintage video content.
The gratuitously sexy image that accompanies this post? Vanessa, one of the virtual pinup characters created by Eyetronics. Doesn't sound like she'll be replacing Huell Howser any time soon, but the connection is interesting—and it underscores the unusual sorts of deals we're likely to see more of, as the business of television changes. There's a Disney link here, too: Eyetronics' CEO is a former Disney exec, and is the son of Walt Disney Europe's co-founder.
KCET left PBS in January after months of disputes over dues and other issues. Many of the programs the station has aired this year are either reruns, such as the old British crime series "Prime Suspect," or general-interest news shows from overseas providers, such as Al-Jazeera or Japan's NHK. The deal is KCET's largest cash infusion for new programming since a $50-million partnership with oil giant BP and other donors led to a "A Place of Our Own," a nationally distributed series for preschool caregivers.
News Coverage: Variety, Reuters, LAT, NYT.
Here's a video uploaded to Vimeo that shows some of the scanning process at work. Be forewarned, it is mid-90s-MTV-tastic, and contains cheesy stock music.
