New TV Newsmagazine Overcomes Limitations and High Costs of Video News Releases

TVA Offers to Carry Majority of Costs in Exchange for Syndication / Licensing Rights

Studio City, CA -- No TV news organization has the resources in labor, time or funds to cover every worthy story. With CNN and other major news media laying off hundreds of staffers, 90% of TV newsrooms now rely on video news releases (VNRs) and B-roll provided by outside sources as a regular part of their newscasts. (Source: Medialink Study, February 2001)

A Video News Release (VNR), the television version of the printed press release, translates the printed word into the sound and pictures television newsrooms need. However, typical production costs for a professionally produced VNR can run from $10,000 to $20,000. Add satellite uplink distribution and the total package can easily be $30,000 or more---with no guarantees that the story will ever get picked up by TV stations or seen by a sufficient number of viewers to make it cost effective. A carefully crafted 3-minute VNR often ends up as a mere 12-second soundbite, airing only once during a non-primetime hour. Even worse, the newsroom may choose to take an unflattering angle on the story.

However, in exchange for worldwide syndication and licensing rights to their story, Studio City-based TVA Productions is currently offering to carry up to 90% of the production, media and promotion costs for a primetime television Spotlight / VNR / B-roll / video / CD / internet promotional media / publicity package worth $100k - $300k for newsworthy B2C and B2B companies and non-profit organizations.

TVA produces sponsored news shows on primetime television reaching over 70 million households and businesses, as well as passengers on major airlines and cruise lines. Each half-hour episode is produced in a TV newsmagazine format similar to "Dateline" or "20/20" with Emmy-winning anchors and fully accredited field reporters nationwide and in major foreign cities.

Their flagship series, "BUSINESS WORLD NEWS" provides in-depth (5-30 minute) Spotlights on successful and innovative organizations around the world. Each episode presents critical demands or issues and then Spotlights one to six companies which provide the best solutions via innovative products, services and/or technologies. "ENTERTAINMENT WORLD NEWS" and "HEALTH WORLD NEWS" are currently in pre-production and scheduled for a late-May launch.

Because TVA buys the airtime on major national and regional cable channels and broadcast affiliates, clients are guaranteed: reach (they may choose which cities their Spotlight is to be aired), frequency (number of primetime airings), approval rights, etc. Clients are given full rights to the footage as well as an expanded Corporate Video version with a large supply of videotapes, CDs, tradeshow loop tapes and internet streaming.

A VNR version of each Spotlight and B-roll is offered to hundreds of TV newsrooms worldwide via Media Alert. Over 10,000 reporters covering more that 900 news beats in 69+ countries currently subscribe to BWN's feed. Each newsroom is offered a complete transcript, VNR Spotlight with separate audio tracks and B-roll on Beta or 3/4". Each Media Alert is personalized to match the story to the subject a reporter covers. Reporters are able to quickly evaluate the content of the VNR to incorporate into news broadcasts, working print articles, or Web pages.

"BUSINESS WORLD NEWS" has attracted some of the most powerful figures in American business and politics - people like Intel Corp. founder Andrew Grove and Senator J. Rockefeller. It has helped influence the passage of national legislation and may have well caused the stock of some clients to hit 52-week highs. Lending further credibility to the show are the heavy hitters who have appeared, such as Grove and Rockefeller, as well as former David E. Kelley Productions President Jeffrey Kramer and high-level executives from Boeing Co., Motorola and IBM. Each potential client is screened through TVA's editorial committee, which is made up of prominent journalists, correspondents, producers, directors, editors, and P.R. execs.

"We have high standards for those we Spotlight in the series," says Jeffery Goddard, executive producer. "Candidates must pass scrutiny of our selection committee and be truly newsworthy." Goddard is a long-time member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, a frequent judge for the Emmy Awards and owner of TVA Productions, one of the West Coast's top business television and video production companies. TVA's production and news team has won more than twenty Emmy, Clio, Telly and Aegis awards.

FACT SHEET

Click here to download a printable e-media kit

FAQ: But isn't this paying for publicity?

Most in-depth business news stories rely on video news releases (VNRs) and B-roll provided by outside sources as a regular part of their newscasts. Typical production costs for a professionally produced VNR can run from $10,000 to $20,000. Add satellite uplink distribution and the total package can easily be $30,000 or more. (Source: Medialink, February 2001)

Most news organizations charge fees for corporate licensing rights, customized reprints, special supplements, sponsorship packages, etc. TVA's corporate-use packages include: repeat airings in cities selected by the candidate; video reprints, complete access to all footage; production of an expanded corporate video & cd-rom version; internet streaming; tradeshow loop tapes, etc.

Not only sophisticated and media savvy Fortune 500s and global conglomerates, but many startups, non-profits, and "mom & pops" have taken advantage of TVA's offer.

Many have been awarded Level I media packages (worth $100,000 in production, media and promotion) for as little as 10% of the total costs (i.e. $1,666 per month for the six month media campaign) and Level II packages (worth $200k) for the same percentage.

References and Case Studies

The studio's website has contact names and numbers for EVERY client featured to date as well as broadcast schedules and affidavits, letters received, case studies, awards, national press articles about the series, etc. Spotlights may also be viewed via streaming video from their on-line Video Library and numerous portals. Sin industries (e.g. adult, gambling, alcohol, tobacco, etc.) are not accepted as clients.

Solution to Commercial Zapping via Digital Black Boxes:

With the proliferation of personal video recorders (PVRs) offered by such companies as TiVo and ReplayTV, commercial zapping on TV has never been easier. So innovative advertisers are increasingly turning to video news releases, documercials and sponsored TV newsmagazines such as "BUSINESS WORLD NEWS" to ensure their message continues to be heard loud and clear. Company Spotlights are presented commercial-free in a highly credible format similar to "Dateline" or "20/20" by accredited news journalists. Because TVA buys the airtime themselves on major national and regional cable channels and broadcast affiliates, clients are guaranteed reach (they may choose which cities their Spotlight is to be aired), frequency (number of primetime airings), approval rights, etc.

"We turn vision into visuals, image into income by providing in-depth (5-30 minute) Spotlights on successful and innovative organizations around the world," says Jeffery Goddard, executive producer. "Each half-hour episode presents critical demands or issues and then Spotlights one to six companies which provide the best solutions via innovative products, services and/or technologies."

About the Producers:

See News Team
See Production Team

Located next to Universal Studios since 1987, TVA Productions has become one of the top business television, video, DVD and CD production / media distribution companies in the country---due largely to the overwhelming success of this new series. TVA has won over 20 major awards for clients --- from startups and non-profits to the largest, including Amdahl, American Red Cross, Benchmark Capital, Cable & Wireless, Canon, Cessna, Diamond Brands, Disney, Epson, LDS Church, Lexus, Litton, Marriott, McDonalds, Namco, Nexell, Nickelodeon, Pharmavite, Salvation Army, Sony, Technicolor, 6-Flags, Universal Studios and Warner Bros.

TVA produces (from script to screen - dubs to distribution) TV newsmagazines, video news releases (VNRs), documentaries, TV Specials, 70 millimeter WaterScreen attractions (world's largest), TV spots, corporate videos, and direct mail video brochures--in every major language.