Here's the question, and it's a brutally tough one, for executives at NBC and Venice, California interactive pioneer Spiderdance, which specializes in creating tools that allow for synchronized, real-time online counterparts to TV shows: can anybody make money from online programming? Or to be blunt: is there a "Weakest Link" here? On broadcast TV, NBC has hit a home run with Weakest Link--a top-rated quiz show differentiated from most in the genre by a brutal pace (new questions are fired at contestants every couple seconds) and an acerbic host, Anne Robinson, who bashes faltering contestants with putdowns: mental eunuch! dunce!, and far worse. Capturing the acerbic, cut-throat flavor of the TV show in its online edition is just the start of Spiderdance's challenges. It also has to capture lots of eyeballs and, most importantly of all, it needs to prove that there are dollars in these cyber counterparts to hit TV shows. It seems a no-brainer at first glance: instead of yelling answers at the screen, participatory audience members can log into a Web site (www.weakestlink.com) and answer questions in real time. "Quiz shows are the low hanging fruit when it comes to creating online versions of TV programming," says Spiderdance CEO and co-founder Steve Hoffman. Add in opportunities to chat with other fans of the show along with a 24/7 game that is always available for play by hard-core fans and, suddenly, the online adjunct to a hit TV quiz show looms as a significant tool for building and extending audience relationships. AN ONLINE PARTNERSHIP Although not designed from the ground up to include an online component, Weakest Link began developing its interactive edition soon after the program's launch in spring, 2001, says Stephen Andrade, NBC vice president interactive development and business affairs. One reason: arch-competitor, Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? already had an online version.
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