The present invention relates to the creation and distribution of media content such as television programming, movies, music and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for creating media content based upon submissions received on an electronic multi-media exchange.
The ever important influence of the Internet is evident from the following reports and statistics. According to a recent report, the number of Internet users in North America is approximately 92 million and it is estimated that 350 million people will be on the Internet by the year 2003. The growth of the Internet has been largely understated when considering that in June of 1993 there were a mere 130 web sites compared to more than 650,000 sites by the end of 1997, according to Jupiter Communications, a New York Media Research firm. In March of 1999, Network Solutions, having a U.S. franchise to dispense web addresses, registered its four millionth Internet domain name.
The Internet has reached farther and faster than any previous communications technology. It took 35 years for radio to reach 50 million listeners. Television needed 13 years to reach that number. In comparison, it took the Internet only 4 years to reach 50 million people (Cisco System Annual Report, 1998).
The Internet has fundamentally changed the way we communicate. It is estimated that 85% of the United States homes connected to the Internet use e-mail frequently, according to International Data Corporation (USA Today, Jun. 16, 19998). Individuals worldwide are taking classes, shopping for gifts, writing to their grandchildren, planning vacations, and buying everything from cars to homes using the Internet. According to Activmedia, e-commerce generated nearly one hundred billion dollars in revenue in 1999. It is estimated that electronic commerce (e-commerce) is expected to surge to more than one trillion dollars by the year 2003. According to an April, 1999 study by CommerceNet and Nielsen Media Research, the number of online consumers jumped 40% to 28 million over a nine month period.
According to a Navidec survey, 53% of Internet consumers in the United States made an on-line purchase within the first half of 1999, spending an average of $206 per purchase. This compares to just 26% of United States web users that purchased online in 1997. Cars and car parts (18.2 million shoppers), books (12.6 million shoppers), computers (12.4 million shoppers), clothing (11.6 million shoppers), and CD's/videos (11.4 million shoppers) top the list of items shopped for online.
It has been found that the incredible growth of the Internet is directly vying with television for limited household leisure time. A study conducted by the new Nielsen Media Research states that homes that have the Internet and on-line services are watching 15% less television than other homes (USA Today, Aug. 13, 1998). Television networks are increasingly having to face the future and prepare for the convergence of television and the Internet. This has recently been manifested by NBC's purchase of a major share of C-NET and ABC's purchase of a major share of the Internet search engine Infoseek.
The television industry finds itself having to grapple with its ability to attract viewers as technology offers unlimited avenues of entertainment. Furthermore, concerns for quality and new innovative approaches to programming have dampened the creative integrity of the medium. While consumers have a vast litany of channels to choose from, most of the programming is either recycled or lacks the creative freshness to stimulate consumer appeal. For example, the majority of prime time television shows have between eight to twelve writers based on budget or design. On average, each writer typically produces four to six quality ideas for their respective television show. For instance, today writers start with a pen and blank sheet of paper and it is incumbent upon them to generate a number of episodes from a single mind's creative ingenuity, inferences and real life experiences. Within this limited pool of ideas, it becomes a difficult challenge to produce twenty-four episodes per season with the same level of production quality.
Creating fresh ideas for weekly episodes is and has always been the writing team's biggest challenge, even if the show has a strong cast and original concept. Thus, a great number of television shows lack the creative frame of reference to produce consistent quality weekly episodes. Therefore, a growing number of television shows fail each year because they lack both a fresh concept and the creative frame of reference to produce consistent quality weekly episodes. Other media such as the movie, magazine, newspaper, and music industries all face similar challenges.
There are many people who have created books, screenplays, comic strips, songs, etc. and probably even more people who have thought of an idea for such media whose ideas are not currently being used. These individuals would like to expose their ideas to the appropriate media industry. Presently, this is done by directly contacting a media company in the industry and then mailing the media content to the company and waiting to hear if the company likes the idea and would like to use or purchase it. This requires an enormous amount of time and energy on behalf of the artist in making contacts and sending the materials to the right contacts. It also is a logistical nightmare for the media companies who are bombarded with scripts, songs and other artistic submissions which must then be sorted through before determining which, if any, of the submissions meet their needs.
There currently exist open exchanges for many items such as futures, stocks and bonds. Other exchanges specialize in the sale of information, such as that provided by Lexis/Nexis. The exchange's main function is to support a marketplace for the buying and selling of the goods and services. The exchange's main role is to serve as a structured meeting ground for the negotiation of the good or service provided. Currently, there does not exist a means of bringing artistic media works together in an open exchange format for searching, viewing and/or purchase in one convenient location.
Accordingly, there is a need for a process which facilitates the convergence of the technologies of media, such as television, and the Internet. What is also needed is a process which will allow media end users to interact with the creators of the media to grant a means of providing the media creator with creative submissions from the end users which can be selected and adapted for inclusion in the media content. The process should preferably reward the end user for his or her submission and participation with the process so as to create interest and enthusiasm in the media content. What is further needed is an open exchange wherein submitted media works and ideas can be conveniently searched for and viewed for use or purchase by third parties. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.