XPost: rec.arts.tv, rec.drugs.cannabis
From: weberm@polaris.net

With marijuana-centric shows like HBO’s “High Maintenance” and
Netflix ’s “Disjointed,” and seemingly constant references to the
drug on other mainstream television series, it would seem the time
is right for a channel devoted to those who like to get high.

But as entrepreneurs Dan Goman and Alex Nahai are learning with
420TV, their Beverly Hills, Calif.-based video-on-demand and
streaming service, there are hurdles upon hurdles when it comes to
cannabis content.

Set to launch online on Feb. 22, 420TV has struggled to find major
TV distributors willing to carry the service and advertisers to
sponsor it. Getting insurance coverage to produce shows has been a
challenge, since many insurers are reluctant to get involved with
programs featuring marijuana or that have it on set.

There are scores of legal issues, ranging from when and how
marijuana use can be shown, to how the programming and channel—its
name is a nod to a popular time of day for pot consumption—can be
marketed. Laws vary from state to state, further complicating
matters.

“No one seems to have a very firm grasp of what you can and can’t
do,” said a frustrated Mr. Goman, who co-founded the service with
Mr. Nahai. “It didn’t seem to me that it would be that complicated.”

Mr. Nahai added: “When there isn’t any precedent, that leads to very
long, drawn-out, unclear discussions.”

Even the online launch of the channel isn’t without headaches. The
channel operates a Facebook page, for example, but isn’t allowed to
buy advertising through the social-media service. A Facebook
spokeswoman said 420TV violated its policy against misleading or
false content but declined to elaborate.

Mr. Goman, 39 years old, previously worked as a program manager at
Microsoft and consulted for AT&T Wireless, while Mr. Nahai, 30, has entertainment roots, including stints at talent agencies WME and
UTA.

420TV is owned by Las Vegas-based holding company Genesis Media LLC,
which is backed by a marijuana cultivator. 420TV has received $20
million in outside funding and expects to put $50 million into the
service over the next 10 years.

Messrs. Nahai and Goman have heard all the jokes, but they stressed
that their channel, in development for a little over a year, is one
with a strong lineup and opportune timing. Its programming is to
include “420TV News,” a daily show that airs, naturally, at 4:20
p.m., along with shows about medical marijuana, cannabis
entrepreneurs and “Super Slackers,” a cartoon from a former director
and animator of “The Simpsons.”

“This is a premium product,” Mr. Goman said. “This isn’t somebody in
their mom’s basement, smoking a joint.”

Dina Browner, a Southern California dispensary owner nicknamed Dr.
Dina by loyal customer Snoop Dogg, is set to host another series,
“Top Shelf With Dr. Dina.” Think CNN’s “ Anthony Bourdain Parts
Unknown” but for pot instead of food, said Ms. Browner, who also
consults for “Disjointed,” the Netflix comedy about a dispensary
owner starring Kathy Bates.

Despite the setbacks, 420TV is expected to follow up its online
launch with an over-the-top video service and on Apple TV and Roku
in the summer. Apple and Roku didn’t respond to requests for
comment. 420TV is also in talks with traditional cable providers,
though none have signed on to carry the service yet.

“We had one of the largest cable companies in the country say this
is very ‘fresh,’ but it’s a very touchy subject with the people at
the top,” Mr. Goman said. The hope is that if 420TV attracts
viewers, then distributors will reconsider. It will be offered free
until it reaches 1 million subscribers, with plans to move content
behind a paywall at that point.

420TV isn’t the only platform looking for profits in pot. Another
streaming service, Burn TV, is planning a first-quarter launch with
existing shows like “The Nug Nation,” an animated series whose humor
is in the vein of “South Park,” and “Jam in the Van,” a show about up-and-coming musical acts.

Burn TV Chief Executive Jason Santos said he isn’t looking to build
a pot channel. “You can only see so many products and dispensaries.
We’re not focused on how much weed content we can bring, we’re here
to entertain cannabis users.”

With an increasing number of U.S. states legalizing marijuana for
recreational or medicinal use, it is becoming more visible in
mainstream entertainment such as “Disjointed” and “High
Maintenance,” a series of New York City vignettes anchored by an
affable dealer.

It is a far cry from Fox’s “That ’70s Show” in which producers in
the 1990s had to find clever ways to depict high characters without
showing the drug. (The solution: wisps of smoke and a camera one
beat behind whichever character last held the joint.)

Even still, co-creator Mark Brazill recalls constant fights with
Fox. The network’s head of standards, he said, “was always on smoke
patrol.”

There is reluctance in entertainment, particularly broadcast TV, to
partake, which surprises “Disjointed” co-creator David Javerbaum
given the growing social acceptance and economic potential around
marijuana.

“In America, everything comes down to money, and there is so
obviously so much money to be made in this,” he said. “That the
stigma against it is still so strong is amazing to me.”

--
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have to audit liberals & wire tap reporters' phones.

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* Origin: www.darkrealms.ca (1:229/2)