Maybe it beats chasing your own tail. Satellite television company DirecTV Inc. has a new channel for an audience whose entertainment options include barking at neighborhood cats or chewing couch cushions.
The El Segundo company has picked up DogTV – the only network just for dogs – the channel’s executives announced last week. The multiyear carriage agreement will make the channel available this summer by subscription to DirecTV’s 20 million households.
If this hasn’t been stated clearly enough: This programming is not designed for viewing by humans, only canines. It’s an extreme example of the increasing fragmentation of television options.
DogTV is betting a lot of people are begging for Fido and Scamp to have something to watch while they’re out bringing home the Kibble, said Beke Lubeach, director of U.S. marketing for DogTV, which is produced in Israel. As more families rely on multiple incomes, that need is growing.
“We’d like to be able to offer DogTV in every house that has a dog,” Lubeach said. “It’s for people who care about their dogs and the environments they leave them in. It’s a great opportunity to alleviate their boredom and relax them while you’re away.”
DogTV, created by Tel Aviv company PTV Media Ltd., launched in the San Diego market last year with a free on-demand service through Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications. It has since transitioned to a paid channel through Cox. Time Warner chose to take it off the air.
DogTV programming, which DirecTV subscribers can get for $5.99 a month, features three- to seven-minute segments of images intended to either relax the doggies or stimulate them. Relaxation segments show puppies falling asleep and panning shots of tranquil scenery accompanied by serene music.
Other segments are designed to introduce dogs to babies or things that make them nervous in real life – such as mailmen and vacuum cleaners.
The company films its segments in San Diego; Boston; and Tel Aviv, where the content is also edited.
Channel executives say its programming has been scientifically researched to appeal to the specific interests of the four-legged demographic.
The channel’s founder, Ron Levi, first came up with the idea for his cat because he felt guilty about leaving it alone all day. Through research, he realized that, actually, dogs were in greater need of midday activities. And soap operas don’t do much for them.
Levi researched the concept for four years, trying to figure out what dogs would want to watch. The footage uses low-angle shots and a color palate that fits with the animals’ range of vision.
Dogs are no couch potatoes, though. Lubeach said they typically watch only 18 minutes each hour.
‘Dogs need stimulation’
Because the company can’t sell advertising – dogs have no disposable income – the channel relies on revenue from subscriptions. Lubeach would not disclose revenue or the number of subscribers, but said executives have been in talks with other providers to get their content on the air.
The channel is also available for streaming online for $9.99 a month through its website. It’s also carried by online streaming TV service Roku.
Matthew Harrington, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities in Denver who covers DirecTV, said that DogTV could be the right concept and it’s certainly an amusing example of niche programming.
“It kind of makes sense in a funny way; unquestionably, dogs need stimulation just like people do,” he said, laughing. “I honestly think it’s a great idea.”
He said that the channel would probably not drive a significant number of new consumers to DirecTV, but it could drive viewership at the margins.
“Is it going to be an ESPN? No,” he acknowledged. “But I could see it being worth tens of thousands of customers, rather than hundreds of thousands of viewers.”
The online buzz has been snarky. Even Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully weighed in during a broadcast, wondering aloud how the channel could make money and whether cats could watch as well.
But Lubeach said the channel’s bipedal customers have responded positively to the network, or at least how it has affected their pooches.
“They love it,” she said. “Their dogs have stopped chewing on the couch cushions.”
So what are they doing those other 42 minutes per hour?
