Blip.tv CEO on the $10 million in new funds

Mike Hudack says his TV network will be putting more emphasis on promoting its show producers

With $10 million in new financing, Blip.tv is looking to begin promoting its 50,000 show producers. In an interview, Blip.tv co-founder and CEO Mike Hudack says "audience development is what we'll invest in most now."

While traditional networks spend a significant amount of money promoting and marketing certain shows, Blip.tv has yet to do so. Not until now, of course. As part of its mission to help independent niche show producers build an audience and make a living, Blip.tv plans to help that process and work more closely with its distribution partners to help certain shows get more top-shelf placement.

If Blip.tv can be successful, that could help drive its views even more. Already, it's doing 90 million video views a month, Mike said, adding that under five percent of those views come from the Blip.tv site. The remainder comes from its distribution partners - YouTube, AOL, MSN, iTunes, MySpace, etc.

With so much traffic outside its own site, getting more play for its top show producers might be tough. 

And, Blip.tv won't go as far as paying for marketing to promote its shows. But it will "experiment," said Mike.

As for the CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) Blip.tv is bringing in for its show producers, Mike said that they're typically north of $5 net to the show producer, but can dip below that number in some cases. It's rare that a show producer gets $15, he said.

Watch the video for more about the popular videos on Blip.tv and the type of traffic certain show producers are seeing.