Rob McKnight to launch live entertainment streaming platform
Rob McKnight is set to launch a new live and on-demand streaming service in late 2021 called Live+, which he says will bring back “the danger of live television”.
The founding executive producer of Studio 10, who also co-runs the TV Blackbox podcast and website, will kick off the new service with The Ben, Rob & Robbo Show.
Live+ will launch later in 2021
Since its launch in April last year, the Ben, Rob & Robbo Show, featuring McKnight alongside former Big Brother winner Ben Norris and journalist David ‘Robbo’ Robinson, has aired across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Ahron Young’s Ticker TV.
The show has racked up 140 episodes already, and McKnight said the ongoing creation of that show sparked the idea for a full-scale live streaming service.
“We want to provide creators the opportunity with their audience and bring back the ‘anything can happen aspect of live TV – something sorely missing these days,” he said.
Key to the business model, McKnight said, are the low-overheads that will allow him “to build a TV network for a fraction of the price of broadcast TV, but with all the bells and whistles”, complete with “broadcast quality programs”.
“Viewers won’t notice any difference in quality when watching Live+ compared to traditional television,” he added.
Live+ is a $4 million venture and parcels are being sold in blocks of $250,000 to investors, the former TV exec told Mumbrella. As a result, Live+ is projected to begin making profit when it hits the 60,000 subscriber mark, with that figure not including revenue from integrated advertising.
“Our modelling shows this will be a very profitable subscription service. The start-up capital required isn’t that much and the ongoing costs are very reasonable,” McKnight said.
The streaming service is set to cost $6.99 a month when it launches. “We can afford to pay everyone involved and still make very healthy profits. It’s a win-win for investors and creators,” McKnight added.
“This really has the potential to make some real money for those who invest and create an alternative to what’s out there for consumers.”
Rob McKnight will launch Live+ with The Ben, Rob & Robbo Show
As well as the Ben, Rob & Robbo Show, the Live+ programming slate will have a focus on celebrity and entertainment.
So far McKnight has locked in a daily fitness show, and will also convert true crime podcast Monsters Who Murder: Serial Killer Confession with host Amanda Howard into weekly video show.
He says there are also still opportunities for serious investors to take part, and the door is open for new ideas, though the programming slate is already in advanced stages.
“After working in the television industry for more than 25 years I’ve watched as the industry has failed to evolve with changing technologies,” McKnight said in the Live+ Investor Pack.
“As traditional television broadcasters battle to stay relevant and streaming services become carbon copies of one another, each has forgotten the basic concept of engaging the audience.
“Live+ will create conversations, entertain and bring back the danger of live television.”
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Zanda Wilson was a reporter and podcast producer at Mumbrella, specialising in radio reporting. He left Mumbrella in September 2021.
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