There are more comedy content providers out there today then there have ever been thanks to the power that online streaming has yielded. Gone are the days of DVDs and Blu-rays piling up on your shelves where books belong. Although, there is something satisfying about seeing a complete collection of all five seasons of Kids in the Hall. It must be the OCD but we digress. Thanks to early streaming service successes like YouTube taking the eyeballs from screen to stream, we now have the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Seeso, HBO Now, and go90 bringing us exclusive comedy content in droves and most importantly, on demand. Some see this as a good thing, some see it as diluting the quality of comedy while they all fend to land the latest, newest, and up-and-coming comedians out there today, possibly before they are ready to be thrust into the limelight.
If you’ve noticed, all services listed above have their origins in the United States. Can that or could that ever change? Comedy can be found other places, this we know. And with that said, the country list where said services are available has grown astronomically. Netflix alone is available in 190 countries. That’s great right? It should be, however, content licenses and deal agreements don’t always allow content to cross country lines which causes shows on the UK version of a service to not always be available on the US version and vice versa. With how fast we burn through content these days binge watching on a rainy day, you can run out of comedy specials and shows quicker than Steven Wright burns through one-liners. How do we solve this problem when we discover a show while traveling overseas or snag a few episodes on sites flying under the radar, or simply the old school way, word-of-mouth. There’s no Black Mirror in the US if it weren’t for these methods.
On the other side of the coin are the comedians, writers, and content creators who are looking to get paid for their work and exposure. Some have taken to self releasing their content on their personal sites with a “pay to download” model. This leads to limited exposure. Some self produce their content looking to license it or flat out sell it to a 3rd party, which then sells it to the streaming services potentially leading to much greater exposure. Well, the UK have started a streaming service model that is looking to not only provide the viewer with content from top tier comedians, but also provide a place to harbor the next generation comedian while splitting things between the artists and service 50/50. An interesting concept all while upgrading other limitations that streaming services have due to geography, not to mention having to be “connected” to the internet.
NextUp is a company and service hailing from England and Wales. It is, as its site claims, “the world’s only subscription video-on-demand platform specialising in full length stand-up comedy shows.” Their mission is to showcase and support live stand-up comedy. Support through viewing of course, but also on a local level as you can apply for free show tickets. Showcase by bringing full length comedy concerts to the masses, and by masses they mean worldwide. No viewing restriction. Other benefits and upgrades include downloadability for offline viewing. In places where internet service is elusive or completely nonexistent, like underground for that matter, this is huge. New shows will be added weekly, you can resume playing across all devices, and some might say the best part, everything is uninterrupted and ad-free. The service is offering all of this for just £3.50 a month. That’s $4.35 US.
As a comedian, the service offers you not only a place to showcase your talents worldwide, it also gives you the opportunity to upload shows that you’ve already filmed, sell tickets to your live shows. Shooting a special isn’t cheap. So if a comedian can’t afford to produce one themselves, the service gives the opportunity to be considered for one of its original productions.
Brendon Burns is a comedian of note who has signed up for the service himself. He’s been quoted as saying, “Selfies In The Grand Canyon is my favorite special to date. I was involved in every aspect of production on this one, from how it looked right down to the final edit, and I loved every second of it. So I’m properly thrilled that NextUp comedy have selected this, my first real foray into production and direction, as one of the frontrunners on their new streaming service.”
The story of NextUp is a pretty simple one. It was created by the same team behind the successful YouTube channel and live comedy night ComComedy spending years in the comedy world filming shows, interviewing comedians, and attending shows. They look to solve three problems they believe exist in comedy. First is attendance due to date, location, ticket cost and availability. Second is that they don’t believe TV is an accurate reflection of the diversity that exists in comedy. And finally, it will be a place for content to have a limitless shelf-life for future discovery when most content ends up disappearing over time.
NextUp is brand new. And if successful, could this be a model the US integrates into an already existing system? Comedian friendly, content friendly, and a place that seems to be founded on the support of the art versus how one could make money off it. A fundamental ideological difference from place to place no doubt. But we can all agree, if comedy wins, we all win. Right?
If you are curious about the service, you can discover it for yourself right here. For those who are a fan of British comedy, there will be plenty of names you recognize, a series about the history of comedy, and an audio only category for those repulsed by witnessing jokes with their own two eyes.
