Bubble Hits, simply Bubble Hits
One week before launch and Bubble Hits is gaining momentum. Irish KC told you about this bold Irish broadcasting concept some time back, and it’s almost a reality now.
Presenters have since been added - with top Irish model Glenda Gilson recently joining the presenting team of former Eastenders star Chris Parker and former Six singer Liam McKenna. And they have a website - well okay, as of today they have a domain name and a logo.
Back when Bubble Hits was first mooted there was minimal publicity. In fact I found news of the venture reported in only one Irish nespaper, and a regional one at that. Then I blogged it. Then Irish megasite The Community At Large picked up my blog and blew it bigger, and even today, there is still limited information on the new channel. But that’s the point. Walsh and Hyland believe in simplicity. And word of mouth.
The two young Irish lads have a business model which is not Music Box, or Sky when it frst launched, and especially not MTV. Twenty-five years of watching MTV have informed the lads that the simplicity of pure music interrupted barely with cheaply produced soundbite interviews conducted off site, is all consumers want. No ads, and no stopping, funded only by sponsorship and text revenue, and their own start-up money, MTV is most certainly watching.
James Hyland and Lee Walsh have made mistakes before in the commercial world of music and promotion, but you know they were 16 and 17 years old then. Now they are old hands at 22 and 23, and Bubble Hits is a reality. It is going to launch. And if people like what they see - music, then Bubble Hits will be a success story.
The Independent in London (and actually also the one in Ireland behind registration) today carries some background on Bubble Hits. And Arqiva recently announced a million-pound deal over five years for Direct-To-Home solution for Bubble Hits.
I’d like to see a bit more interactivity between the channel and new technologies like mobile devices and podcasting, beyond texting requests - but maybe the lads already have that boxed off. We’ll all find out soon enough, even if it is format music television.
Bubble Hits killed the MTV star, anybody?
See Also:
• Bubble Hits: Irish Music Channel
• Bubble Hits Glenda
• Irish Music Charts and Bandwagon
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