Originally posted Sunday, October 13, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Former Talk 106.7 host Kim "The Kimmer" Peterson and sidekick/producer Pete Davis are planning a subscriber-based podcast.
The Kimmer lost his job at the end of May when Atlanta-based Cumulus Media sold the 106.7 signal to Education Media Foundation, a non-profit organization which immediately turned on its syndicated Christian pop format K-Love.
Mike Brooks, Shelley Wynter and Shannon Burke also lost their gigs. (Brooks continues to do work with Court TV, Wynter is doing sub-hosting at WSB and Burke is back in Orlando doing a show.)
The Kimmer is the oldest of the four and has been on radio in Atlanta for decades, his two previous primary gigs being on WSB and WGST. The good news is his fans are a fervent lot and the veteran host hopes enough of them are willing to pay a monthly fee.
He and Davis tested the waters on Facebook last week asking whether fans would pay $5.99 a month subscription to listen to the Kimmer. So far, Davis said feedback has been positive.
“Exceeding our expectations!” Davis said. “The response on FB and Twitter is better than I thought.”
Davis said they hope to eventually pull in at least 4,000 active subscribers, which would generate enough income to make such a production worthwhile.
They are seeking studio space and hope to get going in a few weeks.
Davis said he expects they will do a daily show for about 90 minutes a day.
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Rodney Ho
Rodney Ho
Areu Bros., which owns the studio space once run by Tyler Perry, has purchased a local video streaming platform THEA from the Metro Chamber of Commerce.
CEO Ozzie Areu made the announcement on Thursday at the OTT Fest.
Thea, which launched in 2018, was originally a way to create video content to help millennials learn about Atlanta. Kate Atwood, who will be CEO of THEA and runs the OTT Fest, said they quickly created 58 channels and 1,000 videos, generating a couple of million streams. Videos ranged from comedy to lifestyle and culture to short films, all created by Atlantans.
Under Areu Bros., THEA will continue to offer a platform for local talent to create videos but are now tied with a production studio.
Atwood said the hope is they can take this content and make it commercially viable and more broadly marketed.
"We wanted to bring them into our ecosystem and empower them," Areu said in an interview after the announcement. "Some of them are on the greener side. One thing our platform provides is data through our own Endavo software to our content creators."
Unlike a lot of streaming services like Netflix which hoards the data, Areu wants to make it open to its users and provide them greater profit-sharing opportunities.
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CR: Promo photo of Aria Brooks
CR: Promo photo of Aria Brooks
Nickelodeon’s return of “All That” did well enough to merit 13 more episodes.
The show, which originally aired from 1994 to 2000 with a revival from 2002 to 2005, came back earlier this year for the first time in 14 years.
A new cast member will be Aria Brooks of Atlanta for the second half of the 11th season.
Brooks’ career is on the rise. She plays a child in the upcoming film “Harriet” and will be featured in Netflix’s “Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings” anthology.
To-date, the new season of "All That" has featured performances by Jonas Brothers, Ciara, Daddy Yankee, Kane Brown, H.E.R., Ally Brooke, Bryce Vine, Ella Mai and JoJo Siwa, and guest stars including original cast members Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Josh Server and Lori Beth Denberg.
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