The Huffington Post’s online video channel, HuffPost Live, will soon debut on cable TV: not as it’s own channel, but as a programming daypart on Mark Cuban’s AXS TV. Huffington Post has been trying to get its own cable TV channel for several months, according to a NY Times report, but in the meantime it’s inked a deal to air on AXS TV on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “(It’s) a way to get on now,” explained HuffPost Live co-creator Roy Sekoff.
Mark Cuban isn’t paying for the programming, and HuffPost Live isn’t paying for the distribution, according to the Times report. “Live TV drives social media, and real-time social media drives live TV,” Cuban said. “While other networks are happy to run repeats ad nauseam, we’re going to drive live conversations and new ways to connect with audiences.”
At the Lost Remote Show last week, Sekoff said that “social TV is at the core of what we do,” explaining that the vast majority of the guests for its Boston bombing coverage were booked via social media. Since HuffPost Live began, more than 8,000 people have appeared on air. Sekoff said that they just surpassed one million comments on their live coverage.
HuffPost Live has not released any viewership numbers, and AXS TV is not a Nielsen customer.