Crowdfunding Gets a TV Show

There are hundreds of online crowdfunding platforms, but this fall, crowdfunding gets a new platform: television.

Crowdfunding platform RocketHub, which was recently acquired by entrepreneur network EFactor for $15 million, has partnered with independent network Ovation TV to launch a TV program this fall about creative people raising money to fund their dreams through crowdfunding.

Called Creative Studio, the TV show will launch in October and be available to a potential audience of 50 million strong. (The Ovation TV network includes subscribers from Comcast Cable/Xfinity, DIRECTV/AT&T U-verse, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS, Charter Communications, Bright House Networks, and a handful of other smaller providers.)

The television show features three artists and will tell their story, what they are working on and what it is like to raise money on a crowdfunding platform.

“Ovation is committed to empowering the next generation of artists. We are inspired and motivated by the level of talent in the independent artistic community,” says Charles Segars, CEO of Ovation, in a statement announcing the partnership. “Creative Studio addresses a very real obstacle that many artists face in obtaining funding for their projects.”

Artists interested in being on the show need to apply between now and Sept. 4, 2015. Those creative entrepreneurs who are selected will get coaching throughout their process -- from advice on what they need to do before the campaign launches to how best to socialize their project on social media -- in addition to the organic publicity that comes with being on a television show.

The top three contenders, as determined by a panel of judges, also get $5,000 each to go towards whatever project they are raising money to support.