UPN News Channel 13 in Los Angeles ran a feature on Vivid Video Tuesday night. Reporter Lauren Sanchez begins by reporting that San Fernando Valley is the pornography capitol of the world [just in case anyone wasn't too clear on that subject], and that the business brought in $700 million last year. nnThe company co-founded by Steve Hirsch 16 years ago has, according to Channel 13, from the get-go revolutionized the adult entertainment industry. "Initially we came up with the concept of Vivid Girls," says Hirsch, "which is putting girls under exclusive contract, basing our marketing around individual girls and kind of attracting an audience that way." nnAccording to Channel 13, "that pioneering spirit allowed them to develop what they call the first vertically-integrated company in the industry - one of the keys to their success has been their website, vividvideo.com; and two pay per view television network already in 25 million homes. nn"Vivid president Bill Asher says this combination allows more people to enjoy this line of entertainment without having to feel embarrassed," reports Sanchez. nnAsher: "It's a place where you're able to go right directly in peoples' homes, where they're comfortable, they're in the privacy of their own home to watch this kind of product." nnSanchez reports that Vivid was the first company to enter the DVD realm. "In fact, the company does about $ 1 1/2 million a month in DVD sales," she says. Says Hirsch, "You can shoot with different angles, you can put that on DVD; you can really check it out. There's interactivity that comes with DVD that you're not able to get with video." nnAccording to Sanchez, Vivid has developed the world's first adult game for DVD video and DVD ROM. Says Vivid Interactive's Jim Monroe: "You have 3-D graphics, first-person point of view where you actually imagine that you're in the scene because everything's shot as it would be from your eyes." nnSays Sanchez: "All of these outlets have made Vivid the most profitable name in the adult industry. According to Forbes magazine, Vivid raked in $50 million last year. But the company says the core of what it does is putting out a quality product." nnHirsch says the company works on the couples' angle with scripted stories. "There's a reason for the sex to happen," he says. "It's not sex for the sake of sex. nnSays new contract girl Cassidey: "They're actually trying to focus on doing stuff for us and getting us more work than just saying, hey, here's your contract and good luck with the rest." Sanchez says that philosophy is what many of the performers find so unique about Vivid. "Every time I've worked for Vivid starting from the crew to who owns Vivid, I've never had a bad experience," echoes Shelby Myne. "They're wonderful people; they treat you great." Sanchez says proof of Vivid's mainstreamability is the fact that at least three [major] recording groups have approached the company about doing music for their films.
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