As Adult entertainment spearheads the movement toward digital-to-Web content, Channel 1 Releasing and its offshoot ChiChiClicks continue to lead the pack.
Now that the digital revolution has finally come of age, Adult entertainment companies have plunged into the field with a vengeance. From content designed specifically for Web audiences to video streaming of popular titles, Adult filmmakers have realized the potential in getting their work “out there” through the technological enabler that is the Internet.
It comes as no surprise that Channel 1 Releasing (www.channel1releasing.com) would be one of the leaders of the pack. The powerhouse production company, home of the indomitable Chi Chi LaRue and responsible for distributing titles from his Rascal Video line of movies, has made a solid showing in Web-based entertainment, specifically in the form of its top-of-the-line live show Live and Raw (on which porn models perform solo and/or duo scenes for an Internet audience) and its cousin, the “reality” site Live and Raw Hotel (where porn models can be seen living – and sexing it up – in a secret “hotel” building where cameras track their every move). Now that Channel 1 has launched its latest endeavor, Live and Raw 1-on-1 (where fans can chat with their favorite models while watching them “perform”), it seems the gay company is indeed taking over the Web.
After establishing Channel 1 as more of a distribution company, Novinger and Walker asked LaRue to join up with them and turn it into a multi-media conglomerate unlike any other in the business. Rascal Video followed shortly thereafter as a line to showcase LaRue’s movies, and, a few years later, Novinger dreamed up Live and Raw as a way to put the company ahead of the others, and LaRue – though initially hesitant – says he soon got on board after he “became obsessed with how poor the quality of gay live sex on the ‘Net! I was horrified with what I saw and knew we could do it better.” After launching both LiveandRaw.com and ChiChiLaRue.com, the team put together Chi Chi Clicks (www.chichiclicks.com), Novinger says, as a way to provide “one-stop Chi Chi shopping site for webmasters. In other words, in addition to revenue sharing, Chi Chi Clicks showcases pay and free content available for webmasters to license. While checking your stats or picking up a new banner, you can see what new content is available for your pay sites.”
As Novinger recalls, getting things off the ground wasn’t easy. “Pay site content from a company new to the ‘Net is slow to take off,” he says. “We eventually figured out this was the reason most of it is crap. Live and Raw is an incredibly expensive product to produce daily – A-list porn stars and quality models don't come cheap.” Though he admits that Live and Raw “practically took us out” in terms of its cost, the endeavor soon caught on, and is today, Novinger boasts, “the most premium gay content available, allowing us to drastically expand our online products.”
Though the company doesn’t really have a mission statement, per se (“Chi Chi is not one to hang mission statements or rules on the wall,” Novinger says), LaRue offers, “I guess my mission has always been the hottest porn for guys to jack off to. Which equals damn great stuff.”
All digital-to-Web content is either live (or archived live shows) or, as part of Channel 1’s foray into DRM (Digital Rights Management) territory, Channel 1 On-Demand, culled from LaRue’s Rascal videos, and is produced with the same attention to excellence that has made Channel 1 a leading presence in Adult entertainment, gay or straight.
“It's simply quality,” LaRue says of the company’s success. “I have been working for over 15 years in this industry, long before the Net, trying to make each thing I do the best it can be for the budget, talent, and situation I am presented.”
To that end, he adds, “The content is produced with the best of everything: the best technology, top quality talent, and we are blessed with an amazing staff that also strives for the best. All these factors make it what it is.”
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that LaRue is also a little competitive when it comes to putting pressure on himself in terms of setting his company apart from others in his field. “God, I am the worst,” he confesses. “I am not only obsessed with every aspect of what is going on in our industry, but also the movie and music industry. In addition to the porn company down the street, I am trying to keep up with Sony, for God's sake. If only I had the budget!”
World dominance aside, Novinger says that LaRue’s ever-ubiquitous presence in the industry also has a lot to do with ChiChiClicks’ ascendancy. “No one converts gay traffic like Chi Chi,” he declares. “With the most gay-friendly branded name in our industry you really can't go wrong sending traffic or using one of the well branded products. We have many webmasters that will attest to that.”
Those webmasters (who, incidentally, get a 30 percent commission on Channel 1 sales they make to their customers) might also attest to the fact that Channel 1 and ChiChiClicks are setting the kinds of trends that make industry tongues wag – and rabid fans take notice. “Webmasters at every level can offer the highest quality content to their membership, and increase revenue in the process,” chirps Jason Stuve, account representative for ChiChiClicks. “Live and Raw 1-on-1 marks the first time a worldwide audience has the opportunity to take over Chi Chi’s director’s seat and create a private show tailored to their own individual fantasies. With free chat, sound, and private shows, the hot stars of Live and Raw have never been more accessible.
“We do, in fact, offer something you can't get anywhere else,” Stuve continues, citing LaRue’s stable of exclusive Rascal Video models and the instant availability of content as key components in the company’s success. “Live and Raw offers A-list stars and exclusives on a regular basis. No, we're not live 24 hours a day, but when we're not, we have archives playing. Many of our stars are under contract so you won't find them anywhere else.”
It’s not simply the content, however, that makes Channel 1 such an industry bigwig. In fact, Stuve notes that maintaining a relationship with webmasters is crucial to the company’s success. “In today’s market, ChiChiClicks recognizes the importance of banding together for continued mutual success,” he says. “We have again stepped up to the plate and taken the lead in offering the highest standard of quality and created a vehicle that allows for all webmasters in the gay market to attain a new level of success.”
For his part, Rob Novinger says that he is confident that Channel 1 and ChiChiClicks will remain at the forefront of the digital-to-Web boom. “The day when people punch in the web address on their TV is a ways off, but it's coming. And we’ll be there,” he says. “To this day, as far as I know, we are the only video production company that hosts and runs our own DRM. We are definitely the only video company that hosts and operates live content daily. When the day does come [that technology and media converge as one], we will at least be experienced, if we aren't dead!”
