Today, Glen Beck joins us to talk about the future of television.

How are you?

I’m good, thank you. And we’re here on the set of GBTV, and what is GBTV?

It is the, I think going to be the way people consume information whether that comes in for news commentary documentaries, but also education and entertainment in that vein. I think that’s the way it’s going to be consumed in the future. It’s the Netflix of information.

Interesting. I think we should tell people it’s available online but it’s not an internet show, I think is the key to this. It’s a television show that you access through the internet, with a subscription.

That is a huge difference and that’s I think that’s been the hardest thing to get through to people because they’ve all seen an internet show, and it’s kinda like watching cable access, where you’re like, “Oh! You’ve got a cable access show that’s great.” This is our first month of broadcast has been, the goal has been to do one thing.

Convince people who check it out that it is exactly the quality you would get from a network. We can produce that quality and on a daily basis and actually double the amount that we were doing over at Fox. And just to make sure that they say, “Oh, I see. It’s just like television except it’s not on television.”

The next step now is to add some of the bells and whistles and the things that will make it radically different. To then put television as you know it where it belongs, in the history books.

And when you say bells and whistles do you think of meshing together the aspects that we associate with the internet with what we associate with network television?

Yeah. I think, you know, I said in 1995. I said to my producer, who is now my executive producer – he was 95, I said now there’s come a time on television where it’s just going to be downloaded. Where, download you know it used to be “Thursday night is the night of laughs!” You know it’s not that way anymore, you know now it’s download five o’ clock or whatever.

And what we have to do is understand that the way people consume their entertainment is different. And so understand that they still want high quality. They still want really good stuff. But the great thing about the internet, the first change that happens on a network like mine, is – and Netflix is doing this.

It’s total freedom, I don’t, I don ‘t, I own it, it’s mine, I don’t have another investor in it – it’s mine. And so I’m the creative guy, it is my voice. I am hiring people that are tired of having somebody else tell them what to do. I’m not in that business, you will succeed or fail based on, what your merit is, what you do, can you attract that audience?

And so we have this The first, most important thing is, a straight line between me and the viewer.

Mm-hm.

You as an artist and the viewer. You as a reporter and the viewer. Don’t care about anybody else. Care about the viewer. So your success and failure rate is gonna happen. Rapidly. And you’re not going to have news that’s a bunch of bull crap.

Do you find not having any of those restrictions makes it harder? Sometimes working within a set of restrictions can give you more direction.

No, I mean we still have our own set of restrictions and that is: know who the audience is.

Right.

You know. Know that I’m not going to come on here and– for instance, we’re doing Brian Sack. We’ve just announced that we’re doing a half-hour comedy show with him. And…

Called the B S of A, right?

B S of A, yeah. And what we’re What we’re doing on that, and I’ve made a promise to these guys, because I used to write Comedy I know, it’s hard, and the last thing you want is somebody else telling you “well OK not that joke, oh OK all the other jokes but not that one” I won’t do that to anybody.

But they do have to understand who the audience is, and who the audience is, who we’re targeting is people who understand, that you’re being lied to from both the left and the right. It’s a game that has been set up by everybody who wants power. Whether that’s in a corporation, or in the media or in government.

Left and right, they both stink on ice. But that’s only about 15% on both sides. The seventy percent, is common sense, so take em both on – but don’t lean too hard, you know what I mean?

Does that make sense? It absolutely makes sense. You keep saying knowing your audience. Do you think that’s the key to this venture? I know your audience is very loyal. You have 230,000 subscribers to this before you even launched. Your ratings, I think, after your show aired from just people who DVR’ed it were huge.

So do you think the key to this is how well you know your audience, do you think you could have succeeded with this?

No, you know what I think what the secret is, is the only thing I know about my audience is they’re busy, they don’t want their time wasted, and they are tired of believing in people and then having those people turn out to be dirtbags. And, so my, I mean we just had a big meeting on advertising. I think the paradigm is going to shift.

And I think everything that I used to hate, I now crave.

For example?

I used to hate activists. I used to hate people who are like, “You know what? I’m I’m going to bring my hemp bag to the grocery store”. Really? I just want my bag of Doritos. I think that when it comes to, for instance, advertising, I used to hate the the idea that people were on a cause and a mission.

I think you need to start putting your money where your heart is. Not where your mouth is – where your heart is, and I think people are going to start, and this is what I know about my audience. They want to believe in something of value. Don’t ever lie to them. Don’t ever cheat them. Don’t ever steal from them.

They don’t mind you making a fair profit. They don’t mind that you’re in business. Just tell them, “Hey, by the way, I want you to know, we’re making money on this.”

Don’t ever try to lie to them. They’re not stupid. The rest of the media really truly believes their viewers or their readers are stupid – they’re not they’re not. We just started a kid’s show. It starts on Monday. We’re not going to treat kids like they’re morons, because they’re not. I know nine-year-olds that are much smarter than a lot of people.

And know how to work all of the devices much better than everybody else.

Yep.

Absolutely. So I’m trying to zone in on the key. Why are people going to pay? This is the future of television. I think television is going to move online and you’re going to see individuals take their channel, their brand and their channel, online. So, why are people paying for this? And why would they pay for, say, if someone else took their venture online?

Sure. I’m not sure that paying for it is necessarily the future. It might be, I’m not sure. I think it is now because we’re building something so unique, and I have such a bond with my audience. My audience knows who I am. When I was in Seattle, about four years Ago I was doing a stage show, I had written a book called The Christmas Sweater and I, we had an orchestra, it was fully orchestrated and I played all eight characters.

It was a one man stage show, and it was a packed house at the Seattle Opera House, or whatever it was. And a guy came back who’s a legend in radio, and he came back, first time I met him and he said you have the most amazing bond with your audience and I said, why is that? And he said, I just talked to all the people in the lobby.

And I said, what is he going to do tonight?

Now I’ve never done a one man stage. I’ve never done anything like this. What is he going to do tonight? He said the answer was almost unanimous. I have no idea, but I know it’s going to be good. They came here because a) we’re trying something radically different, there’s a need for this, and also, they know it’s going to be good.

I don’t know how many people can do that and charge at this point.

Do any pop to mind? You’re getting compared a lot to Oprah, these days. Do you think she could have done this if she thought ahead? Or do you think she’s regretting it now?

I have no idea, I think she’s a brilliant business woman, I think she was probably the only one that has that kind of bond. You know when you watch Oprah, you felt like you knew here. I think in the end, I think where Oprah, dropped the ball is I don’t think people did I think when she came out and she started to be political then they were like, “Oh, wait a minute.

Maybe she’s not like me.” And that just kind of broke her audience apart. Some people loved her even more, some people didn’t. But that’s not what she went to Oprah for. But I think she could’ve done it. So what advice did you give to us, I get the sense you’re breaking new ground here, you’re really, breaking television ground on the internet in a way we haven’t seen What piece of advice would you give to somebody that wants to, sort of, follow in this path behind you, that sees the success?

Never, never betray yourself . If you don’t betray yourself, if you are who you say you are and you never betray that. You will be able to attract an audience. They’re hungry, on both sides of the aisle, on any topic. The people are hungry for something genuine. So, A: Be genuine. B: Try to give the people more than what you’re charging.

Don’t be greedy with the money. You can see, we didn’t spare a dime. I know.

Yeah.

You should point out to people all of this is authentic. I’m right, right?

Oh yeah, no, it’s all authentic stuff. We didn’t spare a dime. And when I just made a decision this week from my business partner Chris of what we’re going to do in Dallas. And what we’re doing in Dallas, I just had a very respectable business associate tell me, that’s insane. And I said, well it might be.

It might be, but we’re going to give and create an entirely, and if you think this is breaking ground, wait and see. We’re going to break an entirely new, really I think, art form, medium, and put something together that is radically different.

Just advice. Just think out of the box, because no one’s in that box anymore. You’re alone in that box. Think out of the box. Do it right. Stay true to yourself.

What is the biggest change you’re noticing? I mean, you’re fronting all the expenses here, so I assume a number one change from here, from working for a network. But what the other biggest change that you’re noticing from being on, sort of, network television to running the entire thing? I hope to be able to reduce security in my life, which is a huge thing.

And it’s amazing to me how many people who don’t agree with me politically are coming out of the woodwork now. I mean, without using any names or places, I think in a year from now, we’ll be doing business with people that the elite, if you will, the media world that tried to paint me into this whatever, will say wait, wait, wait, you’re doing what with who?

Because they don’t, I’m meeting now the real true Entrepreneurs, the real true people who are tired of all the games, and just want to do something ground breaking. When that happens, then the whole thing spins.

Right.

Whole thing changes. I think the thing about America that is exciting. Succeed or fail, you get to try to do it your way. You sit there and say, this really sucks. It shouldn’t be done that way. And you can either regulate it and make sure that nobody now can do it that way, or you can say I just don’t think, I just don’t think it should be done that way and I’ll to risk my time, my talent and I’m going to get a group of people together.

I mean, it’s Bill Gates in the garage. You know? In his father’s garage coming up with something different. That’s what America is. That’s what YouTube is. That’s what everybody instinctively. Lee understands who grows up in this country that you can put a record company out of business by putting your song online.

When I was growing up, you couldn’t do that, you know? Here we are taking on the biggest of the globe, with what? With what? A guy that was broke ten years ago with a bunch of people that are kinda like, a lot of these people were interns for me. A lot of my producers started it in turns. They’re smart.

They’re decent, they’re honest, they’re hardworking. Look what we’re doing. Only in America, only in America.

Thank you.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/glenn-beck-tv-2011-10