WSN TV 75: A Business Model for the Next Hundred Years

The Dot Com bubble—and its subsequent bursting—proved that while technology can drive the market, it can’t sustain growth without viable business models in place. The severity of the market correction at the turn of the century has led to a marked slowdown in the adoption of technology by corporations as well as in the evolution of the U.S. economy from the Industrial into the Information Age. To make this transition, new business models must be put in place that take advantage of the cost savings and scope of IP-based delivery to monetize digital content.

While the technological infrastructure for personal media consumption is in its infancy, one company has dedicated itself to the pursuit of developing a business designed for the Information Age. World Server Network (WSN) TV 75 wears the hats of both a marketing company and a content aggregator, bringing together content creators and assisting them in developing and marketing their digital media projects. "The whole company’s premise is ‘Let’s build an Information Age business,’" says WSN TV 75 chairman and founder Roxanne Batson. "We know that content is the primary thing that’s going to be sold. Creative professionals will be able to go straight to the consumers with their product."

To help get that content to consumers, WSN TV 75 actively promotes fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) initiatives in the U.S.; the company may even invest in fiber-laying campaigns of its own in the future. Batson’s goal for her company is no less than "to become the dominant name in online entertainment and education, and make WSN TV 75 a household name." Here’s how they hope to do it.

A Model Business
WSN TV 75 eschews many traditional business practices and models. "We do not have employees," explains Batson. "Everyone’s a partner of sorts." The people who control marketing, sales, public relations, and production strategies are called "Executives" and "Managers." The people that create the content that WSN will help develop, market, and distribute are called "Professionals". These Professionals work within Production Studios, which are run by "Executive Producers." Executive Producers help bring financing to individual projects and aid in the development of Professionals’ Web domains. The Production Studios are designed to bring people together to work jointly on creative projects.

The money earned by the sale of digital content that’s a part of WSN TV 75 gets split between the Professional(s) that created the content (50% profit share), the Executive Producer that helped fund and develop the content (10%), and the Executives and Managers of WSN TV 75 itself (40%). "We’re actually joint-venturing with these people," Batson says. "[Executives] are not paid a salary, but a percentage of sales." WSN TV 75 is a global company, with partners in Belgium, Russia, India, and elsewhere around the world.