MTV, CBS Radio Veteran Launches New Online Content Outlet

NEW YORK, July 31: Rob
Barnett, who spent 11 years at MTV and VH1 and was most recently president of
programming at CBS Radio, has launched My Damn Channel, a new online destination
featuring content from comedian Harry Shearer and TV/web personality Andy
Milonakis, among others.

The platform already has a
syndication deal with YouTube. It bills itself as an entertainment studio and
content outlet designed to “empower artists to co-produce, distribute and
monetize original, episodic video content.” The site is open to short-form
series from comedians, musicians and filmmakers, who will retain total artistic
control of their own web channels. Original content is available free to
viewers on www.MyDamnChannel.com and as branded programming syndicated to major
web portals and digital devices. The company will share revenues with its
artists from advertising on the site and from programming syndication deals.
Under the first syndication deal, with YouTube, My Damn Channel content will be
available at www.youtube.com/MyDamnChannel.

"My Damn Channel
gives our talented friends a blank canvas to do what they want and the digital
means to reach the masses," said Barnett, the president and CEO of the
platform. "Some execs talk about disrupting media but forget about how
smart this new audience really is. The B.S. barometer is very high. Our
channels deliver the original content that web fans deserve and that
advertisers and syndicators will support."

"My Damn Channel is a
great example of the kind of place an artist like me seeks out—a new
outpost in an emerging medium where the rules have not yet been engraved in
stone," added Shearer, known for his work on The Simpsons and This is Spinal Tap, among others. "Rob and his team are giving
me the opportunity to make smart, topical comedy and get it to the audience
before it cools. What, except for having a zillion stock options in the
company, could be better?"

Shearer’s Harry Shearer
Project will host satires of the current political and pop-culture landscape
with new webisodes debuting weekly. His videos include songs from his
forthcoming album, Songs Pointed and Pointless. The premiere episode features Shearer as Vice
President Dick Cheney, singing the torch noir tune, "No Cooler for The
Scooter." The second episode will feature Shearer as President George W.
Bush.

My Damn Channel will also
feature a channel from musician Don Was, who will co-produce the new music
interview series LINKS with
actor Paul Reiser through Reiser's Nuance Productions. The first episode
features a session with Velvet Revolver's Slash and Duff McKagan. Was said the
show is intended to “capture the passionate conversations that happen when it's
after midnight in the studio—talking about favorite albums, musical
influences and road stories. It's not just about upcoming records and tours, we
have real music discussions between musicians; we incorporate some pretty rare
archival footage; and many of the artists will perform exclusively for
us."

David Wain, a founding
member of the comedy troupe The State whose credits include the Comedy Central
series Stella and the movie Wet
Hot American Summer, is set to
launch a new series on My Damn Channel called Wainy Days. It consists of ten short-film comedies premiering
weekly, following Wain on an anxious search for love and romance in New York
City.

Additional offerings
rounding out the launch of My Damn Channel include "Hot Mental Freedom,"
a video blog for the channel's talent and its fans to attack hot issues and
topics. Andy Milonakis, who has previously starred in his own MTV series, will
debut his own "My Damn Channel" in August. Additional talent and
syndication partnerships will be announced in the coming weeks along with a
channel for new and emerging web stars.

In creating My Damn
Channel, Barnett forged a strategic relationship with Okapi Venture Capital,
securing an initial round of funding and naming Okapi managing director B. Marc
Averitt to the company's board of directors. Warren Chao will serve as My Damn
Channel’s COO; Chao was recently VP of business development and strategic
planning for Gemstar-TV Guide International. Paul Gallagher, a former VH1
executive producer of Behind the Music, has been appointed My Damn Channel's VP of production. Vince
Thompson will present advertising, sponsorship and promotional opportunities
along with fellow managing partner Mark Chassman from the firm Middleshift.