The Best of 2010 Clicker Awards

By WorldofHiglet

Clicker.com debuted in September 2009 and has since been establishing itself as an important site to watch TV online. With content from broadcast TV, movies, music, web series and more, they are currently running the ‘Best of 2010 Clicker Awards‘. It’s just been announced that voting has been extended to Midnight (ET) on January 3rd 2011, so there is still time to vote for your favourite shows. I caught up with Patrick Sullivan from Clicker to find out more about the Clicker and the Awards.

PRG: Clicker is a relatively new entrant to the streaming video market – what sets you apart from other offerings?

From day one, we’ve been focused on being the comprehensive, unbiased and structured guide to  broadcast-quality programming on the Web. We only index legally available content and omit clips and excerpts, so we’re able to point users directly to the shows and full episodes they want to watch. We also offer the only universal queue, so users can save and keep track of shows from across the Web.

Now, with our recent launch of Clicker Predict, our proprietary TV and movie recommendation engine, and our Facebook integration, we’ve taken the programming guide a step further. From a user’s first visit, they will find a personalized guide filled with suggestions on what they should watch based on their likes and interests, viewing habits, and those of their friends and other kindred spirits.

PRG: Can you explain in simple terms why some content is geolocked – why people in different countries can not access all the same content?

Networks and studios sign broadcast and distribution deals for their shows and movies that, in many cases, differ by country. We’re starting to see more and more content come online and new subscription services are being created, this will continue to expand and improve the availability of online content world-wide.

PRG: Do you have guidelines for content, and can people submit/request new content?

People can absolutely submit new shows for consideration. Our goal is to index all the broadcast quality content available to watch online whether it’s TV shows, Web series, movies, music videos or live-streaming events. For example, an interview show may be just as valuable whether it’s made for TV, like Charlie Rose, or made for the Web, like Big Think, Time Magazine’s 10 Questions, and many more.

PRG: Are the lines between TV and online content blurring, and can you envision a time when it will all be simply content because the methods of distribution will be universal?

We’re heading to a world of infinite video on demand online, in fact we’re closer than ever.  Take a look at your cable schedule some weekday afternoon. More often than not, it’s filled with re-runs, while online, you can discover and watch an almost unlimited amount of high-quality content whether it be TV shows, Web series, or movies, at any time.

PRG: The Best of Clicker 2010 Awards covers traditional TV content and exclusively online content. Where did the idea for the awards come from? How can people vote?

This is the second year of the Best of Clicker Awards and we’ve found it’s a great way for people to discover new shows while also rooting for their favorites. You can vote by choosing a category on the right hand side of this page and clicking the “Vote” button for the show of your choice. You only get one vote per category per day! If you’re on Twitter you can also vote simply by tweeting the show name, category name and the #BestOfClicker2010 hashtag.

PRG: How were the nominees selected?

Nominees were selected based on their performance on Clicker.com and editorial judgement. This year, we expanded the entries to include more shows than last year but there are always tough omissions. All hope is not lost though as we’ll accept write-in votes via Twitter or email as well (awards@clicker.com).

PRG: The categories for web content are interesting, particularly the division between serial and episodic comedy. How did you decide on the categories?

There were so many high quality shows made for the Web this year. By splitting the comedy category in two, serial and episodic, it allowed us to dive deeper into the genre and recognize more independently produced series.

PRG: What does Clicker have in store for us in 2011?

In just our first year we’ve launched Clicker.tv for the 10-foot viewing experience, mobile apps, an iPad compatible version, and, recently, became not only a place to find what’s available to watch online but a personalized feed of show and movie recommendations for each and every user. We’ll have lots of exciting things coming in 2011. Stay tuned!

WorldofHiglet is the online persona of writer Mary R. Higgins, a born-again geek reclaiming her heritage bit by bit. A youth filled with sci-fi, horror and adventure in TV, films, computer games and books was crushed by years of office grind. Buffy brought her back into the fold after years of denial. Discovering Firefly sealed the deal. Now she geeks fulltime on her blog ‘the last geek bus home’ . Her first novel ‘Turning left at Albuquerque” is complete and she has just launched HigletFilms.com, a new webvideo entertainment site serving new, original videos every Monday.

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