Tue, Sep 11, 2007 page9

• TV station for the rich hunts plum audience

  A niche channel that only broadcasts in luxury resorts has become cult viewing

  • By James Doran / THE OBSERVER
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  You would think that the US' wealthiest and most influential would welcome a break from the media's prying eyes -- but you would be wrong.

  So desperate are the elite of US society for the oxygen of publicity that they have created Plum TV, a cable channel just for them with exclusive content filmed, broadcast and aired in the handful of luxury resort towns where they make their summer and winter retreats.

  Plum TV is the brainchild of Tom Scott, the New England entrepreneur who made his fortune marketing Nantucket Nectars, the soda brand that was acquired by Cadbury Schweppes for US$100 million in 2002.

  Now, with Plum TV, he has targeted the wealthiest demographic in the world as they relax on vacation.

  The approach, according to his market research, is a sure-fire winner. The average Plum TV viewer has an annual income of more than US$600,000 and a total net worth in the region of US$7 million. He or she is likely to be someone others will follow, and that goes for brands as well as opinions.

  It is also believed that when these people, whom market researchers call "affluents," are on holiday and have possibly enjoyed a gin and tonic or two, they are far more receptive to advertising and the idea of switching brands than they would be back in the real world.

  But Plum TV has become a phenomenon far greater than a cunning way of bombarding the super rich with advertisements for new cars and expensive face cream. It has become a hit TV channel with an almost cultish following thanks to a unique mix of down-home hokiness and slick state-of-the-art production values.

  Plum broadcasts in Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, the Hamptons in New York, Miami Beach, Sun Valley in Idaho, and Colorado's high-end ski resorts Vail, Aspen and Telluride -- all those places you read about in the gossip columns where the fabulous go to unwind.

  It is available on cable in those areas, as well as via video-on-demand and over the Internet. Some shows can be downloaded from Apple's iTunes. The programming is a mix of daytime TV-style talk, with lots of local information to help plan your hectic day at the beach or on the slopes.

  But perhaps most surprising for such a small and young cable channel are the one-on-one interviews with holidaymakers -- who include the likes of former US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld, former Disney chief executive Michael Eisner and British author and journalist Christopher Hitchens -- a haul any late-night talk show host on a major network would give his right arm for.

  But the interview style is soft, and the profiles border on the hagiographic. What is more, interviewers and presenters are often drawn from the holidaying celebrities themselves, who take to the job with a mixture of amateurish zeal and clubby reverence.

  Indeed, some have called Plum's mix of high-profile informal chat with local TV news and info "Wayne's World for the super-rich."

  "I take that with a twinge of offense," said Scott, who first invested in Nantucket TV, Plum's predecessor, in 1998. "I am asked all the time if this really is TV for the rich and whether we are pandering to the rich. The fact is, the wealth and status of our viewers does not enter the equation as far as editorial is concerned. Of course, it does for advertising and sales, but for editorial we are focused on the community."

  And the community, in all of these locations, Scott believes, is far greater than the sum of all the bank balances of those who come for their holidays.

  "When you live in Nantucket the year round like I do, you see the fishermen hanging out with the real estate brokers, hanging out with the trustafarians, hanging out with the summer people. Our success lies in the fact that we reflect all of that," he said.

  So popular has Plum TV become that a long list of its best-known viewers and supporters have rallied to invest US$20 million, which will be used to expand in the US and possibly, Scott says, overseas.

  The list of investors gives a real glimpse into Plum's demographic. They include singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett; Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records and the man who signed Bob Marley and U2; and Kate Spade, founder of the eponymous US luxury-goods brand.

  The list also tells you that Plum is cool, has a distinct focus on and attraction to the creative, and is at heart a pretty liberal forum -- a rare combination in today's US media.

  And Plum TV does not crow about its demographic -- in fact, it almost tries too hard to be normal. This is a deliberate strategy on the part of Scott and his team.

  "We live in an era where everyone can be famous for 15 minutes, which to me tells you that being famous doesn't mean very much anymore," Scott said, adding that Plum TV seeks subjects with substance, not status, to fill its airtime.

  "The notion of champagne and caviar and all that is so overdone and so tired. We are looking to build an emotional connection with the viewer and these viewers demand quality," he said. "You know, people are tired of feeling that they are being lied to by the media, and it's just too bad. But, in a way, I think we can thrive off that antipathy."
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