As a cheap and often under-produced outlet of creative expression, local cable access television shows have been used by budding television hosts and exhibitionists alike as a sort of training ground for the real thing (a career in Hollywood) or simply as a way of sharing ideas that are more than often wacky or “out there”. The most famous use of cable access programming has to be the “Wayne’s World” skits on Saturday Night Live, that were even expanded upon to make two full-length big screen movies, introducing the world to the comedy genius of Mike Meyers. Anymore, today’s generation of up and coming Johnny Carsons and Merv Griffins are turning to the internet to express their ideas, finding how easy it can be to produce and star in a weekly program with the accessibility of millions of viewers worldwide.
Sometimes inspiration for a program, skit, or mini-movie is created after the purchasing of the equipment and simply “riffing” or improvising in front of the camera. While television cameras and assorted equipment for video-production can be relatively expensive, Internet broadcasting production equipment and cameras are not, making for online installments of shows that can be easily done on the cheap. Amateur Scorceses the world over are now starting off with merely an Internet connection and a webcam, allowing for an outlet of expression and the opportunity to hone their ideas before moving up to the next level. With online sites such as YouTube and many others, performers, musicians, and comedians alike are afforded the opportunity to easily express themselves and instantly receive comments and feedback from their audience. This leads to another fantastic aspect that has occurred due to the expansion and boom of Internet broadcasting: the audience. With cable access television, performers more than often got joy mostly from simply being filmed and “doing their thing”, often having show times in the wee hours of the night, after most viewers were tucked snugly in bed, finding themselves catering to a somewhat fringe audience of night owls, voyeurs, perverts, and insomniacs. With the advent of the Internet, it is now possible to find that audience every performer has been craving. An audience that “gets” what the producer and performers are doing and craves for the next installment to be broadcast live, downloaded to their computer for later viewing, or simply streamed from a host site such as YouTube and others.