LOS ANGELES -- To understand Internet TV broadcaster Pseudo.com, it's helpful to watch the Identical Twin Boa Constrictor Belly Dancers.
Veena and Neena danced Thursday for a curious audience at Jupiter's Los Angeles entertainment conference and a Web audience of thousands. Their routine -- minus the boa constrictors, in this case -- is part of Pseudo's DesiVibe webcast of Southeast Asian underground music.
And it's what Pseudo.com is all about -- "TV You Won't See On TV" -- material ranging from programs about the future of business to space to girl power.
"I'm having the time of my life," said founder Joshua Harris, who also started Jupiter Communications and still holds shares in the Internet research company.
If you think Harris might have had to go begging to finance his eclectic mix of shows, think again.
Earlier this year, Pseudo completed a US$17.5 million secondary round from the likes of Tribune Co. and Intel. Sponsors, including IBM, and investors believe they're getting in on the ground floor of the next big thing.
"There is nothing new under the sun. The modern entertainment experience on the Web has many similarities to the early days of cable," said Harris, who believes Pseudo's channels and programs will be as significant to their audiences as CNN and HBO were when they arrived on the scene nearly 20 years ago.
The shows, which mesh live programming and chat, are relatively platform-independent. In theory, they can run as well on WebTV as they do on PCs. For that matter, the programs could also work in prime-time since they're produced with the same analog camera equipment as the Big Boys use.
Technically, perhaps. But can Pseudo's $5,000-a-show budget compete with major-league primetime shows that routinely spend more than a million a show?
"When I go to bed at night, I worry about the major media companies," Harris said.
Perhaps that explains his willingness to consider letting one of them buy into his company. Harris said he is negotiating to sell a minority stake in Pseudo to a strategic partner -- possibly a major media company -- in a deal that could value the company at roughly $200 million.
Harris worries much less about other TV-like Internet startups such as DEN or Wirebreak, which have similar spending restraints and experience levels.
But one can't help wondering whether Pseudo has the staying power it needs for Harris's vision to take root?
"The broadband product companies are also struggling to come up with the right business model," said Adam Schoenfeld, an analyst at Harris' alma mater Jupiter. "I don't that any of these companies have the resources behind them to survive until they're proven right. Sometimes being ahead of the curve can be fatal."
It certainly hasn't been so far. After all, Harris' ability to see beyond curves helped him to grow Jupiter from a tiny office to an Internet industry leader.
For now, Harris said the immediate challenge is far more mundane. How can he turn shows like DesiVibe or SpaceWatch into genuine hits and get the public exposure that will raise daily visits to Pseudo from the thousands to the millions?
"If we can let people know that a SpaceWatch is the place to go for television like the Mars landing or to buy space merchandise, we can reach critical mass."
