Louis C.K. and HBO partner for his new stand-up special
After self-distributing last special, C.K. teams up with a traditional outlet
Louis C.K.
When Louis C.K. announced late last year that he was going to self-distribute his latest stand-up comedy special, rather than partnering with HBO, Comedy Central, or any other traditional distributor, I wondered if this would usher in a new era of DIY comedy specials. The experiment for C.K. was a wild success (after early sales totaled $1 million, he donated $280,000 of it to charity), and other comics like Jim Gaffigan and Aziz Ansari followed with their own versions.
So I was surprised at first to see that C.K.'s current stand-up tour(*) would be turned into a special for HBO that will air sometime next year.
(*) I saw one of the first shows of the New York leg of the tour last month. It was, unsurprisingly, great, particularly a bit he trots out for the encore. (In typical Louis C.K. fashion, he didn't even bother leaving the stage, saying that he knew we knew there would be more material.) Whether you get to see him live or in the TV version, you will find yourself saying, "But maybe..." a lot in the days after.
Since C.K. proved that he didn't need a support system to make the last special a success, I wondered, why did he feel the need to get back into a traditional partnership?
The answer came a few minutes later via Twitter, where C.K. wrote that the special would be available through his website a few months after it airs on HBO, with the same arrangement as the last one: $5 for a download, no DRM or international restrictions. It's essentially a best of both worlds situation: C.K. makes whatever impressive sum HBO is paying him to do the special for them, he doesn't have to take care of all the infrastructure himself, and he still gets to sell it directly to all the fans who don't have HBO. I asked whether HBO gets a cut of those website sales and got several no comments, but was told that the special will be available on HBO Go at the same time C.K. is selling it through his website, so this may just be a situation where everybody makes money via their own system.
News From Our Partners
-
'Rush' Trailer: The Risk of Death Turns People On
Need for Speed Rivals Will Race onto Xbox One and PlayStation 4
Sonic: Lost World's Six New Characters are Teased
-
Total Recall: Bradley Cooper's Best Movies
Parental Guidance: Epic and Beautiful Creatures
Comic Book Movies You Can Watch Online
-
Weekend Movies: 'The Hangover 3,' 'Fast & Furious 6,' & 'Epic' (VIDEO)
'Dazed and Confused' Sequel: Richard Linklater Says It May Shoot This Fall
Morgan Freeman Falls Asleep During Interview for New Movie
-
Former Cast Member Bill Hader Reveals Justin Bieber Was Diva on 'SNL' Set
Rihanna vs. Nicki Minaj: Which Diva Has the Best Booty? – Readers Poll
Rita Ora Dyes Her Hair Bright Blue [Pics]
-
The Telefile - Modern Family: Goodnight, Gracie. Hello, Series Highlight.
The Telefile - Critics' Choice Television Awards 2013: Nominees Announced
The Telefile - TV on DVD: Tuesday, May 21, 2013
-
WATCH: Jon Stewart Shuts Down Bill O'Reilly
'900 Pound Man: The Race Against Time': Is It Too Late?
Ashley Benson Is Not Dating All Of Her Friends
-
'Hangover III': The Reviews Are In!
Jennifer Aniston Breaks Bad, Strips Down In 'We're The Millers' Trailer
'Star Wars' Fans Still Love To Hate Ewoks 30 Years Later
-
Cannes Film Festival: Cannes 2013, Day Eight: Blue Is The Warmest Color captures a relationship’s rawness and beauty
Hear This: Pantera’s “Walk” is the cry of aggrieved, disaffected youth
Watch This: Vanishing Point caters to car nuts and existentialists alike
Get Instant Alerts on What's Alan Watching
Latest Posts
-
Announcing this summer's blog rewatch seriesThursday, May 23, 2013
-
The Dunphys and Pritchetts head to Florida for the funeral of Phil's momThursday, May 23, 2013
-
If picked up, would be first regular TV job in decades for the 'Soap' and 'SNL' alumWednesday, May 22, 2013
-
A Showtime leftover doesn't really fit at NBCWednesday, May 22, 2013
Comments
Option 1
Comment instantly as a guest GuestOption 2
Option 3
Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupSomeGuy
November 12, 2012 at 5:53PM EST Reply to CommentPeople who don't have HBO will just end up watching it on youtube instead.
Not because they don't want to pay the $5 to him, but because they won't want to wait.
jack_is_laughing No they won't, because HBO will get Google to kill those posts the hour they go up. Once HBO no longer cares about the revenue, god knows when, THEN you can watch it on Youtube for free. Bittorrent however will be a different matter.
November 12, 2012 at 7:56PM ESTjennyh Or we'll watch it on YouTube and then later pay the $5 to have a high quality DRM file to keep.
November 13, 2012 at 3:51PM EST
November 14, 2012 at 10:15PM ESTlucius
November 12, 2012 at 6:39PM EST Reply to Comment"Whether you get to see him live or in the TV version, you will find yourself saying, "But maybe..." a lot in the days after."
I saw him a few weeks ago as well. I liked the set but thought that bit in the encore was not that great (at least some of it).
alynch
November 12, 2012 at 6:45PM EST Reply to CommentI'm surprised HBO would go for that. It basically invites non-subscribers to whine something like, "Hey,if you'll make that kind of deal with Louis C.K., why won't you do it for Game Of Thrones?"
Ireneinidaho Maybe they're trying this out with C.K, and if it goes well for HBO, they may offer their series for $$ a few months later.
November 12, 2012 at 7:54PM ESTjack_is_laughing HBO original programming and a comedy special that HBO is agreeing to air are different animals entirely. The comparison is apples and oranges. Forbes had a good article last Spring that gets into some of the reasons why HBO is locked in to their current model. Don't expect that to change soon, especially considering how much revenue HBO rakes in.
November 12, 2012 at 8:07PM ESThttp://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/05/09/hbo-has-only-itself-to-blame-for-record-game-of-thrones-piracy/
srpad
November 12, 2012 at 8:50PM EST Reply to CommentI saw one of the the NYC shows as well and it was amazingly funny. Glad I will be able to get a permanent version of it.
erika_herzog
November 13, 2012 at 1:44AM EST Reply to CommentLouis CK has been pretty up front about the fact that he doesn't make much money on the HBO specials. so i'm a little confused by the "impressive sum" comment. where does the backup for that observation come from?
in my opinion, i think the HBO comedy production and distribution mechanism is more the issue here. maybe the HBO thing will make it so that Louis CK doesn't have to make and distribute the special with as much attention and energy as he did his Beacon show.
the win-win scenario i see is that HBO needs content, has a long-standing relationship with Louis CK, and is set up to do this recording pretty easily. Louis CK doesn't have to do all the heavy lifting himself and he can have a relatively painless (in terms of T&E) record of his tour.
gotta say that i bought the Tig Notaro audio thing -- it's great if you don't mind both laughing and crying -- as well as other stuff he's offered on his website. and i'll definitely buy this recording (as i am too old and crotchety to go to a comedy show nowadays).
i think Louis CK is a renaissance man beyond compare / of our generation. he is smart, savvy, technically proficient, understands and thinks about the art he is creating while still considering the consumer. all of it is groundbreaking and exciting stuff. and i'm grateful for the work he is doing on all fronts -- even if i didn't necessarily love love this clunky last season of his show....
sort of a breath of fresh air that Louis CK is continuing to sustain this model -- and may just be able to get some of the entertainment industry folks to wake up a bit and start to harness this internet thing.
my concern is that with all the accolades Louis CK is becoming more part of the Hollywood establishment / popular kids -- Hollywood seems like high school to me. i hope he will continue to innovate and create as brilliantly despite all this.