Inspired by America’s Funniest Home Videos, Amazon is planning a TV show for the best clips recorded by Ring doorbells.
Amazon is planning a television show in the US that will feature funny, touching and emotional clips captured by Ring Doorbell security cameras. This is reported by the US industry journal Deadline. The planned show, called “Ring Nation,” sounds like a modernized take on “America’s Funniest Home Videos” from the surveillance camera era. The program is to be moderated by actress Wanda Sykes, Deadline speaks of the latest example of corporate synergy: Amazon owns both Ring and the television production company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and the production company Big Fish.
“Something every day for everyone watching at home”
Amazon bought Ring in 2018, the company makes networked doorbells equipped with surveillance cameras, motion detectors, microphones and speakers. If you are not at home, you can talk about it with people who rang the bell. The Ring cameras are extremely popular in the USA, but have also been criticized for years. Using a special app distributed with it, surveillance videos recorded by the cameras can be published in such a way that cooperating police authorities or citizens living nearby can see the recordings. In the meantime, Amazon even used the police authorities for distribution and wanted to keep it secret.
With the planned TV show, the various Amazon subsidiaries now want to benefit more from the popularity of the devices. According to ArsTechnica, videos made with it have been shown regularly in US comedy shows for a while, and they are shared by the owners on Reddit, for example. In “Ring Nation” clips are to be shown that show neighbors saving each other, marriage proposals, soldier reunions and “silly animals”, writes Deadline. Clips that were published by the owners themselves should therefore be shown.
“From the incredible to the hilarious, uplifting and viral moments from across the country, Ring Nation has something every day for everyone watching at home,” MGM promises, according to Deadline. “‘Ring Nation’ offers friends and family a new way to spend time together,” says Ring. Bringing the new community together is at the heart of the company’s mission, claims company founder Jamie Siminoff.
(mho)
