I am a huge fan and promoter of the idea that large corporations (I’m talking the likes of Coca Cola, Nike and consorts) should set up their own online TV channel with original content that reflects and promotes their brand and associated lifestyle. It is the most awesome and revolutionary concept (read more on my ideas about corporate online TV here).

Bud TV was supposed to be the prototype of this new form of branding that goes well beyond product placement. For those of you who have just tuned in: Anheuser-Busch decided to create an online TV channel called Bud TV where it would broadcast its own content. The $30 million dollar project targets mainly young males (over the age of 21… this will become important in just a minute), the genres ranging from comedy skits to reality shows.

So far, so awesome: a TV channel with original content produced by Budweiser to promote to their peers, with the potential to become viral and thereby also reaching other people who love the shows and the lifestyle portrayed. Which might just make them swap their Heinekens for Budweisers. It should have been my dream come true.

But somewhere in the very early phase of conception a mechanism was built in that would guarantee the failure of this project: a registration process involving a form of ID issued in the US. Not only does this limit the potential viewership to the US, it also by definition makes it uncomfortable to sign up: it’s bad enough having to give away your email address (and thereby making yourself vulnerable to spam), but giving details on your ID? What new hell is this?

I was keen to sign up and watch Bud TV. I wanted to know how they are communicating, the production value of the shows, how the platform looks, and get some user feedback (if there is such interactivity on the site). But all my attempts to sign up were futile. First I tried to get away with providing my real name and the only US post code I know from the top of my head (90210), but to no avail. Budweiser told me that they couldn’t place me there, and that I needed to state the issuing state of my ID. When they still couldn’t find me, I was prompted to fill out a form attaching my US ID.

Still keen, I wrote an email saying that I am well over the legal drinking age in any country, I am a resident of New Zealand with both an EU and NZ drivers licence and an EU passport, and if it was at all possible to send them a copy of either of these IDs to be able to watch. All I got back was that form where I could submit my (nonexistent) US ID. I wrote back (again) that I do not have such an ID, and if they could please look into getting me an account checking my non-US IDs, an email I am still waiting to receive an answer to over a month later.

My non-experience seems to correlate with the numbers for Bud TV: After kicking off on February 4th (at the Super Bowl) this year the visitor numbers were appallingly low, with only 253,000 visitors in February. A meagre outcome considering Anheuser-Busch’s predictions of 2 million to 3 million visitors per month by the end of 2007.

Anheuser-Busch itself states that the registration system is driving visitors away. In February they had around 20,000 visitors per day, but only 800-1000 registrations. This number was improved to 8000 per day the week following an online promotion extravaganza on President’s Weekend. Still, these numbers are nowhere near where they could be. The latest reports show steadily decreasing interest in March and April.

The main problem I think lies in the creepy registration process. It prevents people to participate in a forum that should be open. I’m not against registering per se; in order to become a member and fully participate in any Social Media forum you need to sign up, but ID details? Where are the times where they made us responsible for certifying that we are of age and thereby permitted to enter a site?

The little content I could watch (that I found on YouTube) was not only not to my taste (which is fine), but also not that crafty. I still hope that some of the stuff on Bud TV is more entertaining than “Replaced by a Chimp “. But how can I know – they won’t let me in!

So, if any of you, valued readers, have access to Bud TV: would you be so kind and possibly share your user name and password with your humble host? Otherwise I might never know what’s behind the white picked fence of Bud TV.