New television show filmed live in Orange County

September 28th, 2009, 8:09 am · 26 Comments · posted by Ian Hamilton

This isn’t your parent’s morning show.

“That Morning Show,” filmed entirely in Orange County, is aimed at a younger audience than competing morning shows and makes money in a completely different way from traditional television.

The lighthearted segments range from entertainment and fashion to news - but only upbeat news.

The hosts, Mark Long, Karla Cavalli and Chelsea Cannell, describe it as a fun and relaxed show.

“We’re trying to do late night stuff in the morning - a little looser,” said Long. “Maybe every once in a while I’m in a Speedo. I don’t think Matt Lauer is going to be doing that, unless he steps up his game.”

The show is in its third week of filming and airs seven days a week from 6 to 9 a.m. on E!. It competes against morning mainstays Good Morning America, Today and the Early Show.

That Morning Show is made by the Intertainment Broadcasting Corporation (IBC), headquartered in Irvine. The company retrofitted a building in an Irvine business park into an 11,000 square foot studio with an additional 6,000 square feet of office space that’s still being completed.

The show is filmed live to tape three hours a day five days a week. Live to tape means it is filmed as if it were live but the show is aired later. In this case, it airs the next morning. On the weekends they play “best of” episodes produced primarily from content filmed earlier in the week.

While the demographic they’re aiming for may be a little younger, what makes That Morning Show very different is the way it tries to make money.

IBC purchased the entire three hours of airtime seven days a week from E!, so the channel doesn’t air any commercials during That Morning Show. Instead, IBC produces its own kind of interactive advertising and sales pieces in between “That Morning Show” segments by selling gift cards. IBC calls the segments “CHASEit.”

CHASEit works like this:

A different set of hosts work on a second set next door to the “That Morning Show” set. The set is essentially a giant green screen and a different virtual set is digitally inserted for each company IBC sells gift cards for.
The CHASEit segments are filmed live (truly live) for both East and West coasts.
The gift cards are to places like Macy’s, Express, Jiffy Lube, Fandango, California Pizza Kitchen, Chili’s, Zales and more.
Gift cards generally come in $50 increments.
When the CHASEit segment begins, viewers have 90 seconds to call in and buy a gift card. If they do, they get bonus cash along with the gift card.
Buyer’s first names and locations are occasionally thrown up on the screen as they purchase the cards.
In three to five business days you get your gift card in the mail along with a check for the bonus cash.
The amount and way the bonus cash is allotted is still being worked out. During the first two weeks of the show the amount of the bonus cash would get higher based on how many people purchased the cards. The more people who purchased the gift card, the higher the bonus. However, some people seemed confused by that system, so IBC is trying out a set amount of bonus cash in the realm of around $8.
In the future, the CHASEit can get more interactive. For example, you could be asked to press 1 to vote for red gift cards or 2 for blue gift cards.

The CEO of IBC, Henry Cai, says the CHASEit marketing model makes sense in the current economic market. If a company gives IBC 200 $50 gift cards to sell, that’s a measurable $10,000 they’re selling directly to their stores. When companies pay for advertising they’re paying for more of an unknown.

“We’re beyond advertising. Advertising is bringing people to your store. We’re bringing people to your cashier,” Cai said.

The worst case scenario, Cai says, is that nobody buys the gift cards, and it costs the company nothing as IBC is taking all the risk.

Christmas is coming, and Cai says they’re planning major campaigns for the holiday season.

I’ve personally never heard of any television business model like this, and I’ll keep in touch with IBC in the upcoming months to see how the business and show develops.

Do you like the idea of this kind of interactive advertising in a morning talk show? Would you be tempted to buy a $50 gift card if there were some bonus money attached? Let us know in the comments.

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Marilyn says:

September 28, 2009 at 10:02 am

I think that is a great idea. And I would definately like to get a bonus for purchasing a card. I buy gift cards for my 9 grandchildren at least twice a year and this sounds like a wonderful alternative to other sources for the cards.

OC RC says:

September 28, 2009 at 10:26 am

Very clever, they should add a progressive bonus cash amount set aside to give to one or two or three luck winners.

mmkay says:

Sounds nice. An upbeat news show, what a concept! Hope they do well.

Mondodog1 says:

September 28, 2009 at 10:29 am

Not live, dont fool yourselfs.. Just more rewrapped advertising, like a game show. Constantly bombarded by advertised products. I think TV is dead and have not watched in years with any regularity.

Waterpup says:

September 28, 2009 at 10:35 am

Meh don’t like the green screen effect and her obvious fake smile. Won’t be watching any time soon.

ElAINE says:

September 29, 2009 at 12:39 pm

but the benefit is real, real bonus cash check in your mail box will bring you real smile, I got three cards and three cash checks already.

OCMom says:

September 28, 2009 at 10:46 am

I just might have to TIVO this show and check it out!

Mark says:

September 28, 2009 at 10:58 am

I don’t get it. If the show is taped and broadcasted the next day, how are they getting a live count of the number of people calling in to buy the gift cards?

Ian Hamilton says:

September 28, 2009 at 11:06 am

There are two parts to That Morning Show. There’s the actual morning talk show which takes up the bulk of the programming. Those are the fun little segments you traditionally expect from a morning show. That’s the part of the show that’s “live to tape.” Then there’s the other part that’s filmed truly live - the CHASEit segment. They start at 3 a.m. Pacific and go till 9 a.m. filming those.
ElAINE says:

September 29, 2009 at 12:16 pm

That morning show is live to tape, “CHASEit” is absolutly Live everyday every minute.

MisterReader says:

September 28, 2009 at 11:17 am

If a part is truly live, why film (or tape) it?

Irving says:

September 28, 2009 at 11:45 am

Shows from and about OC typically don’t do that well. This doesn’t look much different. The truth of the matter is that after all is said and done, OC really isn’t that interesting of a place (such as LA or NY), at least not the kind of place that makes for interesting TV entertainment.

Vocabulary Check says:

September 28, 2009 at 12:06 pm

The show is taped, not filmed. There is no film involved and, therefore, is not “filmed.” And while live-to-tape may sound impressive, it really isn’t. It’s standard for any show at which point they go in and re-edit, fix mistakes, and make things look better.

I did see the show flipping through the channels this AM. Watched for about 10 seconds, and then quickly changed the channel when the TV “personality” said “they have the most hugest selection,” yes, most hugest!

J says:

September 28, 2009 at 12:10 pm

they don’t call it advertising. But it still interupts the show with a Home Shopping Network type of segment.
I don’t watch the Home Shopping Network and would only consider the segment to be advertising.
If the keep the length of the advertising time to about the same amount as a traditional show then fine… I may watch the show and would come back based on the merits of the entertainment.

ElAINE says:

September 29, 2009 at 12:22 pm

The interupts is the gift card selling segments, it pays you(the bonus cash) to buy gift cards on TV, do you get any penny buying gift cards elsewhere?

spam protection says:

September 28, 2009 at 12:15 pm

Why? Because it make it much easier logistically when they only have to concentrate on the smaller live segment. It also offer better flexibility as to the time of the filming.

GT says:

September 28, 2009 at 12:30 pm

I give it six months…

Tom P says:

September 28, 2009 at 12:53 pm

I honestly dont think they are going to move the amount of gift cards they need to make it worthwhile to continue producing the show. Honestly the concept of this show is probably better for an interactive venue like the internet. If you are hoping the mad rush to buy cards at the end creates a snowball effect for more card buying, youve gotta think about who has access to the channel, who might be viewing and will probably come upon the realization that more people across the US have access to the internet than they do to cable TV.

Its an interesting idea, but if a company decides not to honor the cards they sent, or claims they are fraudulent it would cause many problems. Gift card fraud is especially big now that they sell them in grocery stores.

Basically its home shopping club for gift cards.

ElAINE says:

September 29, 2009 at 12:26 pm

Why don’t you try once and use right way to see yourself?

Greg says:

September 29, 2009 at 11:41 am

That is a great idea, it will bring the value to every party.

Lisa says:

September 29, 2009 at 3:09 pm

The show is not about OC, Irving. Most of the field pieces have taken place in L.A. and many of the guests are from L.A. The show is filmed so that it has national appeal. The only thing Orange County about it is the location.

September 29, 2009 at 3:12 pm

The companies give the gift cards straight to IBC/Chase It. They will definitely honor them. There is absolutely no fraud and the companies involved are thrilled about this venue for selling their cards. It’s no different than buying them at the grocery store.

Jennifer says:

September 29, 2009 at 3:45 pm

Tried to watch, but it is so cheesy that it is intolerable. The Chaseit sales pitches are exhausting, and the actual content of the show is dull and dated. I was surprised that the E! channel would produce such a lemon, but it now makes sense. It is not an E! show at all, rather paid for space.

ElAINE says:

September 29, 2009 at 3:59 pm

E! can not even produce such a “Lemon”, the E! programs are the ones really cheesy and low class gossip. Never watch, TMS is going to boost E! image by miles, up lift the rating.. just wait..
- Jennifer says:
  
  September 29, 2009 at 4:16 pm
  
  Elaine, I just disagree with you regarding the content of the show. Maybe a new producer, set, writing team , lighting director,and talent booking company would help.

Alan Pen says:

September 29, 2009 at 8:20 pm

This is a very smart concept. Money back on each gift card? I only buy gift cards come the holiday season. In these economic times I look forward to saving some dough! I’ll have to check it out.

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