Uphoric TV Network: First To Offer Inside Look at Music Festivals

Music fans will soon get a 360-degree look at the global music festival circuit. Uphoric TV, launched by New York-based entertainment marketing company UG Strategies, aims to become the first “television” network dedicated to documenting music festivals across the globe. The network launches with a multi-year contract with Verizon’s mobile television/video platform, Go90, followed by other digital content platforms.

“What ESPN is for sports, we want to be for festivals,” UG Strategies CEO Parag Bhandari tells MusicRow. “We’ve been working with festivals for years, and we began collecting content two years ago.”

Popular Middle Tennessee festivals Bonnaroo and Music City Food+Wine Festival are among the events to be highlighted as part of Uphoric TV’s initial launch. “With the Music City Food+Wine Festival, we featured Kings of Leon. We put a spotlight on the food as well, and talked with the band about music, food, and Nashville.” Other festivals across the globe highlighted by the network thus far include CMJ, the TBD Fest in Sacramento and the Oasis Festival in Marrakech, Morocco.

Among the network’s initial programming: “Industry Profile,” which spotlights publicists, bookers, festival promoters, celebrity chefs, production designers, costume designers, and more in the festival industry; and “Locals Only,” which features local bands in popular festival cities.

Another program, “On The Road,” highlights festival touring. “For example, we followed band The Struts as they traveled between festivals in the UK,” notes Bhandari.

“All Access” offers longer-form artist interviews. “We really try to do something different, like perhaps we will take a band to ride go-karts in Austin, or try local cuisine at a festival in New Orleans and have them talk about music, but also about the local food culture,” he says.

Programming will first be available in the United States only, via Go90, with additional domestic and international distributers and multi-channel networks to be added over the next six-12 months. Verizon plans to launch the service this month with a mix of live programming, web series and original content.

“The social television, mobile television, Hulu/Netflix model is where we feel the demographic is headed,” says Bhandari, “and we wanted to go with a linear route that allows us to expand.”