World first! Scots drinks magazine DRAM sets up its own TV station
A new online TV station for bars, pubs, hotels and restaurants in Scotland has been set up by the trade magazine DRAM, on a platform created by Livente.
Bar and pub TV home page
The new station which can be accessed online at www.barandpub.tv is believed to be a world first for bars and pubs.
Susan Young, publisher of DRAM, which stands for Drinks Retailing and Marketing, said, "We will be bringing news of the licensed trade to the people working in it in a very accessible video format. We will also be reaching out to pub customers encouraging them to visit their 'local' ."
The station is already up and running . From her office in Argyle Street Glasgow, Young said, "This is very much a beta version. We hope people will be patient with us while we sort any problems. But the reception so far has been very positive."
The videos appear under many different headings : News, Talking heads ,Bar and Pub Tours, Business , Awards and Events, Fun Stuff . There are also the latest drinks adverts.
Young founded DRAM 20 years ago and the magazine now runs the annual Scottish Licensed Trade Awards which includes the Pub of the Year award, sponsored by the Sunday Mail. Currently the magazine is also promoting Pub Month along with Media Scotland, and this is the subject of one of the current videos.
Young added, " We don't have in-house technical resource but we wanted an internet TV station because video is now a vital part of any media business .
"Much as we'll utilise YouTube,we wanted to store ,protect and aggregate our own content. We didn't want features on our industry overtaken by videos or comments inappropriate for us.
"We really wanted a walled garden so to speak - an internet TV offering that we could control ourselves."
"Livente were the only company we could find anywhere that made the entire process easy for us and that were able to give us a one-stop-shop solution. We were able to go over design and content and structure our channels. We are very happy with the results - and delighted we don't have to understand IT or have lots of different companies to deal with"