Anne Hathaway lip sync battle middle finger gif gifv: http://i.imgur.com/FHJJQEh.gifv

Reddit comments:

http://reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/31okkn/anne_hathaway_will_always_be_my_dream_woman_even/

More Reddit comments:

http://reddit.com/r/videos/comments/31nota/anne_hathaway_on_lip_sync_battle/

Anne Hathaway lip sync battle wrecking ball gif gifv: http://i.imgur.com/fewniJo.gifv

Imgur comments: http://imgur.com/gallery/fewniJo

not as good as the tonight show versions...too many props, back up dancers, costumes, etc. 

True. The Tonight Show was the inspiration for this new show but yeah they're too over the top.

not only the inspiration but also owners...jimmy fallon, stephen merchant, and john krasinski are the EP's of the new show...

Oh wow. Then why put it on Spike instead of a more mainstream channel?

Spike paid the most for the idea?

I guess so but that's sad since they're a tiny network with a tiny budget. 

Reddit comments:

http://reddit.com/r/videos/comments/31xe83/anne_hathaway_lip_sync_battle_wrecking_ball/

read this if you are as interested as I was as to how a segment on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon became a half hour show on Viacom's spike network hosted by LL Cool J

From the Reddit comments:

I'll go one further and say that this show will be a watershed moment for the future of reality television. Full disclosure: I work in the industry, and have a lot of experience in unscripted development.

Here's some hard truths for reality tv programming: there hasn't been a true new hit show in years. Every franchise is either dying behemoths (Idol, The Voice, anything on CBS) or one season burnouts. The state of reality on network tv really hit it's apex long ago, in my opinion, and now networks are all looking for the next big thing, but nobody is finding it. I believe that the reason why that is, is reality tv fans are hooked on shows they already like and any new show can't compete with them, or they're just watching something else online, on cable, or on their phones. Another hard truth: nobody is watching commercials and ratings aren't what they used to be. Advertisers are starting to come around on this fact and from a network standpoint, that's a scary thought. Networks are only bolstered by the ad sales they can generate, and if advertisers realize that nobody tunes in to their live programming, then why are they wasting their money?

That's why NBC saw this as a pass because they don't necessarily want a flash in the pan show who's one trick pony gets ridden into the ground. Looking back at that from a business standpoint it makes since, but when you look at the future of programming I think it's simply foot dragging on their part.

New shows nowadays have one primary focus: cut through the noise, go viral, get eye balls. Fallon has absolutely embraced this mentality, and his Tonight Show has benefitted immensely from it. Ask yourself how many times have you seen a game, a bit, or a stunt he's done without ever tuning into his actual show. Now with that in mind, if someone were to ask you, "What do you think about The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon?" You'd probably respond favorably, even without having seen the show live on your tv! This is the metric that studio execs are only starting to understand. It's not about ratings anymore, it's about appearance. It's about your branding, your sheen, what people think of you and not just a nielsen rating that was probably unreflective of the true nature of your viewership anyway.

Now enter Spike. They're currently in the middle of a branding makeover, and nothing shapes a brand quite like a hit show. So of course they'd pay whatever the cost for Lip Sync Battle. They go from that men's channel that has UFC on it sometimes, to that channel that has Academy Award Winner Anne Hathaway swinging in her underwear on a wrecking ball. And it's getting spread all over the internet, and all of a sudden people are starting to see Spike in a different light. So what if it only lasts a season? The purpose of the show is to get attention, not viewers per say. Obviously the goal is to get both, but if the execs could choose one, they'd rather people be talking about their show then quietly tuning in.

So back to my original point -- this is a watershed show because it could start a trend of high flash, low content, reality programming that may only exist for a year or two but the focus being on virality and not vitality. With so many shows, movies, and general distractions out for our eyeballs, the programming battle is all about your attention. And it doesn't matter anymore where you're watching or when, just that you're watching. And I'll be damned if I'm not going to watch a couple minutes of Anne Goaway swinging on a wrecking ball. Besides, I don't have cable.

yahtzee 

Ha! I thought that passage was fascinating. 

grab the attention and the advertising of these fleeting moments for the money

I don't know why they don't embrace YouTube more. 

YouTube revenue share could make them a lot of money.