• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, April 26, 2016

The phrase “If you like this, you may want to try this,” may be not as specific as some would like for the TV world. New subscription video services have other approaches.

Take the new Fullscreen, which intends to be the Netflix for the younger set, 13-30. It offers a “a mood-based search feature” for viewer describing a variety of “vibes.”  Some of those vibes include labels such as  “feel all the feels”; “learn new things”; or “laugh till it hurts.”

We recommend that these descriptors not stop there. New subscription video-on-demand services need to go beyond “recommendation” engines.

When the likes of Netflix go to these lengths, I immediately wonder: What gives them the idea I’d like a TV or movie because I watched another one? Is it the actress, title, genre, perhaps screenwriter?

For its part ,Netflix doesn’t air typical TV show promos -- but NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and Turner, among others, need to. (Netflix may promote its original shows on broadcast and cable networks.)

Part of Fullscreen's plan seems to be keeping its cost low -- catering to those young TV/digital video viewers who look for low- or no-cost options like YouTube. So versus the $10 or so for Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu, it’ll start off charging $4.99 per month.

Fullscreen says it is an ad-free SVOD service “built for social-first audiences expecting immersive and engaging entertainment.” So social media will be a big part of its promotion for its original  and perhaps acquired content.

But in addition to all of this, viewers of new SVOD services -- or any newfangled network --  should continue to find a way to pay homage to true promotional messaging, a  “sampling” of the TV show one might see.

Perhaps the sampling of TV content will come through friends and social media. But what about the bigger picture? Would you go to see a theatrical movie (apart from your big franchises) without getting a hint about what you are getting?

Maybe we need a better “vibe” to take that leap.