Sunny Ray talks with Kevin Trotman, a lifelong New Yorker who spent about twenty years selling advertising across print, yellow pages, radio, and digital media, most recently at Adweek until he left in November 2022. After a frustrating year of unsuccessfully applying to media jobs he was more than qualified for, Trotman decided to hire himself and launched Channel NYC, a free standalone streaming platform built exclusively for New York City content and information. He explains how he discovered a 1990s cable era predecessor called Cityscape while researching the idea, and how todays NYC content is scattered across TikTok clips and YouTube channels with no dedicated home. The platform combines video on demand across categories like parades and top museums, business service listings covering the fifteen most searched categories searchable by borough and culture, and soon a job board, dating features, and by 2027 live broadcast programming. Trotman discusses attribution challenges in local advertising, why Channel NYC differentiates itself from YouTube through exclusive content and complementary services, and whether the model could expand beyond New York City. He closes by sharing his three to five year vision for the platform.
A 20 year media ad sales veteran couldn't get rehired, so he built New York City's first standalone streaming platform instead.
You spent 20 years selling advertising against other people's media. What did that teach you about what an audience is actually worth?
Media has changed a lot in how it's sold compared to 10, 15, or 20 years ago. I started at the last vestiges of print converting into digital, back when there were yellow pages and yellow books, and I also had a background selling radio, which has now become podcasting. But the core of selling any advertising comes down to knowing who the target market is and how it compares to other vehicles for reaching that customer.
You separated from Adweek in November 2022 and spent a year trying to get hired. What did that teach you about yourself and this new entrepreneurship road?
It was very frustrating. I'd see job openings for things I could do easily, even in my sleep, and I wouldn't even make it to an interview. So I did the next logical thing. I hired myself and started Channel NYC. Five minute interview, no callbacks, decision on the spot.
Most NYC videos are either tourist bait or doom scroll content. When did you realize nobody was making the honest middle?
I went looking for a platform like this thinking a few would already exist. The closest I found was something called Cityscape from the mid-90s, which was cable based with digital advertising and resources but no video, since streaming wasn't mainstream yet. Everything about New York City was scattered across TikTok clips and YouTube channels, which left an opening for Channel NYC.
You call Channel NYC New York's first standalone streaming platform. What does standalone mean and why does that matter?
It means we're not connected to any other form of media for distribution or access, the same way you go directly to YouTube or Netflix. You go right to channelnyc.com and there you go, standalone. We produce our own content and put it somewhere anybody can access it directly. And by the way, it's free.
Can you walk me through what a New Yorker actually does on Channel NYC?
It's three components that make it a hybrid. About 20% is video on demand across genres like parades, top museums, and graffiti. Then there's business service listings covering the top 15 searched categories like medical, educational, and restaurants, searchable by borough or culture. We're also rolling out dating, a job board, and by 2027 broadcast, which is essentially local TV added to the platform.
You're competing with YouTube for New Yorkers' attention. What can you do that YouTube structurally cannot?
Honestly, we're outnumbered about 200 to 1 on YouTube since at least 100 other creators put New York City in their content. What distinguishes us is our suite of complementary features beyond video. The content is currently identical on both, but eventually we'll release on Channel NYC first and YouTube second to lessen our dependence on the platform.
If this works in New York, does it work in Chicago, Lagos, or Toronto, or is New York the only city?
That's actually why we had trouble getting funding, because it wasn't provable as scalable until we established it in one market first. Each city has innate differences, so what works content-wise in New York might not work in Houston or Chicago. The content about New York is portable everywhere, but replicating the platform elsewhere needs people on the ground who know that market. I'd say there's a better than 50/50 chance it could work.
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