IPad newspaper "The Daily" recently reported that Dave Chappelle, the popular comedian who left behind traditional TV publicly six years ago, is working on a return to broadcast. Only this time, the broadcasting will be via mobile devices. He has been working on new material and is leveraging a return but wants to take off in the growing market of mobile TV, where he'll have creative control and more flexibility. This ties in to the current trend of mobile and streaming services hunting out original content and original entertainers to offer customers something that can't be had anywhere else. Chappelle may be looking towards a deal with Hulu, Crackle or Netflix, producing a show that will debut on a regular schedule but just avoid the complexity and restrictions of broadcast TV.
Chappelle was at the top of his game on the Comedy Central show "Chappelle's Show," with a $50 million dollar contract and two hugely popular seasons under his belt. He walked away from it all with season 3, as well as walking away from cable and broadcast. Reportedly, he has been working on new material and characters in West Coast comedy clubs and is viewing his options to take his show on the road, the mobile TV road that is. With so many mobile networks hungry for original content and wanting to bring in an already established audience (much like Sirius satellite radio did with Howard Stern) Chappelle's options look bright and "Chappelle's Show" may be reappearing on a smart phone near you before you know it.
