Courtesy USA Today

(May 12, 2009) Productivity can come from cutting labor costs.
And Versus, starting June 7, will broadcast a series that could show whether TV channels really need to pay for on-air sports yak: Its new show Fanarchy will star fans.

But, says Versus vice president Andy Meyer, not just any fans. They need to be "passionate" about their own opinions.

The idea is to let such fans post videos on versus.com, and depending how much traffic they generate, then appear on the 13-week series.

On-air, members of the fan panel will argue with each other via webcam.

Meyer says the first fan cast has been largely selected, but because fans get kicked off each week by show host Zach Selwyn, they'll need substitutes from the online entrants.

Such recruiting shouldn't be a problem, since hordes of reality shows have proven that there is no shortage of people willing to volunteer to be on TV. And volunteers come with little cost to TV networks. Says Meyer: "They'll get a small fee. But they're not doing it for the money."

Thus freed from commercial concerns, on-air fans they might be very free with their speech. Says Meyer, based on what he's seen from some people already cast for the show: "These are not the kind of observant, distant, journalistic types you see on other shows. They let it all hang out because they care so much about what they believe."

Will viewers, already privy to a cacophony of fan rants online, turn to TV for more? At least entrants could get lucky. Fanarchy host Selwyn was a pop musician before got a break as a runner-up on the ESPN reality show Dream Job in 2004 — where entrants vied to become sportscasters.