Former US politician Al Gore's global subscriber channel Current TV might give new pay-TV entrant Top TV an unusual edge over rival DStv.

Top TV was launched in SA this week, with Current TV an integral part of its "bouquet" of channels. DStv's dominance in Africa is unquestioned, with its offerings having taken root in 48 African countries. But former US vice-president and environmentalist Gore believes his innovative approach to television production offers something different.

In five years, the founder and executive chairman of Current TV has seen his network grow to more than 70 million subscribers across the world.

Current TV is based purely on content from the public, with a primary focus on citizen journalism and production. It is targeted at viewers in their 20s and 30s.

While the content sent in is from amateurs, the Current TV staff of graphic artists, editors and sound engineers clean it up to create a professional feel.

In an interview with Business Times, Gore said he was "very heavily involved" in the day-to-day running of the network.

"I'm a jack of all trades, if you will," he said. "I work with distribution, content creators, sell ads, and even wash the dishes - whatever I can do to help."

But he does not meddle with the individual pieces. It is up to website visitors to filter out the good from the bad.

This do-it-yourself TV has its benefits. Gore explained: "It's often the case that new models that are attuned to technological realities, like the Internet and digital content creation, can produce higher quality at reduced cost.

"You see that in many different areas of business. Our production costs are typically lower partly because, with hundreds of thousands of people wanting to create citizen journalism and thousands regularly connecting with us, we end up with more freshness of creativity at lower costs," he said.

A 30-second advertisement, for instance, would typically have a production cost of at least $350000.

By allowing the public to create adverts, and paying an average price of $5000 per commercial, the network makes a huge saving.

If the sponsor uses the ad across other platforms, the compensation is $50000 to the creator. The sponsor is able to view hundreds of potential ads, engage in a conversation with customers and learn more about their marketing opportunities.

The channel has also developed a new form of music licensing that reduces costs even further.

Gore, from Nashville in Tennessee, has historically been a defender of music writers. On behalf of Current TV he was able to broker a new deal with music companies that drove costs down even further.

He said: "The old licensing model was based on the assumption that a song would be bought in its entirety and the creator of the song would be paid on the basis that the song would be played the number of times it was played.

"When people see the piece, they may ask what the music is and go to iTunes to buy it. So it promotes the song and often results in higher sales for the musician.

"But we couldn't do that if we paid at the same rate that was established in the old model. We entered into negotiations with the large music companies and said we could help each other with an adjustment to the model.

"Some of the leaders in the music business have been accommodating and we developed a new model, which has been beneficial to both sides," he said.

Despite Current TV's reliance on public content, Gore said there is still a significant role for professionals on the service.