Silverman’s online studio inks with Yahoo
Former NBC Entertainment chief Ben Silverman’s online studio has entered into an exclusive partnership to develop content for Yahoo and its advertisers.
The new studio, Electus, is billed as one that “will connect advertisers, distributors and content creators early on in the development process, enabling marketers and advertisers to be a true partner in campaigns and content creation.” In other words, the ad guys call the shots.
The approach isn’t entirely new. While at NBC Universal, one of Silverman’s initiatives was tearing down whatever wall remained between network programming and advertising. His flop revival of “Knightrider” and the reality show “Restaurant” both oozed with content regarding their sponsors (Ford and American Express, respectively).
Electus also made a “first look” deal with Will Arnett and Jason Bateman’s ad-driven production company DumbDumb, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The Yahoo and DumbDumb deals were announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.
“Yahoo is bringing together the worlds of entertainment and advertising to build differentiated experiences that help redefine branded entertainment,” buzz-worded Joanne Bradford of Yahoo in a press release announcing the Electus-IAC-Yahoo deal.
The embattled Silverman left NBC last fall, looking for a soft landing at Barry Diller’s IAC. This is the first major move since then.
Yahoo’s Media Group has been seeking to expand its activities in webisodes and similar scripted content, as CEO Carol Bartz tries to reinvent the Yahoo brand. Yahoo’s best trafficked online show is “Prime Time in No Time,” which dashes through highlights of the previous night’s primetime and late-night shows.
Silverman’s career caught fire while he was a William Morris talent agent in London. He formed an independent production company, Reveille, which imported “The Office” (from the U.K.) and “Ugly Betty” (from Colombia).
Silverman was hired to run the TV unit of NBC Universal, but his tenure took a hit during the writers strike and fizzled out after a couple of years. His contract was not renewed last summer. Time magazine summed up his performance by dubbing him the “No-Hit Hitmaker.”
The decision to move Jay Leno into the 10 p.m. primetime slot was made by Silverman’s boss, Jeff Zucker, but the entertainment chief failed to defend his 10 p.m. turf.
‘Prom Queen’ graduates to DVD
“Prom Queen,” the Emmy-nominated web serial from Michael Eisner’s new-media company, is trying its luck on old media.
“Prom Queen: Season 1″ & “Prom Queen: Summer Heat” were released this week on a two-disc DVD by Shout! Factory, the folks who put out the acclaimed “My So-Called Life” box set.
The “Prom Queen” DVD runs 315 minutes and goes for $17.99 on Amazon.
The teen series also has been available on Amazon’s streaming media and download service at $3.99 for rental and $9.99 to own.
Fans, of course, could save their money and see the show with a bit of hassle: The episodes remain online, for free with ads, on the “Prom Queen” site. During its 80-episode run on MySpace, the series was sponsored by the likes of New Line and Fujii water. Episodes whizzed by at 90 seconds each.
The DVD experiment could point to a new source of revenue and pre-production financing (via rights) for web-series makers. Still, it’s hard to see how the title will sell outside of dedicated fans and impulse buyers. It’s an interesting reverse take on aging TV shows taking their last gasps as free online fodder for sites like Hulu.
Eisner’s new-media studio Vuguru produced the show in association with the webisode creatives at Big Fantastic (”Sam Has 7 Friends”). Not to be confused with “Prom Queen” the 2005 movie about a gay guy who just wants to go to the prom with his beau.
Robin Cook web series: ‘Foreign Body’
One hundred minutes to go before Robin Cook’s latest medical “thriller” hits the bookshelves. That’s on Aug. 5. Here’s how that loopy math breaks down:
“Foreign Body,” the book, comes to market following a 50-episode online prequel from the four guys at Big Fantastic who brought us “Prom Queen” and “Sam Has Seven Friends.” Five episodes go live each week, to the tune of two minutes each.
The promo scheme was put together by Michael Eisner’s Vuguru and Putnam Books, a first of sorts with old media picking up the trail of new media. Big Fantastic shot the web series in under a month.
The first “Foriegn Body” webisode just went live on the project’s web site, taking a mere 60 seconds to get a beauty into her underwear, sex traveling at the speed of “Prom Queen.”
The action begins in New Delhi, India, where a mysterious hot nurse puts a mysterious injection into an older woman, who seems fast-tracked for the final suprise. The nurse works for “cutthroat medical entrepreneurs” for “their own mysterious ends.” A mystery, apparently. Something to do with medical tourism. (Spoiler here.)
Then it’s off to Malibu, where “dangerous Indian beauties” advance the plot by frolicking in the surf (possibly outside Eisner’s digs).
There’s your two-minute fix. Short Attention Span Theater. Let me know how it turns out, will you?
Amanda Congdon, sometimes
There’s something vaguely appropriate about the 100th post on Download Movies 101 going to online video star Amanda Congdon.
We all remember Rocketboom, the wacky tacky daily news report with Amanda in the anchor seat, spinning around a lot with hair close behind. After a couple of years, there came a bunch of weirdness with the show’s creator. She split in a hurry, went on a video-blogging road trip and eventually landed on ABC News’ web site, where nothing of note appears to have transpired. That lasted about a year. So was it all just Rocketboom, not Amanda?
Whatever. Our gal is back with Sometimesdaily, an “offbeat interactive variety show exploring life’s themes through the inquisitive eyes of Amanda Congdon.” It’s hosted on the 4-year-old video sharing platform Vimeo, which got into HD late last year.
Amanda’s new introductory piece looks sort of promising. She’s sharing the stage with her brother and some other young irony seekers. The real deal starts up Monday, meaning an update to this post will go right about … here.
Update: Amanda and Co. have posted two short videos. One OK, one borderline awful. (A commentator called the acting “pornified,” which only makes sense if you’ve seen porn stars try to act.)
Both videos start off with a new-agey intro that looks right out of an infomercial shop.
Video 1’s dream sequence brings Cogdon back to an alternate Rocketboom set, declaring, “I’m going to be talking about a lot of random shit you don’t care about, every day.” She wakes up screaming and proclaims, “How 2004.” Then goes into a minute of political commentary.
Video 2 features her gal-pal co-stars as they try to rouse Cogdon from some serious funk. It’s … pretty awful.
Both videos had some initial streaming stuttering as they tried to get started. Cogdon writes that they are working up a new web site and “are definitely in beta” with video formats.
I’ll be checking back with Sometimesdaily now and then, hoping for better.
‘Quarterlife’ dead on arrival at NBC
“Quarterlife” is all done at NBC.
The webisode series from the creators of “thirtysomething” drew a measly 3.1 million viewers in its debut on the network Tuesday night. Those are the worst numbers in that primetime slot in decades, since anyone can remember. In trade talk, that’s a 1.3 rating/4 share. Yikes.
“It never should have been a network show,” co-creator Marshall Herskovitz told students at Harvard the morning after the bomb fell. (The “Quarterlife” segments did fit perfectly into a one-hour slot, however. Hmm)
Give NBC credit for looking to the Web for some experimental programming as the writers strike dragged on. Of course, Herskovitz and partner Ed Zwick know how to make hit shows, so it wasn’t like the peacock’s suits turned to “The Adventures of the Star Wars Kid” or “The Ysabella Brave Musical Hour.” (Both of which could be an improvement on some primetime shows.)
“Quarterlife” apparently will be back on television via Bravo, the cable arts channel owned by NBC Universal.
The web series is up to episode 30something now, with a solid and active fan base. Having 3 million people take a look is a good thing for the show, at least, when you consider episodes draw something like 100,000 people.
The show can be found on the “Quarterlife” web site and on MySpace. (Being professionally hip, the web show’s site is still in “beta” after five months.)
NBC chieftain Ben Silverman told the Hollywood Reporter: “The Web site traffic went up a huge amount and we continue to try new things and new models,” he said. “It’s very inexpensive but we hoped for higher ratings.”
As for Herskovitz and Zwick, they’re asking online viewers to upload their own shows for a chance to work with the old pros.
