Larry Kless' Weblog: Next New Networks

Showing posts with label Next New Networks. Show all posts

Thursday, March 10, 2011

YouTube's Next New Networks Acquisition and Creator Institute Make Content Creators King

Big Opportunities for Content Partners Open Up with YouTube Next New Networks Deal and YouTube Creator Institute

After months of rumors and speculation Google officially announced on Monday that it has acquired Internet TV platform Next New Networks in its first content deal to strengthen and grow out YouTube's platform to support its Partner Program of over 15,000 partners worldwide. Many YouTube partners are making over $1,000 a month and hundreds of partners making six figures a year, but YouTube says that's not enough so it's taking it to the next level with YouTube Next.

"YouTube Next is a new team tasked with supercharging creator development and accelerating partner growth and success."

This includes spearheading YouTube Next-branded programs, services, grants, store credits at B&H Photo, meet-ups, community events, education and training and audience development. YouTube says that" Next New Networks will be a laboratory for experimentation and innovation" and the team will be working with a wide variety of content partners and emerging talent to help them be more successful.

In his post on AdAge Micheal Learmonth said that the new incentives will help lift the market for small producers and not necessarily turn YouTube into a media company:

"YouTube has known this for years, but is now taking a bigger role in cultivating that industry, acquiring Next New Networks, which has built a track record of building and promoting web series."

Since its launch in 2007, Next New Networks has built its network of original web programming attracting over 2 billion views and 6 million subscribers across its partner networks of channels and shows. It created the shows “Barely Political” and “Indy Mogul” and produces videos for YouTube sensations The Gregory Brothers, Hot for Words, and Nalts.

As a fundamental part of the advertising business for Google YouTube knows that its own key to success is to have great content that can be monetized. Will Richmond suggested that With its Next New Networks Deal, YouTube Evokes Cable's Early Days and pointed to a recent interview with YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar who talked about future evolution of YouTube into channels.

Kamangar said:

"When you think about the impact cable had, we think we're in a position to have a similar impact for video delivery, like what cable has done with broadcast. In the early '80s, you had three or four networks. Now those three or four networks are responsible for 25 percent of viewership, and the cable networks are responsible for all the rest. Right now, the fraction of traffic that is Web video is small relative to broadcast and cable, but it's growing at a fast rate. What's amazing is that the Web enables you to build a kind of channel that wouldn't have made sense for cable, in the same way cable enabled you to build content that wouldn't have made sense for broadcast."

Keith Richman, CEO of Break Media commented that this deal is

"With this move, YouTube is clearly stating that Hulu and Netflix have won the war for studio content. YouTube is now going for semi-professional and will define that market."

Here's a video from Next New Networks of The Next New Creators Program : In Their Words which they explain how successful the partner program has been.

Next New Networks' entire full-time staff of 17 will join YouTube as part of the deal, with the exception of CEO and co-founder Fred Siebert, who will temporarily act as a consultant. But Next New Networks COO Liam Collins along with Co-founder Tim Shey are joining and Chairman Lance Podell will join YouTube Next Lab global director. Next new Networks raised a total of more than $27 million in venture funding as a company, and as while terms of its deal with YouTube are undisclosed but sources said that deal is close to $50 million.

On the company blog Seibert wrote:

“We’re very excited to share the news that Next New Networks is now part of YouTube. Our company will become a core component of YouTube Next, a new team that will focus on supercharging content creator development on YouTube, driving deeper expertise in partner audience development, and incubating new ideas that can be shared with the broader community.”

Congratulations Next New Networks, and looking forward to seeing what comes next!

Also, in related news, today YouTube also introduced the YouTube Creator Institute which is a new media program in partnership with with the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles and Columbia College Television Department in Chicago to help advance the education and careers of budding filmmakers. The application process begins March 11 and submission details are here.

Here's the description of the programs and an introductory video:

"YouTube Creator Programs help develop the next generation of leading content creators. Through programs like the YouTube Partner Program and YouTube Creator Institute, YouTube and its partners help education, train, fund and promote promising creators."

The Gregory Brothers Perform "Auto-Tune the News #8" Live at the 2nd Annual Streamy Awards

The Streamy Awards were more than a week ago and a lot of the web television community has moved on from the controversy surrounding the event. Apologies have been made, myths have been dispelled and the community got together and celebrated the web in an post-Steamy Awards event. I recorded a lot of video that evening from my seat in the front row of the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles (thanks to Kodak for the Zi8 Pocket Video Camera), and I have a few more videos to share here on the blog before I get back to covering the online video news cycle.

I was glad to be able to capture and share this performance of The Gregory Brothers doing a live version of "Auto-Tune the News #8" at the Streamy Awards – which for me, was one of the highlights of the show. The orginal version of their video on YouTube has over 1.3 million views, which you can watch here. Enjoy!

The Gregory Brothers are a professional band singing folk, soul, and pop music consisting of Evan, Michael, Andrew, and Sarah Gregory, who is married to Evan. The Brooklyn, New York-based group is most famous for their viral video hit series the Auto-Tune the News on YouTube and Next New Networks, which uses real video clips like news broadcasts, viral videos and other talking head content to create funny music videos. Interviewers, celebrities, and politicians alike break into song in these innovative comedy mash-ups.

The Gregory Brothers won three 2010 Streamy Awards for Best News or Politics Web Series, Best Experimental Web Series and Best Original Music in a Web Series and have been nominated for two Webby Awards in Viral and Video Remixes & Mashups.

Check their website and Wikipedia page for more background on the Gregory Brothers or visit these other links:

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Streaming Media West 2009 Red Carpet Interview - Zadi Diaz, Epic Fu

In this Streaming Media West 2009 Red Carpet interview, host Peter Cervieri of ScribeMedia.org sits down with Zadi Diaz, new media producer and co-founder of Smashface Productions, her production company with husband Steve Woolf. She is co-creator and host of EPIC FU, the award-winning web series about internet culture, as well as co-founder of Pixelodeon, a screening festival recognizing innovation in global online video.

Zadi talks about the growing pains felt by the web television industry and how her show built a community and grew from into a full-time job. In 2006, her small production company began making web shows, called JET SET then, which they distributed through multiple video sharing sites. They wanted to make what they were passionate about a career find partners to help with the business and marketing. Distribution was a time-consuming task several years ago, but when TubeMogul came along they were able to better reach their audience who were on a number of different sites.

In 2007, they entered into a distribution and sponsorship agreement with Next New Networks who gave them a licensing fee for each episode. They moved to Revision3 the following year in June 2008 with other web shows like Wine Library TV, but parted ways in December 2008 after the Revision3 restructured programming. Currently, Epic Fu is independently run and distributed through Blip.tv, and Smashmouth productions is busy working on a number of interactive web projects including J!NX Television Spots, PBS and Hacking Hollywood.

Zadi appeared as a panelist on Streaming Media West 2009 panel session, Web Television Comes of Age, in which she and moderator by Marc Hustvedt, Co-Founder, Tubefilter & Editor-in-Chief, Tubefilter News, Tubefilter and other panelists Thom Woodley, Partner, Chief Creative Officer, Dinosaur Diorama, Jenni Powell, New Media Consultant (LonelyGirl15, The Guild, Legend of Neil) and Brent Friedman, Co-Founder, Electric Farm Entertainment (The Gemini Division, Afterworld) discussed what it takes to create, market and sell a web television series. The TV Worldwide has a video of the session here and an embeddable version will be available on Streaming Media.com/videos in the coming weeks.

Look for more Red Carpet interviews coming soon!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Streaming Media East: Content Production for the Web

This is the first of a number of Streaming Media East videos that I'll be featuring on the blog titled, "Content Production for the Web" from Tuesday, May 12th which was moderated by my friend Paul Kontonis co-founder and CEO of New York-based digital media studio For Your Imagination. The panel features Tim Shey, Co-Founder, Head of Entertainment, Next New Networks, Christine Beardsell, VP, Creative Director, Creative Director, Digitas/The Third Act and Austin Chang, VP, Strategy and Development, MTV Digital and focused on the types of online video, audience engagement, production and monetization amongst other topics important to developing and producing web video.

Paul was also part of the panel discussion I moderated at Streaming Media West last year on Streaming Media West: Updating and Syndicating Your Channels for New Media Distribution which also featured Mark Rotblat of TubeMogul and Saidah Nash of Thomas Reuters.

Content Production for the Web

Track C (C103) 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM

If the sitcom and miniseries were the unique genres of broadcast TV, what will the new online TV look like? What will appeal to audiences and get them to come back again and again? What is the relationship between the audience and the new forms of online video? This session provides a showcase for the talent creating this new medium and showcases the evolution of original online programming and the tools available to help content creators engage their audiences.

Moderator:	Paul Kontonis, CEO, Co-Founder, For Your Imagination
Panel:	Tim Shey, Co-Founder, Head of Entertainment, Next New Networks Christine Beardsell, VP, Creative Director, Digitas/The Third Act Austin Chang, VP, Strategy and Development, MTV Digital

Follow these peeps and their companies on Twitter:

Web Content Is Like Sushi, and Other Tips - Digits - WSJ

By Andrew LaVallee - May 13, 2009
When it comes to creating original material for the Web, Tim Shey, co-founder of Next New Networks, says it’s like sushi. “The fresher the better,” he said during a Streaming Media East panel session on digital content production, “and don’t leave it sitting around for too long.”

For Mr. Shey’s company, which makes Web shows such as “Barely Political” and “Nite Fite,” videos made in advance or with block shooting don’t do as well, he said. (more...)