by Marc Hustvedt on October 2nd, 2009
We didn’t intend for it to work out this way, but this week was all about the ladies in web TV. Or maybe its just CBS that has a thing for them. Either way, this week saw news that Shira Lazar had signed on with CBSNews.com to be a regular correspondent on Mo Rocca’s Tomorrow Show along with her own video rich blog on site. Then came the release of two new CBS Interactive web series, TV in a Flash with former Wallstrip host Julie Alexandria and Sports in a Flash with Lauren Shahedi, The two series will live on CBS-owned sites TV.com and CBSSports.com. And rounding out the ladies theme, with Breast Cancer Awareness month upon us, web star Taryn Southern rallied some celeb friends together to make a series of click-worthy Save a Tit videos which debuted this week.
Our own Adam Wright wrapped up his coverage of NYTVF earlier this week with some reflections on the very real intersection of independent television and web TV. As panelist and Easy to Assemble creator Illeana Douglas put it, “A year ago people came to me and were like ‘what are you doing’ … we’re at the tipping point where people are saying ‘Now, I get it.’”
And in case you weren’t glued to the commercial break after The City on MTV, the network bowed its Valemont web series from the creators of Gemini Division and Afterworld. The first two episodes are now online:
by Marc Hustvedt on October 1st, 2009
Some more CBS web series news today, this time out of CBS Interactive which is bowing two new original series for TV.com and CBSSports.com. Former Wallstrip host Julie Alexandria is coming back to the web as host of TV in a Flash , a new primetime TV recap series that will live on TV.com starting today.
The two-minute recap series is weekly, so it’s less about hitting the details of last night’s shows instead bouncing on the top hits of the week. With a Sportscenter-style sidebar ticker of what she’s covering, it’s easy to keep up despite fast talking Alexandria as she rolls through speedcaps of House, NCIS, Modern Family and others. Still the two minutes seem rushed, more suited for on-the-go mobile content than a late 2009 weekly web series.
That could be something to do with lead sponsor AT&T, which developed the series alongside CBS Interactive through its ad agency Mediaedge:cia. For now the series will live on TV.com with new episodes every Tuesday. And unfortunately, episodes of the show are not embeddable despite pre-roll ads and watermarked AT&T branding that would come along with the videos. No word yet of any plans for mobile distribution though we wouldn’t be surprised to see that coming.
by Marc Hustvedt on June 15th, 2009
Global web video site Joost announced last week that it was adding 12 new content partners to its roster, stepping up its offering of original web series content. While a number of the new additions are traditional TV series, a new handful of primarily web series makers are on the list.
The curated site favors a global audience, and all but a few of the new partners (RDF, Marvel, ReelzChannel, TOEI) are opening up their content globally without geo-blocking.
New web series content partners:
* MWG Entertainment (My Two Fans, Road to the Altar)
* Marvel Entertainment (Marvel Super Heroes: What The –?!)
* RDF Digital USA (RDF USA’s digital arm which has web series in the works)
* Vogue.TV (Model.Live, Trend Watch)
by Tim Goessling on April 7th, 2009
As long as there have been sports, there have been hecklers. By definition, heckling is interrupting with derisive comments or abuse. You know what I’m talking about— these salty lots can be found at any sporting event ripping on the referee, the opposing team, or even the opposing team’s family members. With Heckle U, CBS has taken this aspect of sports and created a hilarious new web series that follows the rise and fall of two ‘pro’ hecklers.
Starring comedians Owen Benjamin as Chance Stevens and Kirk Fox as Darrell Downing, the show traces the two hecklers on their path to glory. The first episode show’s their humble (and hilarious) beginnings as hecklers. I won’t say how they got their start, but I will offer this tidbit, it involves purple nurples. The show is presented like a documentary with different interviews with personalities including Heckler historians, newscasters, and athletes all connected to the heckler duo supreme.
by Marc Hustvedt on March 18th, 2009
Today kicked off the official start of new interactive thriller web series Harper’s Globe from the team at EQAL, creators of lonelygirl15 and KateModern. Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried, the creative minds behind the series popularized highly interactive low-fi video blogging dramas, basically setting the bar for the genre.
The online series stars former lonelygirl15 regular Melanie Merkosky, as newcomer Robin Matthews to the sleepy vacation island who is tasked with digitizing old news archives from the local paper. Her mysterious past and penchant for video presumably make her the fitting conduit to get to the bottom what’s really going on around the island—that is, people getting killed off one by one.
by Marc Hustvedt on December 30th, 2008
Word out from CBS Interactive today that they are launching a new 10-episode web series set to debut in February, just in time for the ramp up to the network’s coverage of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Heckle-U will star web series vet Owen Benjamin (Gaytown, Owen Benjamin Presents) as an underachiever who has found his calling heckling at men’s college hoops games. He is egged on by his bartending uncle played by Tom Arnold, who by the way has been making the rounds in web series lately—see Overkill and Easy to Assemble.
Procter & Gamble products will be integrated into the series as part of the deal and will be rolled out through the CBS Audience Network. That means CBS.com and its distrubtion partners including AOL, Fancast, MSN, Veoh, Yahoo!, YouTube and others. According to Nielsen NetView, (April 2008) their network reaches 92% of US online users.
