Tubefilter News

Next New Networks officially announced their “Next New Creators” program today, which works with upstart indie web series and brings them into the NNN mix in a slightly less formal way than some of the network’s originally developed shows. The 4 year-old online TV network—which is really a family of channels like Barely Political, Threadbanger, Indy Mogul, and Channel Frederator—had been working with a select group of shows over the past year in non-exclusive fashion.

Auto-Tune the News, the breakout musical satire series from the Gregory Brothers, is probably the most notable of the early crop of shows to come out of the program, grossing over 35 million views on YouTube and other sites. Other web series like those that were tapped for NNN’s new foodie site, Hungry Nation, were also in the program including Daniel Delaney’s street food escapes on Vendr.TV and Max and Rebecca Lando’s Working Class Foodies and LushLife NY’s 12 Second Cocktails. Grace Randolph’s Beyond the Trailer (above), the company chose to roll into their established Indy Mogul channel which averages a reported 3 million views a month. From the partnership, the show itself surpassed 500,000 views a month according to NNN’s numbers.

Essentially the program lets shows that are getting a footing on their own take the next step by plugging into the company’s vast distribution and marketing apparatus. Key partnerships like featured placements on YouTube and Yahoo can help fasttrack undiscovered shows into broader audiences. The have an open submission for on the site for creators to apply for the program, which they say is a non-exclusive partnership. “Next New Creators’ brings creator-owned content into our online TV networks with simple, creator-friendly deal structures,” they wrote on site.

We asked Kathleen Grace of Next New Networks what kind of shows their were looking for. Grace herself is an indie web creator having crafted hipster comedy The Burg and indie rock tale The All-For-Nots with her Dinosaur Diorama partner Thom Woodley.

Next New Networks rolled out its latest online network today, Hungry Nation, finally giving hipster foodie web series a roof to call home. We’ve written before how Next New Networks loves to own strong verticals with its networks—Indy Mogul (filmmaking and movies), Threadbanger (DIY fashion), Barely Politcial (news/politics)—and the move into food is natural fit with the recent boom in nom-loving web shows.

Three web series are in the initial lineup, including one of our favorites, street food vendor stalker VendrTV that we reported had inked a deal with NNN earlier this summer. The other two are Working Class Foodies, a brother-sister team that scour local food markets to score meals for $10 or less, and 12 Second Cocktails, which holds true to its name with super-fast drink recipes. Five total series are planned to be on the network by the end of the year.

This follows in what appears to be NNN’s strategy of building non-scripted shows around prominent web personalities, like VendrTV’s Daniel Delaney. “With shows like VendrTV and Working Class Foodies, the network is set to usher in a new class of food TV shows and stars,” said CEO Lance Powell. “It’s the kind of talent we sought to work with when we created Next New Networks, and we look forward to working with more great talent in the future.”