Friday Rewind: Tubefilter News of the Week – September 18, 2009

This was a week of some terrifying truths in the web series world. Like, say, YouTube star Fred is getting his own movie. And there’s was quite the discussion both online and off about MySpace buying views for its struggling BFF web series and then claiming it has “millions of viewers.” They aren’t the only ones, and several readers have sent us other examples worth a deeper look.

Speaking of views, online studio Next New Networks which says they have never paid for views, reported that they broke the 600 million view mark since its January 2007 launch. Crackle unveiled its slim-downed fall lineup

this week and as expected Electric Farm’s Woke Up Dead is the frontrunner. Also on the slate was the new parody Hardline: Inside the Idaho Sex Cult and Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Esquire Digital Man, which kicks off today. And bilingual indie latina star Ylse is back with her new season which also launched this week.

Top stories of the week:

• Is MySpace’s ‘BFF’ Buying Views?
• ‘Woke Up Dead’ Leads Crackle’s Fall Lineup
• YouTube’s ‘Fred’, The Movie?
• Next New Networks Breaks 600 Million Views
• ‘Ylse’ Back For Season 2, Taps Booming Latino Market