New TV Shows From HLN Include Two With Ties To Online Video

HLN is trying to change its image, and it’s getting some help from a pair of crafty online video execs. The cable channel formerly known as Headline News has unveiled its upcoming slate, and it includes a series from My Damn Channel as well as another from Frederator Studios‘ Fred Seibert.

My Damn Channel execs Rob Barnett, Warren Chao, and Charlie Singer will produce Videocracy, in which a host and a panel will discuss the most exciting social media stories of the day. From that blurb, it sounds just like @midnight, the Comedy Central program in which host Chris Hardwick and a panel of comedians riff on social media.

Seibert’s contribution will take the form of I Can Haz NewsToons, which will feature an assortment of socially relevant animated shorts. Some of these shorts will come from web cartoonists, while others will come from print satirists.

Subscribe to get the latest creator news

Subscribe

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the eclectic slate is part of new CEO Albie Hecht‘s plan to find “white spaces,” just as he did as part of the team that founded MTV. Both Seibert and Barnett can connect with that idea; they both worked for MTV in the first ten years of its existence.

Clearly, web video is one of the white spaces Hecht is trying to fill. TV and online video are very distinct spheres, but the recent success of shows like @midnight has proved that TV content heavily reliant on web content and talent can work. My Damn Channel and Frederator both live in between TV and online video, so they are both good choices to help bridge the gap.

Share
Published by
Sam Gutelle

Recent Posts

Have you heard? Pokimane at Chipotle, a Rooster Teeth reunion, and a Mike Tomlin Minecraft update.

Each week, we handpick a selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends,…

4 days ago

Hollywood’s creator obsession continues as Sony hires YouTube exec to lead horror label

As major film studios seek deals with directors whose careers began on social media, Sony…

4 days ago

YouTube eclipses TV to become the top news source in the U.S.

Syracuse University's Center for the Creator Economy has published a report that will make traditional news outlets…

4 days ago

A YouTube test brought creator analytics directly into brands’ YouTube Studio dashboards

At its annual Made On presentation, YouTube announced several tools that help brands forge partnerships with creators.…

5 days ago

OpenAI brought in Patreon’s Co-Founder. Here’s what he has planned.

Two weeks after OpenAI announced the hire of Sam Yam as the head of its Creator Product division,…

5 days ago

AI-generated videos get labels. The European Union is applying the same standards to text.

AI-generated text has become a major concern in classrooms, offices, and publishing houses, but the European…

5 days ago