Crackle has some new spy thriller entertainment coming your way. Sony’s online distribution platform will release its original, feature-length film The Throwaways on its site on December 19, 2014.

The film centers around a character named Drew Reynolds (played by Sam Huntington of Being Human and Superman Returns fame), a hacker who is captured by the CIA and forced to choose either a job with the organization or life in prison. Reynolds joins a “throwaway” group of the CIA’s least-favored agents, including Colonel Christopher Holden (played by James Caan from The Godfather) and combat specialist Dan Fisher (portrayed by Kevin Dillon of Platoon). Together, the three aim to take out a cyber-terrorist bent on destruction.

Written by Michael Ross of Jerry McGuire, The Throwaways co-stars Katie McGrath from Merlin, Christian Hillborg of The Bridge, and Jack Kesy of The Strain. Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, The Avengers) and his colleague Don Handfield (Kill the Messenger) executive produced the film through their production company The Combine along with Timothy Linh Bui.

The Throwaways is just one feature-length film Crackle has recently announced. The online distributor will release Joe Dirt 2 starring David Spade in 2015. It also has plans to produce a film based on the popular video game franchise Dead Rising.

Make sure to visit crackle.com on December 19 to watch The Throwaways for yourself.

Filed under: Articles, Crackle, News by Bree Brouwer
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Amazon wants you to do a little pre-Christmas binge-watching. The company announced it will debut the dramedy Mozart in the Jungle on December 23, 2014, in the US, UK, and Germany.

Based on the memoir Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, & Classical Music by Blair Tindall, the Amazon series tells the story of Hailey (played by Lola Kirke of Gone Girl fame), an oboist who must deal with the complicated internal politics of a world-renowned orchestra and its recently-inducted, unconventional conductor Rodrigo (played by Gael Garcia Bernal from Rosewater).

Other cast members, both recurring and guest, include Saffron Burrows (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Hannah Dunne (Frances Ha), Peter Vack (I Just Want My Pants Back), Malcolm McDowell (The Mentalist), and Bernadette Peters (Smash).

All ten episodes of Mozart in the Jungle are executive produced by Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom), Jason Schwartzman (The Darjeeling Limited), Paul Weitz (About a Boy), John Strauss (There’s Something About Mary), and newcomer Alex Timbers.

“Our customers will be immersed in a provocative and compelling world,” said Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon Studios, in a release. “Jason, Roman, Paul, and John have brilliantly tapped into this microcosm brought to life by an unparalleled ensemble cast.”

“Classical music has always interested me,” said Coppola in the release. “By being part of this show I’ve been able to immerse myself in this fascinating world. I think the viewer will be equally as surprised and intrigued as I was with what goes on behind the curtain at the symphony.”

Mozart in the Jungle joins many more upcoming original series in Amazon Studios’ pipeline. Michael Connelly’s cop drama Bosch is set to arrive on Amazon Prime sometime in 2015. In addition to that series, Amazon is preparing at least seven new titles for release in 2015 from its slate of original programming.

Currently, Amazon Prime subscribers can watch the first episode of Mozart in the Jungle via any connected device which supports the Amazon Instant Video app. Then on December 23, all Amazon Prime users in the US, UK, and Germany can binge-watch the other nine episodes as they wrap some last-minute gifts.

Filed under: Amazon Studios, Articles, Channels, News by Bree Brouwer
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Between April 27th and May 6th, 2015, online video executives will flock to New York City for the annual Digital Content Newfronts, where they will pitch upcoming programs and developments to advertisers. The Interactive Advertising Bureau, which runs the event, has released a preliminary schedule for 2015, and with 24 companies already slated to present, it looks to be the busiest Newfronts schedule to date.

For the second year in a row, the Newfronts will run for two weeks, with the majority of the presentations packed into the first five days. Evening slots are again filled by notable presenters like AOL, Yahoo, and VEVO; YouTube, as in previous years, will deliver its annual Brandcast during the Newfronts’ first Wednesday night. In 2015, that date is April 29th.

A closer look at the schedule reveals a few newcomers, including Discovery Digital Networks, which was initially slated to present last year but ultimately dropped out. A few multi-channel networks, such as Fullscreen and Machinima, will make their first ever official presentations after several years of unofficial events timed to coincide with the Newfronts. Maker Studios will return to the event for a second time after joining the official schedule last year.

Notably absent from the schedule is Facebook, which is rumored to be planning its first ever Newfronts presentation. Facebook could still be added, and if it is, it will telegraph the social media company’s interest in original programming.

Here’s the full schedule. As a reminder, this could change before the actual event, with some companies added in and others dropping out:

UPDATE: Adweek, which first reported Facebook’s plan to participate in the 2015 Newfronts, has now released a second report claiming that Facebook will not be attending after all. The social media site initially showed interest in presenting, but since it does not have plans for original content, it ultimately dropped out of the schedule. “We had initial talks with the IAB about participating in the NewFronts, and as we got closer to the schedule being confirmed, we had more in-depth conversations about the goals of the NewFronts and IAB’s vision for the event,” a Facebook rep told Adweek. “Since Facebook does not produce original content, we decided it doesn’t make sense for us to participate at this time.”

Facebook’s presentation was initially planned for the lunch session on Thursday, April 30th; as you can see above, that box is now blank. We’ll keep our ears open to hear about who–if anybody–will present during that time slot.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, NewFronts, News by Sam Gutelle
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Pluto TV has only been around since March 2014, but it’s already attracting huge financial attention (in addition to some seemingly very impressive growth). The online video platform which boasts over 100 free, streaming TV channels has just closed a $13 million Series A financing round and announced several new advisors.

U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) led the investment, joined by United Talent Agency and Pluto TV’s existing investors Sky plc (formerly British Sky Broadcasting), Chicago Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, and Luminari Capital. Funds will be used to grow Pluto TV’s content offerings and improve its reach across the web, mobile, and connected TVs.

Pluto TV has also added Rick Lewis, general partner at USVP, to its board of directors. Joining the online video platform as advisors are Ross Levinsohn (former CEO and executive chairman of Yahoo!), Ken Parks (chief content officer at Spotify), and Stephane Kurgan (COO of King Digital Entertainment).

“Since launching in March, Pluto has had an incredible amount of momentum,” said Tom Ryan, co-founder and CEO of Pluto TV, in the release. “We’ve added many leading content partners and distributed Pluto across web, mobile and connected TVs, including the latest devices from Amazon and Google. We’re excited to have a firm of USVP’s caliber lead our round and partner with us to take the company to the next level.”

“With the explosion of premium content available on the web and consumers increasingly watching video across various devices, Pluto is poised to be the top destination for viewers looking for the best programming in one place,” said Rick Lewis in the release. “Pluto has risen as a market leader in the online video space and USVP is thrilled to be part of the next wave of the company’s growth.”

Pluto TV boasts an impressive linear, lean-back experience for its users. Viewers can choose from a wide range of channels, all the way from your typical sports and lifestyle channels like WWE, to not-so-typical selections like a Minecraft-focused channel or one full of GoPro content. Additionally, some of online videos top names (such as Funny or Die and Freddie Wong‘s RocketJump) have their own channels you can watch.

If you want to see what all these investors are excited about, head to pluto.tv to check out the site’s free HD channels available 24/7. You can view Pluto TV on the web or download the app for Windows.

Filed under: Articles, News, Pluto TV by Bree Brouwer
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The YouTube Music Awards are back for an encore.

The celebration originally conceived back in 2013 as a way for the world’s largest video sharing site to honor “artists and songs that YouTube fans have turned into global hits over the past year” is being retooled to look towards the future and “recognize the biggest and emerging artists to watch on YouTube in 2015.” That recognition will take the form of a special day in March 2015 when “music will be the headline act on YouTube” and the site will feature “new and unique music video collaborations with top directors and creators” all orchestrated with a reportedly great amount of fan interaction.

This all-online format is markedly different from YouTube’s initial Music Awards, where fans voted online for their favorite artists of the year and winners were announced by Jason Schwartzman and Reggie Watts during a live show streamed straight from New York City’s Pier 36. Skateboarding music video and famous feature film director Spike Jonze directed the event, which featured a casted audience of prototypical teens and music videos shot live from Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, Eminem, MIA, Lindsey Stirling, and more.

What will stay the same for YouTube’s sophomore YTMA performance, however, is the video platform’s partners. YouTube has reupped VICE Media as the Executive Producer of the event, while Kia Motors will once again be the YTMAs’ headline sponsor.

“Following the success of the first YouTube Music Awards, we at Kia Motors are thrilled to continue in our role as the presenting sponsor for this year’s event,” said Soon-Nam Lee, Vice President of Overseas Marketing, Kia Motors Corp, in the release. “YouTube is the perfect platform for connecting today’s most innovative artists with a billion fans around the world, and our ongoing partnership with the YouTube Music Awards is the perfect place to share Kia’s passion for digital entertainment and music.”

YouTube notes the 2013 YTMAs was “one of the most watched music awards events ever with more than 54 million views” across the live stream of the event itself and all of those plays on the aforementioned “live music videos” (some of which are really great). But that doesn’t mean the show wasn’t without issues and its fair share of critics.

Schwartzman noted in interviews before he hosted the YTMAs how he wanted the event to “feel like a YouTube video — the raw messiness of making stuff.” Not only is that sentiment an insult to the vast majority of YouTube creators who put enormous amounts of energy into making high-quality videos, what’s worse is Schwartzman succeeded. Technical issues and numerous WTF moments took center stage at an event that was supposed to honor creators, but showed little, if any reverence to the creative community.

The good news, though, is that YouTube has seemingly learned from its mistakes. The new format and the promise of those unique video collaborations is a fresh approach that will hopefully shine a brighter spotlight on established and emerging musicians alike. The initiative will also undoubtedly shine a brighter light on YouTube’s new music streaming service. On November 12, the video site officially announced its music streaming service YouTube Music Key. The subscription service competing with Spotify to be your go-to destination for all your listening needs will presumably factor heavily into the 2015 YTMAs.

In preparation and promotion of the event, YouTube will also release programming from “big stars and emerging musicians” on the official YouTube Music Awards channel. First up is GD X TAEYANG. Take a look:

Filed under: Articles, Branded Entertainment, News, VICE, YouTube, YouTube Music Awards by Joshua Cohen
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Kin Community has a new, children-themed addition to its roster of creative talent. The Santa Monica-based multi-channel network has partnered with Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana to manage the animation company’s YouTube channel.

Under the deal, Kin will aim to optimize Nelvana’s YouTube content, expand its global reach beyond its home country of Canada, and develop engagement with many of its well-known brands (like The Berenstain Bears, Max & Ruby, and Babar and the Adventures of Badou). Corus recently invested in Kin Community during a $12 million investment round, so it’s only natural it would entrust the YouTube channel for its children’s animation studio to the female-focused MCN.

“Kin Community is the ideal partner to manage our Nelvana library on YouTube,” said Colin Bohm, Vice President of Television and Head of Corus Kids, in the release. “Views of Nelvana’s brands on YouTube are accelerating quickly, and Kin’s world class YouTube analytics and insights ensures that we maximize the revenue potential of this important new digital distribution channel.”

“We are thrilled to manage and represent Nelvana content on YouTube,” said Nelvana’s Co-Founder & CEO Michael Wayne. “Expanding into high-quality family content is an organic progression of our business. Kin’s female audience will naturally be drawn to Nelvana’s programming.”

Kin Community has several top-level channels and creators which Nelvana will be joining, including The Ellen Show (which recently launched its own online video hub) and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Kin boasts over 28 million subscribers and 207 million views across all its channels and talent.

Filed under: Articles, Kin Community, News by Bree Brouwer
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Kelly Merryman has jumped from one big name online video platform to another. The former Netflix exec, who had been in charge of content acquisition in European territories, has joined YouTube as the Google-owned site’s VP of content partnerships.

According to Variety, YouTube confirmed the hire, which will bring Merryman to Robert Kyncl‘s content and business operations team. In her new role, she will manage “relations with media companies big and small throughout the world, from conglomerates to the upstarts amassing huge audiences on the platform.”

While Merryman’s job title is new, her role will fill in some of the gaps created when Tom Pickett left his role as YouTube’s VP of Content in September in order to join AT&T and The Chernin Group’s new Otter Media venture. Merryman will now be charged with keeping YouTube’s media partners happy, which is a particularly crucial role as upstarts like Facebook and Vessel look to cut into YouTube’s commanding market share.

Merryman spent seven years at Netflix, where she rose to become the head of the company’s European content acquisition efforts. EU territories have been key growth areas for Netflix over the past few months; it recently green-lit high-profile shows like Marseille in France and The Crown in the UK. Merryman’s departure could mean a bigger role for Larry Tanz, who Netflix recently hired away from Vuguru. Tanz worked with Merryman on the European content acquisition team.

Before Netflix, Merryman worked at Sony Pictures Entertainment. She will begin her new role in January.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, YouTube by Sam Gutelle
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You can add Longmire to the growing laundry list of cancelled television shows resurrected by premium online video platforms and subscription services. The former A&E TV series set in Big Sky country and based on the series of best-selling mystery novels by Craig Johnson is headed to Netflix for a fourth season.

Despite holding the title of A&E’s most-watched original scripted series (and averaging more than 5.6 million viewers per episode in its third and final season on the cable network), Longmire was let go back in August 2014 due to its aging core demographic. Warner Horizon, however, wasn’t about to sit back and watch its hit show fade into the sunset. The production company behind the fan favorite and critically meh program quickly put together detailed presentations on the show’s appeal and drummed up support on social media in an effort to find Longmire a new home on the range of television-like platforms. Just three months into the company’s search, Warner Horizon was able to brand Season 4 of Longmire an official Netflix original.

“When Warner Horizon Television came to us with the idea for a new season of Longmire, we were intrigued because the series is so unique, and consistently great,” said Cindy Holland, Netflix VP of Original Content. “We are thrilled to help continue Walt Longmire’s story for his large and passionate following.”

10 episodes of Longmire are set to premiere on Netflix in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in 2015. The show will join Arrested Development and The Killing as other former traditional television programs the premium subscription service brought back from cancellation for at least one more season.

Filed under: Articles, Netflix, News by Joshua Cohen
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Google Play and Paramount Pictures want you to tell the next generation what it’s like on Earth in the present. The two media companies are collaborating on a time capsule-style documentary created from fan submissions and inspired by the recent Christopher Nolan film Interstellar.

Google and Paramount understand mankind’s history of storytelling, all the way from cave paintings to modern-day technology. So, according to a release, “the time capsule project asks this generation to take its turn by submitting the memorable and inspiring moments of today to give future generations a way to remember where they came from.”

People from around the world are able to submit their favorite videos, photos, art, poetry, and more to the project, which will be curated by Nolan himself. The final documentary will be produced by award-winning filmmakers David Brodie (Stand Up to Cancer‘s Survivors) and Angus Wall (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Social Network).

The time capsule film is part of a larger initiative between Google Play and Paramount Pictures to give moviegoers a more in-depth, engaging experience with the film Interstellar. Earlier this month, the two media companies hosted a Google Hangout session with YouTubers and the cast of Interstellar, including Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain.

Check out the time capsule project video introduction below, featuring McConaughey, Hathaway, and Chastain. Then, if you feel compelled to submit your own piece of history, visit g.co/timecapsule to contribute to the time capsule. Submission deadline is December 15, 2014.

Filed under: Articles, Google Play, News, Studios by Bree Brouwer
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PBS Digital Studios is home to high-quality programs like PBS Idea Channel, Frankenstein M.D., and Blank on Blank, but no series in PBS’ digital network is funnier than witty, high-concept self-satire Everything But The News, which just began its second season on a brand new channel.

Everything But The News stars Steve Goldbloom as a fictionalized version of himself. In the show, Goldbloom is a slipshod journalist who can’t seem to do anything right. In the first episode of the new season, his producer describes him as “somebody who looks like they haven’t slept in three-and-a-half years.” Nonetheless, Goldbloom tirelessly heads on to tech hotspots in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, where he reports on new trends. Along the way, Everything But The News also manages to get in a few jabs at PBS’ expense.

The first season ran for ten episodes and features Goldbloom’s dispatches about Uber, VidCon, YouTube Space LA, and other recent developments in the tech scene. Season two will increase the episode count to 16, as Goldbloom looks into online dating, explores the world of YouTube stars (with some help from iJustine), and delivers his take on Bay Area tech startups. The first episode showcases his misadventures since the season one finale, including an ill-fated “appearance” on DNews.

Everything But The News doesn’t have a huge audience (yet), but it’s a funny web series that deserves attention. Go check it out–you can find it on its own brand new channel, where new episodes will arrive each Wednesday, or catch up with old episodes over at PBS Digital Studios.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, PBS Digital Studios by Sam Gutelle
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Some brand YouTube channels have adopted “gadgets“, which function as specialized landing pages with custom layouts. These gadgets can facilitate some incredibly inventive video campaigns, but on the whole, are they worth the price of installing and upkeeping them?

Tubular Labs says no. The YouTube analytics company partnered with online video marketing expert Brendan Gahan to see if branded channels with gadgets outperform those that use YouTube’s default “One Channel” design. Tubular and Gahan ultimately produced a whitepaper that detailed their findings and concluded that, on the whole, gadgets cause channels to perform worse in terms of comments, subscribers, and shares.

To conduct their study, Tubular and Gahan analyzed the top 23 YouTube channels with gadgets on their channels and the top 23 without gadgets. The numbers speak for themselves: On average, the channels without gadgets have 61% more subscribers, 56% more comments, and 12% more social shares than the channels with gadgets.

Of course, those raw percentages aren’t quite fair to the gadget channels. There are many more brand channels without gadgets, which means there is a much larger selection to pick from when choosing the top 23 in that category. Still, even when that sample size is controlled for, the results don’t look good for gadgets. Non-gadget channels have 21% more subscribers per view, and those channels average 77 fewer views per subscriber, indicating a higher number of engaged viewers.

The final nail in the coffin is the relative price between gadget and non-gadget channels. Implementing a gadget on YouTube is only allowed when minimum media spend thresholds are met, and even then there are fees to customize, implement, and then host the gadgets on an ongoing basis,” reads the whitepaper. Ultimately, the incremental costs and diminished performance make channel gadgets a poor investment for any brand looking to generate engagement and cultivate a community on YouTube.”

Tubular and Gahan also arranged their most salient findings in an infographic:

For brands considering gadgets on YouTube, this study conclusion is quite simple: Shy away from fancy designs, and keep it simple, stupid. For more insights, interested parties can download the whitepaper On Gahan’s website right here.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, Tubular Labs by Sam Gutelle
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Oxygen is targeting younger women with a new, upcoming original program. The NBC-owned media company has partnered with StyleHaul to produce a docu-reality series all about some of YouTube’s hottest fashion and beauty vloggers.

Oxygen announced on its blog the working title of the show is Survival of the Clickiest and the docu-reality series will be about how “with no rules, no backup plans, and plenty of haters, life outside the online bubble is never as glamorous as it seems” for YouTube vloggers.

Clickiest will follow the yet-to-be-announced fashion and beauty online video stars as they figure out how to stay competitive in the vlogging world as well as juggle family, followers, and friends. The program will also delve into the new opportunities, brands, and companies these burgeoning celebrities have attracted due to their massive social media popularity.

“The idea behind the show is for us to celebrate the success and entrepreneurial spirit of our talent, who have not only been able to build these incredibly engaged fan bases, but are also now starting to develop their own fashion lines and product extensions, and are really turning their vlogs into amazing businesses,” said Mia Goldwyn, Chief Content Officer at StyleHaul, to The Video Ink.

Survival of the Clickiest will be produced by Lentos Brand and Trium Entertainment, LLC (the company behind James Franco’s AOL series Making a Scene with James Franco). Mark Koops, Eric Day, Ronak Kordestani, and Stephen Lentini will executive produce. The show is one of four recently-announced titles Oxygen is developing under its female and millenial-focused re-branding.

Even though no casting announcements have been revealed as of yet, it’s a given that least some of StyleHaul’s creators will be featured on Clickiest. The network is home to more than a few of the top beauty and fashion vloggers around, like CurlybyNature21 and ItsMyRayeRaye who just signed with StyleHaul this week.

Goldwyn believes the final talent on Survival of the Clickiest will amass a combined total reach of 10 to 15 million subscribers. If picked up, Clickiest could debut sometime in 2015 (though a release date hasn’t been announced yet, either).

Filed under: Articles, News, Oxygen, StyleHaul by Bree Brouwer
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