Rooster Teeth (RT) has just released a sneak peak of its newest upcoming series. The Austin-based and Fullscreen-owned creative production studio dropped the trailer for the show Rooster Teeth Entertainment System (RT-ES), which debuts on September 27, 2015, and is hosted by actor Colton Dunn.

The trailer for RT-ES claims the show will be about “comedy, music, games, life,” because “this is Colton Dunn.” Not much else is revealed about the new series other than how it will be exclusively available to the company’s “sponsors,” a class of fans who pay a monthly fee to gain access to premium content, early releases, and more. RT-ES is only one of the most recent sponsors-only pieces of content Rooster Teeth has produced, in addition to the Let’s Play Live documentary.

Dunn is a fitting host for RT-ES, as he’s no stranger to the RT community. The Parks & Rec actor and Key & Peele writer stars in Rooster Teeth’s first feature film, Lazer Team, set to premiere on September 24. Also, as the RT-ES trailer points out, Dunn has made guest appearances in various other productions from the company, like RT Shorts and A Million Dollars But… series. Dunn has also participated in several Let’s Plays with RT’s gaming branch Achievement Hunter.

Sponsors logged into Rooster Teeth’s site or the production company’s new mobile app can watch the Dunn-hosted RT-ES starting September 27 for no additional cost to their monthly subscription fee. If you’re not already an RT sponsor, you can click here to get a 30-day free trial.

Filed under: Articles, News, Rooster Teeth by Bree Brouwer
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The 2015 Streamy Awards will go live from the Hollywood Palladium on Thursday, September 17th, and for the first time ever, the online video industry’s most significant award ceremony will be broadcast on TV. For viewers with cable, the Streamys will air on VH1 beginning at 10 PM EST on the 17th.

Let’s face it, though: This is a show about the Internet. And as a result, many of its viewers will be cord-cutters who lack cable subscriptions. If you fall into that category, not to worry; the Streamys will also be available online. Specifically, a live stream of the event will be available on the VH1 YouTube channel. It’s also embedded right here:

Who can you expect to see during this broadcast? Well, if you spend a lot of time on YouTube, you’ll recognize many of the presenters, with notable names from film, TV, and music making up the rest of the list. Beyond hosts Tyler Oakley and Grace Helbig, entertainers who will appear onstage at the Streamys include Paula Abdul, Mel B. (America’s Got Talent), Phil DeFranco, Ricky Dillon, GloZell Green, Kat Graham (The Vampire Diaries), Hannah Hart, Mamrie Hart, Shay Mitchell (Pretty Little Liars), Harley Morenstein, Ingrid Nilsen, Pauley Perrette (NCIS), Jillian Rose Reed (Awkward), Smosh, Miranda Sings, Natasha Bedingfield, Ciara, Frankie Grande, Jenna Marbles, Brooke Mahan, NeNe Leakes (Fashion Police, The Real Housewives of Atlanta), and James Van Der Beek (Dawson’s Creek, Adi Shankar’s Bootleg Universe).

The show will also include several musical performances. Sir Mix-A-Lot will be in the house, as will A Great Big World, Futuristic, OMI, Future, and Hailee Steinfeld.

They’ll all be streaming to a device near you beginning at 10 PM on the 17th. Tune in, and wish good luck to your favorite creators.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Tubefilter is a co-producer of the Streamy Awards.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, The Streamy Awards, VH1 by Sam Gutelle
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Netflix has set a release date for its newest sketch comedy show. The streaming video platform will debut W/ Bob and David, starring Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, on November 13, 2015.

Originally announced in April 2015, W/ Bob and David follows Odenkirk and Cross who, after being dishonorably (and fictionally) discharged from the Navy SEALs, decide to serve America by making sketch comedy instead. The series reunites Odenkirk and Cross after the two previously worked together on The Ben Stiller Show and their own HBO TV series Mr. Show With Bob and David, which ran from 1995 to 1998.

W/ Bob and David will take place over the course of four 30-minute episodes, with guests such as Jay Johnston, John Ennis, Brian Posehn, and Paul F. Tompkins. W/ Bob and David is executive produced by both Odenkirk and Cross alongside Tim Sarkes, Dave Kneebone, Marc Provissiero, Naomi Odenkirk, Tim Heidecker, and Eric Wareheim.

Abso Lutely Productions will produced W/ Bob and David alongside Netflix.

Filed under: Articles, Netflix, News, Web Series by Bree Brouwer
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One of the world’s largest media corporations is dipping its toes into the world of social sharing. News Corp, the conglomerate whose holdings include the Wall Street Journal and publisher HarperCollins, has acquired Unruly, an agency known for studying the science of sharing on social media.

According to Adweek, the deal carries a base price of $90 million. If Unruly reaches certain performance incentives, the price tag could rise as high as $176 million.

Unruly’s products give brands the tools they need to program video ads across social media and analyze them once they go live. The agency markets itself on its ability to predict a video’s likelihood to go viral, based on its ShareRank technology and the millions of data points therein. At its self-style “Labs,” Unruly takes a deep look at data science in order to understand what makes viral videos receive thousands of social shares. It often shares its results with us, in order to provide insights about the big branded videos of the day.

By joining forces with its new parent company, Unruly will become a key part of News Corp’s digital ad business. “Unruly is a feisty and creative company with a startup sensibility that fits perfectly with our own approach to developing businesses in the digital age,” said News Corp CEO Robert Thomson in a release.

Unruly will operate as a separate unit that will report to News Corp’s UK branch. It will also retain its current clients. Brands it has worked with include Dove, Activia, and Carlsberg.

More information about the acquisition can be found in a blog post authored by Unruly.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, Unruly by Sam Gutelle
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Stream Con NYC has just added several big names to its schedule. The three-day event hosted by Tubefilter and centered around digital creators and content announced YouTube celebrities Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart, as well as Joey Graceffa, iJustine, Connor Franta, and GloZell, will join the Stream Con lineup of attending talent.

These six YouTube stars will appear for signings, panels, and various get-togethers at Stream Con from October 30 through November 1, 2015 at the Javits Center in New York City. Helbig and Hart in particular plan to host their two-woman show, “This Might Get Weird, Ya’ll,” on October 30. Joining these digital creators at the Stream Con festivities will be MediaLink CEO and Chairman Michael Kassen, Fullscreen President and COO Ezra Cooperstein, and Google Preferred’s Beau Avril.

All the new additions to Stream Con NYC’s talent list join previous stars and influencers who will be making appearances at the event. In July 2015, Stream Con announced YouTube star Rosanna Pansino and actor/singer James Maslow were added to the guest roster. Fans can expect to see additional creators including Joe Sugg and Sprinkle of Glitter, while industry experts like newsman Al Roker, New Form Digital’s Kathleen Grace, and Frederator Networks’ Fred Seibert will also be in attendance.

You can get your tickets to StreamCon NYC by visiting the event’s official site here. Early bird badges start at $97.50 for fans and $295 for industry, but prices will increase starting September 18.  

Filed under: Articles, Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart, News, Stream Con NYC by Bree Brouwer
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Amazon Prime just brought a classic TV series to its library. The premium subscription service, which includes access to thousands of digital video titles via Instant Video, has obtained exclusive streaming rights to all six seasons of Sex and the City.

HBO’s Sex and the City, which ran from 1998 to 2004, follows the story of sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) and her three female friends as they navigate the ups and downs of their love lives and New York City’s dating scene. Fans who pay for Amazon Prime’s $99-a-year service can now watch all 94 episodes of the show for free on Instant Video. Sex and the City is also available on HBO’s $15-a-month streaming service, HBO Now.

“Sex and the City became one of the most popular shows on TV over its six-season run, and we are excited today to give our Prime members access to every episode to watch anytime, anywhere as part of their membership,” said Michael Paull, Amazon VP of Digital Video, as reported by Variety.

Amazon isn’t the only streaming video service to nab exclusive streaming rights to a popular TV series. Hulu signed a deal in the summer of 2015 to house all nine seasons of Seinfeld on its platform. The SVOD service even recreated the Seinfeld set in a Manhattan apartment before releasing the series on June 24.  

In addition to adding Sex and the City, Amazon is currently developing more of its own original series. The streaming service, which just added the ability for members to download titles to watch offline, is working on a TV series based on the 1999 sci-fi cult classic Galaxy Quest. Amazon Prime also signed all three hosts from the British automotive series Top Gear for three seasons of a new unnamed car show.  

Filed under: Articles, Channels, News by Bree Brouwer
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Joseph Garrett has created a thriving career on YouTube thanks to Stampy Cat, a feline Minecraft avatar who presents the popular video game in a cheerful, family-friendly manner. Garrett’s digital persona is built on a formula that is attractive to kids and parents alike, and it is beginning to open up a lot of doors for him. The latest development in the Stampy Cat world is a two-book deal with Egmont, a publisher based in Garrett’s native UK.

The first of the two books carries the pleasant title Stampy’s Lovely Book. It is due out on October 22nd and will retail for £7.99 (which is equivalent to roughly $12.37). It will feature jokes, comics, and activities, all related to the Stampy Cat persona. “Digital platforms are a rich source of talent and content for publishing, so we’re thrilled to welcome Joe, an amazing modern storyteller, to our leading licensed publishing portfolio,” said Egmont’s Cally Poplak.

Egmont, which brands itself as “the UK’s biggest publisher of books and magazines for children,” has taken an interest in online video content creators and their fan communities. It recently caught our eye with Oh My Vlog!, a one-off publication that features profiles of YouTube stars. It is also the publisher of several official Minecraft books, making it a logical partner for Garrett.

While Stampy’s Lovely Book will be Garrett’s first foray into the literary world, it will not be the first book based off the Stampy character. Several unofficial tomes have been published, each one looking to make a quick buck off the 6.4 million people who subscribe to Stampy’s videos on YouTube.

On October 22nd, those fans will receive a more official treat. The second book in Garrett’s deal with Egmont is due out sometime in 2016.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, Stampylonghead by Sam Gutelle
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Back in May 2014, Tubefilter reported on Fullscreen’s potential plans to create a video subscription service. For over a year, the multi-channel network revealed nothing about this impending service — until now. Fullscreen has officially confirmed it will launch its own premium streaming video-on-demand service.

Fullscreen’s streaming service (currently just titled “Fullscreen”) is being billed as a premium entertainment service available on virtually all screens from the AT&T and Chernin-owned multi-channel network. Fullscreen Founder and CEO George Strompolos wrote in a company blog post the SVOD will aim to “bridge the gap between social media and television for youth audiences.”

And the MCN has plenty of content planned for release on the service, which will include original Fullscreen content (both series and film projects), licensed and unscripted series, podcasts, editorial pieces, hosted shows, exclusive releases, and more. Fullscreen said the platform will officially host its original Legendary Digital series Electra Woman & Dyna Girl starring Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart, the #O2L Forever documentary about the 2014 tour of YouTube supergroup O2L, The Outfield feature film starring Cameron Dallas, and an untitled teen parody currently in the works from executive producers Paul Scheer (The League) and Jonathan Stern (Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer mini-series).

“Fullscreen is committed to cultivating new voices who are capturing the hearts and imaginations of millions worldwide. As an extension of our mission to empower creators, we are providing an opportunity for talent of all types to produce their best work in an immersive product experience,” wrote Strompolos. “Just as premium cable networks raised the bar for television over the past decade, we aim to do the same with a new generation of creators, stars and personalities. And we’re going to do it our way.”

Strompolos also clarified that the new Fullscreen service won’t be for everyone. The MCN’s streaming platform will be targeted at people who grew up with the internet and on their mobile devices. However, Strompolos made it clear these fans will receive the most “personal and immersive entertainment experience in the world.”

No release date or pricing for Fullscreen’s streaming service has been announced as of yet. However, you can sign up on the streaming service’s landing page to be notified when it officially launches.

Filed under: Articles, Fullscreen, News by Bree Brouwer
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Actress Jessica Biel is a mom now, and that life change has caused her to think more about education. In particular, she wants to make sure women have a resource through which they can answer any questions they may have about health and body issues. To provide such a resource, she has launched an untitled web series alongside Saundra Pelletier, the founder of a nonprofit health organization called WomenCare Global.

Biel first decided to educate her fellow women after realizing she herself had a lot of questions about health and pregnancy. “Suddenly I realized I really didn’t know what’s going on inside my own body,” she said in a recent interview with Glamour Magazine. “It was shocking.” She met Pelletier, and they decided to try to make a difference in underserved communities. “More than half of our nation’s pregnancies are unplanned, and just 22 states require public schools to teach sex education,” said Pelletier. “Jessica and I realized we can help change this.”

The first video from their series is currently available on the WomenCare Global website and YouTube channel. It features a brief introduction from Pelletier, along with the title “If You Don’t Tell Them, Then Who Will?”

Future videos will talk about topics like puberty and contraception. More information about the series is available via Glamour.

Filed under: Articles, Celebrity, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle
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Bethany Mota, who competed on the 19th season of Dancing With The Stars, is no stranger to TV. On October 5th, however, the popular YouTube star will engage with television audiences in a brand new way. She will appear on the home shopping channel QVC, where she will sell new apparel from a self-titled clothing line.

Mota created her new line alongside Aeropostale, which has been a frequent brand partner of hers over the past two years. Back in early 2013, for example, Mota teamed with Aeropostale to create a holiday clothing line aimed at her young fans. Both the young target audience and the holiday theme have carried over to Mota’s new line, which includes a number of knits, leggings, pajamas, hats, and scarves.

During her QVC appearance, Mota will share her line with viewers and will offer up some style tips. She’ll also lead a small DIY project, according to a press release. “I love being able to speak directly to my audience and share my passion for fashion,” said Mota in the release. “QVC provides me with the opportunity to connect with millions of homes across the country. I hope everyone will find my collection as playful and fun as I do.”

Bethany Mota – Fashions will air on QVC at 5 PM EST on October 5th. Three weeks later, Mota’s new line will become available in Aeropostale stores.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle
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With its latest web series, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios is bringing together athletes, celebrities, football, video games, and puppets. The production company co-founded by Seth Green and best known for creating Green’s Adult Swim TV series Robot Chicken, has launched The Madden 16, in which puppet versions of famous people become avid Madden gamers.

As a brief description on the series’ website explains, the titular characters in The Madden 16 are “A rag tag [sic] team of athletes and celebrities assembles with one singular mission, to play a whole lot of Madden, and save the world.” Most of these characters are based on well-known people and voiced by their real-life counterparts; the “athletes and celebrities” who contribute to The Madden 16 include NFL stars like Rob Gronkowski and Odell Beckham, Jr. as well as actors like Christopher Mintz-Plasse. The result is a strange mix of video games, football, and Team America: World Police, served with a star-powered twist.

Episodes of The Madden 16 will arrive throughout the current NFL season. EA Sports, the distributor of the Madden video games and the brand sponsor for the new web series, will serve as host. So far, a few installments have been released, including one featuring the Beckham and Gronk characters:

By utilizing puppets in lieu of its typical stop-motion approach, Stoopid Buddy is taking a slight departure from its other recent works, but it will soon return to its number-one comfort zone. Its upcoming projects include SuperMansion, a stop-motion series on Crackle that will star Bryan Cranston.

Filed under: Articles, Branded Entertainment, Featured, News, Studios by Sam Gutelle
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YouTube Space LA is getting its scary on. The Playa Vista-based facility partnered with comic publisher Skybound Entertainment and The Walking Dead comic book creator Robert Kirkman to host a Halloween-themed set and program to help creators develop some spook-tacular content.

Starting September 15 and ending October 29, 2015, YouTube creators who have at least 10,000 subscribers and have completed the “Unlock the Space” program will be able to use a dedicated set at YouTube Space LA to film and edit their Halloween videos based on the theme “What happened here?”. The creepy, run-down set is inspired by Kirkman’s works. Beyond The Walking Dead, he’s also known for titles like Image Comics’ Invincible and Haunt. This 360-degree video reveals the set currently housed at YouTube Space LA for the Halloween program:

All videos developed by creators at YouTube Space LA’s Halloween set will go live on individual creators’ channels starting October 26. The clips will also be spread across social media and hosted on YouTube Spaces’ channel, as well as Skybound’s official channel.

In addition to releasing content from individual creators, YouTube Space LA selected fifteen video creators to attend an exclusive scriptwriting workshop led by Skybound’s film and TV department heads Sean and Bryan Furst. Held in early September, the workshop featured guest speakers David Alpert (executive producer of The Walking Dead) and actress Geena Davis, who discussed gender equality in scripts. Here’s a list of all YouTube creators selected for the scriptwriting program:

• Joe Penna & Ryan Morrison, MysteryGuitarMan
• Zeke Thomas & Sarah Lukasiewicz, BlackBoxTV
• Michael Schroeder & Michael Davis, The Warp Zone
• Steve Zaragoza & Lon Harris, SourceFed
• Lana McKissack & Nathan Moore, Lana McKissack
• Emily McGregor & Sam Weller, Comediva
• Yulin Kuang, yulin is working
• Whitney Milam & Rachel Kiley, Whitney Milam

These fifteen YouTube creators also have the chance to win a development deal with Skybound Entertainment. Their final projects will be screened at YouTube Space LA in late October. The winner of the development deal will also be announced at that time.

YouTube Space LA has played host to various Halloween initiatives in the past. The Google-owned production venue worked with Legendary Entertainment and director Guillermo del Toro in 2014 to host a film competition and develop Toro-inspired Halloween sets. In 2013, YouTube Space LA held the Scream Lab program where various creators were turned into zombies and created their own horror-esque videos.

You can catch the upcoming round of Halloween videos starting October 26 on the YouTube Spaces channel. If previous years are any indication, be prepared for a few scares.

Filed under: Articles, News, YouTube, YouTube Spaces by Bree Brouwer
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