Facebook has announced it is partnering with a bunch of European publishers to make 23 new Watch shows starring Facebook creators, including a format with Man V. Food star Adam Richman.
The collaborations see digital publishers match up with Facebook influencers to create shows for Watch, the social media giant’s video-first destination. Facebook funds the show and has a window of exclusivity before the publisher can then exploit it on other platforms. Publishers have creative control, Facebook added.
After testing in the U.S. in spring – giving rise to shows like Players’ Tribune’s Generations featuring Us soccer hero Megan Rapinoe – Facebook is now launching the project in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, with 23 shows going live over the next couple of months.
Facebook announced them all on Tuesday and they included three shows each from viral site LadBible and soccer website Copa90 in the UK, as well...
The collaborations see digital publishers match up with Facebook influencers to create shows for Watch, the social media giant’s video-first destination. Facebook funds the show and has a window of exclusivity before the publisher can then exploit it on other platforms. Publishers have creative control, Facebook added.
After testing in the U.S. in spring – giving rise to shows like Players’ Tribune’s Generations featuring Us soccer hero Megan Rapinoe – Facebook is now launching the project in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, with 23 shows going live over the next couple of months.
Facebook announced them all on Tuesday and they included three shows each from viral site LadBible and soccer website Copa90 in the UK, as well...
- 10/14/2019
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Facebook Watch has inked a content pact with French channel M6 and unveiled a slate of short-form content from European digital publishers for the platform.
The deal with M6 will see the French broadcaster place spinoff programming from some of its hit shows on Facebook Watch. M6 will run pre- and after-show clips, interviews, and spinoffs around some of its popular formats, such as “Le Meilleur Pâtissier,” “Zone Interdite” and “Les Princes et Les Princesses de L’amour” on the Facebook Watch platform.
The pact was announced at Mipcom, in Cannes, by Facebook’s global head of content planning and strategy, Matthew Henick. It follows a similar deal that Facebook Watch struck with German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 in June.
Henick also unveiled a slate of 27 short series that have been produced for Facebook Watch by digital publishers in the U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Italy, in collaboration with influencers and social media personalities.
The deal with M6 will see the French broadcaster place spinoff programming from some of its hit shows on Facebook Watch. M6 will run pre- and after-show clips, interviews, and spinoffs around some of its popular formats, such as “Le Meilleur Pâtissier,” “Zone Interdite” and “Les Princes et Les Princesses de L’amour” on the Facebook Watch platform.
The pact was announced at Mipcom, in Cannes, by Facebook’s global head of content planning and strategy, Matthew Henick. It follows a similar deal that Facebook Watch struck with German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 in June.
Henick also unveiled a slate of 27 short series that have been produced for Facebook Watch by digital publishers in the U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Italy, in collaboration with influencers and social media personalities.
- 10/14/2019
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
Facebook’s latest bid to drive viewers to its Watch video platform? A cartoon set in prehistoric times starring Anna Kendrick and Zac Efron.
The social giant has greenlit animated comedy series “Human Discoveries” starring Kendrick and Efron. The show is slated to debut on Facebook Watch later in 2019.
Facebook also is rolling out new fan-voting features for its reboot of MTV’s “The Real World” reality show, with all-new seasons in the U.S., Mexico and Thailand set to premiere this spring. Beginning this week, Facebook users will be able to vote on one cast member to enter each of the new “Real World” houses. In addition, it’s bringing bring back three full past seasons of “The Real World” to Facebook Watch, with a fan vote determining which prior seasons will be available.
Facebook’s original-content strategy is geared around programming that has the potential to build fan...
The social giant has greenlit animated comedy series “Human Discoveries” starring Kendrick and Efron. The show is slated to debut on Facebook Watch later in 2019.
Facebook also is rolling out new fan-voting features for its reboot of MTV’s “The Real World” reality show, with all-new seasons in the U.S., Mexico and Thailand set to premiere this spring. Beginning this week, Facebook users will be able to vote on one cast member to enter each of the new “Real World” houses. In addition, it’s bringing bring back three full past seasons of “The Real World” to Facebook Watch, with a fan vote determining which prior seasons will be available.
Facebook’s original-content strategy is geared around programming that has the potential to build fan...
- 2/26/2019
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
The future of media, tech and advertising were the hot-button topics at the Variety Entertainment Summit at CES, which featured a speaker lineup of more than 40 business leaders, entertainers and entrepreneurs.
Here are 10 key takeaways from the full-day event, held Wednesday at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas:
Steve Harvey has broken up with NBC. Harvey revealed that he felt snubbed when NBCUniversal announced a new talk show with Kelly Clarkson that it plans to strip across NBC-owned stations starting in the fall of 2019. His syndicated talk show, “Steve,” is no longer being distributed by NBCU. Img, which produces the show in partnership with Harvey, is shopping the talker around to multiple outlets, sources confirmed to Variety. “I gotta make announcements too,” Harvey told the audience. “It will be something real cute.”
Viacom CEO Bob Bakish downplayed the urgency to merge with CBS. Bakish, asked about a major...
Here are 10 key takeaways from the full-day event, held Wednesday at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas:
Steve Harvey has broken up with NBC. Harvey revealed that he felt snubbed when NBCUniversal announced a new talk show with Kelly Clarkson that it plans to strip across NBC-owned stations starting in the fall of 2019. His syndicated talk show, “Steve,” is no longer being distributed by NBCU. Img, which produces the show in partnership with Harvey, is shopping the talker around to multiple outlets, sources confirmed to Variety. “I gotta make announcements too,” Harvey told the audience. “It will be something real cute.”
Viacom CEO Bob Bakish downplayed the urgency to merge with CBS. Bakish, asked about a major...
- 1/10/2019
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
If it’s been a while since you last binge-watched “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” in its entirety, good news: Joss Whedon’s cult classic is now streaming in a new location. Facebook has made all 144 episodes of the series available to stream for free, ditto “Firefly” and “Angel,” as part of the burgeoning Facebook Watch. The trio of shows created by the “Avengers” director premiered on the social-media titan yesterday courtesy of a licensing agreement with 20th Century Fox Television; anyone enamored of the TV dramas who’d rather not go the Facebook route can still find them on Hulu, as this new deal isn’t exclusive.
“Buffy” star Sarah Michelle Gellar announced the news on her own Facebook page, telling her fans it’s “time to slay all day” in a brief video. Based on the 1992 film of the same name, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” premiered in 1997 and ran...
“Buffy” star Sarah Michelle Gellar announced the news on her own Facebook page, telling her fans it’s “time to slay all day” in a brief video. Based on the 1992 film of the same name, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” premiered in 1997 and ran...
- 12/1/2018
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Facebook is playing the nostalgia card in its latest bid to drive up video viewing and video ad sales: using TV reruns.
The social-media giant is launching every episode of Joss Whedon’s supernatural drama “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and spinoff “Angel” along with sci-fi show “Firefly” on Facebook Watch for free to users the U.S. All 268 episodes of the shows will be available to watch starting Friday, Nov. 30, under a licensing pact with 20th Century Fox Television.
Facebook has set up dedicated show pages for each of the series: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” will be available at this link; “Angel” is available at this link; and “Firefly” is streaming here.
The trio of shows, which aired on TV more than 15 years ago, is not exclusive to Facebook: All seasons of the three also are available on Hulu’s subscription service.
But Facebook believes the cult-favorite shows — particularly “Buffy...
The social-media giant is launching every episode of Joss Whedon’s supernatural drama “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and spinoff “Angel” along with sci-fi show “Firefly” on Facebook Watch for free to users the U.S. All 268 episodes of the shows will be available to watch starting Friday, Nov. 30, under a licensing pact with 20th Century Fox Television.
Facebook has set up dedicated show pages for each of the series: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” will be available at this link; “Angel” is available at this link; and “Firefly” is streaming here.
The trio of shows, which aired on TV more than 15 years ago, is not exclusive to Facebook: All seasons of the three also are available on Hulu’s subscription service.
But Facebook believes the cult-favorite shows — particularly “Buffy...
- 11/30/2018
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
Facebook Watch’s interactive game show “Confetti” is getting an international makeover. The series, which was originally created by Insider through a partnership with ThumbCandy, a division of B-17 Entertainment, is making five new local versions of its shows for India, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam.
The rollout of these new markets will begin in the U.K. and be produced by Fremantle’s Thames — producer of “The X Factor” and “Got Talent.” Additional markets will follow, all premiering before the end of the year.
Launched in June, “Confetti” is a live interactive game show that offers players cash prizes. Since its launch in the U.S., the series’ show page has garnered a following of 200,000, with each episode attracting 90-200,000 contestants. The introduction of the game show was part of a push by Facebook to give its publishers more tools to interact with their audiences, whether through polling, quiz questions or other challenges.
The rollout of these new markets will begin in the U.K. and be produced by Fremantle’s Thames — producer of “The X Factor” and “Got Talent.” Additional markets will follow, all premiering before the end of the year.
Launched in June, “Confetti” is a live interactive game show that offers players cash prizes. Since its launch in the U.S., the series’ show page has garnered a following of 200,000, with each episode attracting 90-200,000 contestants. The introduction of the game show was part of a push by Facebook to give its publishers more tools to interact with their audiences, whether through polling, quiz questions or other challenges.
- 11/7/2018
- by Matt Lopez
- The Wrap
Exclusive: The X Factor and Got Talent producer Thames is set to remake Facebook Watch’s interactive game-show Confetti in the UK as the social media platform adapts the show in five markets around the world.
Fremantle has struck a deal with Facebook for a UK adaptation and local versions produced in India, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
It is the first Facebook Watch origination to be remade outside of the U.S. I gather that the UK version will launch later this month, while the other four versions are all set to go live by the end of the year.
Confetti, which is regularly hosted by YouTube personality J.D. Witherspoon, is a HQ Trivia-style live interactive format that sees viewers compete in a traditional daily trivia quiz show with cash prizes. It streams live on weekdays. Confetti launched in July 2018 in the U.S. and recently expanded into Canada and Mexico.
Fremantle has struck a deal with Facebook for a UK adaptation and local versions produced in India, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
It is the first Facebook Watch origination to be remade outside of the U.S. I gather that the UK version will launch later this month, while the other four versions are all set to go live by the end of the year.
Confetti, which is regularly hosted by YouTube personality J.D. Witherspoon, is a HQ Trivia-style live interactive format that sees viewers compete in a traditional daily trivia quiz show with cash prizes. It streams live on weekdays. Confetti launched in July 2018 in the U.S. and recently expanded into Canada and Mexico.
- 11/7/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Fine Brothers Entertainment (Fbe) recently inked co-production deals with Nick Cannon’s NCredible Entertainment, Kinetic Content, and Sonar Entertainment, continuing the company’s expansion into television and long-form offerings. So far, Fbe has created and sold 15 scripted and unscripted series to television networks and premium SVODs including Nickelodeon, Freeform, TruTV, Facebook, YouTube Premium, and Eko. That deal happened under the direction of Fbe’s Head of Television, Brandie Tucker, and this week we caught up with Tucker to learn more. She talked about Fbe’s development slate, the value of YouTube Premium versus Facebook Watch, and the growing importance of interactive story-telling.
Also Read: Fine Brothers Entertainment Expands Its Long-Form Slate (Exclusive)
TheWrap: Fbe just added four new TV projects to its development slate, which of these projects excites you the most and why?
Brandie Tucker: I hate to give the obvious answer, but there truly is something that uniquely excites me about each project,...
Also Read: Fine Brothers Entertainment Expands Its Long-Form Slate (Exclusive)
TheWrap: Fbe just added four new TV projects to its development slate, which of these projects excites you the most and why?
Brandie Tucker: I hate to give the obvious answer, but there truly is something that uniquely excites me about each project,...
- 10/18/2018
- by Matt Lopez
- The Wrap
The Real World is heading to Facebook after MTV and Bunim-Murray Productions struck a deal with the social media giant. The show will launch on Facebook Watch as part of a landmark deal with MTV Studios and the Banijay-owned indie.
This comes after Deadline revealed in June that The Real World was being rebooted for a digital platform.
The commission was announced by Facebook’s Matthew Henick and Paresh Rajwat at Mipcom, where the pair were giving a keynote address. They were joined on stage by Chris McCarthy, President, MTV.
Facebook Watch is launching three seasons of the show, one in the U.S., one in Mexico and one in Thailand. Production is underway for a spring 2019 release.
“The Real World made history as the world’s first original reality show and trailblazing social experiment – and we’re thrilled to reboot the show for today’s audiences – representing and amplifying the real life,...
This comes after Deadline revealed in June that The Real World was being rebooted for a digital platform.
The commission was announced by Facebook’s Matthew Henick and Paresh Rajwat at Mipcom, where the pair were giving a keynote address. They were joined on stage by Chris McCarthy, President, MTV.
Facebook Watch is launching three seasons of the show, one in the U.S., one in Mexico and one in Thailand. Production is underway for a spring 2019 release.
“The Real World made history as the world’s first original reality show and trailblazing social experiment – and we’re thrilled to reboot the show for today’s audiences – representing and amplifying the real life,...
- 10/17/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
“The Real World” is headed to Facebook.
The groundbreaking reality series will be revived at the social media company with three new seasons in the U.S., Mexico and Thailand. The “re-imagined” version of the show, now titled “MTV’s The Real World” is set to debut in spring 2019.
Original producers Bunim/Murray will return to co-produce alongside the newly created MTV Studios.
Also Read: MTV Launches 'Jersey Shore' YouTube Channel With New Snooki and JWoww Shows (Exclusive)
A pioneer in the reality TV genre back when it first premiered in 1992, “The Real World” ran for 32 seasons with the same basic premise — the true story of seven strangers picked to live in a house to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real — and was hailed for its groundbreaking portrayals of issues like alcohol and drug abuse, race, religion, sexuality and homophobia.
MTV...
The groundbreaking reality series will be revived at the social media company with three new seasons in the U.S., Mexico and Thailand. The “re-imagined” version of the show, now titled “MTV’s The Real World” is set to debut in spring 2019.
Original producers Bunim/Murray will return to co-produce alongside the newly created MTV Studios.
Also Read: MTV Launches 'Jersey Shore' YouTube Channel With New Snooki and JWoww Shows (Exclusive)
A pioneer in the reality TV genre back when it first premiered in 1992, “The Real World” ran for 32 seasons with the same basic premise — the true story of seven strangers picked to live in a house to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real — and was hailed for its groundbreaking portrayals of issues like alcohol and drug abuse, race, religion, sexuality and homophobia.
MTV...
- 10/17/2018
- by Reid Nakamura
- The Wrap
Facebook Watch is about to remind us what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real. The VOD service is teaming up with MTV Studios for a reimagined version of The Real World, the long-running reality series that documents a group of diverse strangers forced to live and work together. In addition to a new season for U.S. audiences, Facebook Watch and MTV Studios are also developing native productions in Thailand and Mexico.
This new Real World will offer multiple interactive opportunities for viewers; not only will fans get to vote on one person to join the house before the season begins,...
This new Real World will offer multiple interactive opportunities for viewers; not only will fans get to vote on one person to join the house before the season begins,...
- 10/17/2018
- TVLine.com
Cannes — Facebook hopes to amp up the Facebook Watch video platform by opening it up to outside content producers and partnering with MTV on a relaunch of “The Real World” for the global social media generation.
Facebook unveiled the “Real World” reboot with MTV Studios and Bunim/Murray Productions as part of a broader overview of its plans for Watch offered Wednesday in a presentation at Mipcom from Matthew Henick, Facebook’s head of content planning and strategy, and Paresh Rajwat, head of video products. MTV president Chris McCarthy was a surprise guest at the session.
As Facebook expands the Watch platform outside the U.S., the company is focused on promoting it as a distribution platform to outside entities, beyond the original programs that Facebook itself licenses for Watch. Content creators and publishers can use Watch to launch shows and share in advertising revenue through Facebook’s Ad Breaks revenue-sharing...
Facebook unveiled the “Real World” reboot with MTV Studios and Bunim/Murray Productions as part of a broader overview of its plans for Watch offered Wednesday in a presentation at Mipcom from Matthew Henick, Facebook’s head of content planning and strategy, and Paresh Rajwat, head of video products. MTV president Chris McCarthy was a surprise guest at the session.
As Facebook expands the Watch platform outside the U.S., the company is focused on promoting it as a distribution platform to outside entities, beyond the original programs that Facebook itself licenses for Watch. Content creators and publishers can use Watch to launch shows and share in advertising revenue through Facebook’s Ad Breaks revenue-sharing...
- 10/17/2018
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Whistle Sports, the digital media company whose investors include NBC Sports and Sky Sports, is launching a new series on Facebook Watch on Tuesday, “Famous Los and Filayyyy Show.”
In the new series, Famous Los and Filayyyy, two Instagram stars with a combined following of more than two million fans, will offer comedic commentary on some of the most viral basketball moments across the game. Special guests will include model Don Benjamin, NBA players Jeremy Pargo and DeVonte Graham and former NFL player Anthony Adams (Spice Adams).
Also Read: Facebook Hack Hit 30 Million Users, Not 50 Million as Originally Believed
“We believe in funny and relatable content that takes a unique approach to traditional sports. Nobody better encapsulates that than Famous Los and Filayyyy, which is why they have resonated so well within the culture of basketball,” said Joe Caporoso, VP of Social Media at Whistle Sports. “We want to bring talent like this new formats,...
In the new series, Famous Los and Filayyyy, two Instagram stars with a combined following of more than two million fans, will offer comedic commentary on some of the most viral basketball moments across the game. Special guests will include model Don Benjamin, NBA players Jeremy Pargo and DeVonte Graham and former NFL player Anthony Adams (Spice Adams).
Also Read: Facebook Hack Hit 30 Million Users, Not 50 Million as Originally Believed
“We believe in funny and relatable content that takes a unique approach to traditional sports. Nobody better encapsulates that than Famous Los and Filayyyy, which is why they have resonated so well within the culture of basketball,” said Joe Caporoso, VP of Social Media at Whistle Sports. “We want to bring talent like this new formats,...
- 10/15/2018
- by Matt Lopez
- The Wrap
The rise of the streamers is being felt on the business side of TV, in the markets where buyers and sellers congregate to trade programming. MipTV in April and Mipcom in October have traditionally been about distributing content territory-by-territory, but the world of TV, and its rights, has changed. That is increasingly evident in Cannes, where the theme this year is “the big shift.”
Laurine Garaude, director of Mipcom organizer Reed Midem’s television division acknowledges the impact of Ott and notes the Cannes markets have reflected that. “It’s been many years since Netflix first came to the show,” she says. All the digital platforms will be in town this year. “They are all present, in different ways,” Garaude says.
Speakers at Mipcom include Gong Yu, founder of Chinese streamer iQiyi, and Jennifer Batty, chief content officer at Southeast Asian Svod service Hooq. Matthew Henick will be talking Facebook Watch.
Laurine Garaude, director of Mipcom organizer Reed Midem’s television division acknowledges the impact of Ott and notes the Cannes markets have reflected that. “It’s been many years since Netflix first came to the show,” she says. All the digital platforms will be in town this year. “They are all present, in different ways,” Garaude says.
Speakers at Mipcom include Gong Yu, founder of Chinese streamer iQiyi, and Jennifer Batty, chief content officer at Southeast Asian Svod service Hooq. Matthew Henick will be talking Facebook Watch.
- 10/10/2018
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Facebook Watch will soon be home to a new unscripted series from Condé Nast Entertainment.
“Risky Biz,” produced by Condé Nast Entertainment and Mak Pictures, is set to premiere on the video platform on Oct. 21. The eight-episode series, which was inspired by an article in The New Yorker, follows Odds On Promotions owner Mark Gilmartin and contest engineers Will Pemble and Joel Ifill as they conceptualize and weigh the odds of someone winning a contest created by their team.
The Odds On Promotions team designs out-of-the-box competitions such as punching ones way out of a paper bag using novelty boxing gloves, climbing up a slippery set of stairs angled at 60-degrees that’s covered in slime in order to open a treasure chest, and picking a $50,000 cash prize hidden in a stuffed toy where the contestant is the human claw suspended 100-feet in the air. The competitions are typically used at sports events’ halftime contests,...
“Risky Biz,” produced by Condé Nast Entertainment and Mak Pictures, is set to premiere on the video platform on Oct. 21. The eight-episode series, which was inspired by an article in The New Yorker, follows Odds On Promotions owner Mark Gilmartin and contest engineers Will Pemble and Joel Ifill as they conceptualize and weigh the odds of someone winning a contest created by their team.
The Odds On Promotions team designs out-of-the-box competitions such as punching ones way out of a paper bag using novelty boxing gloves, climbing up a slippery set of stairs angled at 60-degrees that’s covered in slime in order to open a treasure chest, and picking a $50,000 cash prize hidden in a stuffed toy where the contestant is the human claw suspended 100-feet in the air. The competitions are typically used at sports events’ halftime contests,...
- 10/8/2018
- by Matt Lopez
- The Wrap
Facebook will be on hand at Mipcom, the international TV showcase in Cannes, with two key executives – Matthew Henick, head of content, planning and strategy, and Paresh Rajwat, director of video – set to deliver keynote addresses at the event.
A Production Funding Forum will be launched to connect creators, producers and financiers around selected projects. Participants will brainstorm about current topics such as the impact of blockchain on the business.
With Issa Rae as its Personality of the Year, Mipcom will also aim at shining a light on diversity and women in the industry during its next edition.
“The big shift” will be the running theme of this Mipcom to “reflect the global movement towards equality behind and in front of the camera,” said Reed Midem, which organizes Mipcom and MipTV.
Rae, who is the creator, producer and star of HBO’s “Insecure,” will be honored during a gala dinner...
A Production Funding Forum will be launched to connect creators, producers and financiers around selected projects. Participants will brainstorm about current topics such as the impact of blockchain on the business.
With Issa Rae as its Personality of the Year, Mipcom will also aim at shining a light on diversity and women in the industry during its next edition.
“The big shift” will be the running theme of this Mipcom to “reflect the global movement towards equality behind and in front of the camera,” said Reed Midem, which organizes Mipcom and MipTV.
Rae, who is the creator, producer and star of HBO’s “Insecure,” will be honored during a gala dinner...
- 9/18/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Facebook has announced the international rollout of Facebook Watch, its video destination for episodic content, which first launched in the U.S. a year ago this month. The social media giant said Wednesday that the VOD service would be “available everywhere” from Thursday, giving publishers and content creators a worldwide market for their videos.
“With the global launch of Watch, we are supporting publishers and creators globally in two critical areas: helping them to make money from their videos on Facebook and better understand how their content is performing,” the company said in a statement.
Watch launched in the U.S. in August 2017 with the goal of offering users a place on Facebook to discover shows and video creators and to start conversations with friends, other fans and even the creators themselves. The company said that, since the launch, it had made the experience more social, including making it easier...
“With the global launch of Watch, we are supporting publishers and creators globally in two critical areas: helping them to make money from their videos on Facebook and better understand how their content is performing,” the company said in a statement.
Watch launched in the U.S. in August 2017 with the goal of offering users a place on Facebook to discover shows and video creators and to start conversations with friends, other fans and even the creators themselves. The company said that, since the launch, it had made the experience more social, including making it easier...
- 8/29/2018
- by Robert Mitchell
- Variety Film + TV
For the second time this year, a notable BuzzFeed exec is taking a position at Facebook. Michelle Kempner, who previously served as the VP of Operations at BuzzFeed Entertainment Group, has been hired by the social media giant to work with creators.
Kempner role, as noted by Variety, will involve "video products that foster communities." In her position, she will work with individual creators. Facebook is currently attempting to woo digital videomakers away from platforms like YouTube by offering them a strong set of tools. Last month, for example, it announced a branded content marketplace and an expansion of its ad breaks program in order to present more monetization options to creators.
While at BuzzFeed, Kempner helped develop several iconic brands, including the wildly-successful food destination Tasty. By departing the viral media company for Facebook, Kempner is making the same move Matthew Henick made earlier this year.
Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.
Kempner role, as noted by Variety, will involve "video products that foster communities." In her position, she will work with individual creators. Facebook is currently attempting to woo digital videomakers away from platforms like YouTube by offering them a strong set of tools. Last month, for example, it announced a branded content marketplace and an expansion of its ad breaks program in order to present more monetization options to creators.
While at BuzzFeed, Kempner helped develop several iconic brands, including the wildly-successful food destination Tasty. By departing the viral media company for Facebook, Kempner is making the same move Matthew Henick made earlier this year.
Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.
- 7/19/2018
- by Sam Gutelle
- Tubefilter.com
BuzzFeed’s video and entertainment group is seeing another high-level departure: Michelle Kempner, VP of operations for BuzzFeed Entertainment Group, is leaving the company to take a role at Facebook.
Kempner is joining Facebook as a leader on the product marketing team, focusing on video products that foster communities. She also will be supporting Facebook’s outreach and support for individual creators.
A four-and-a-half-year veteran of BuzzFeed, Kempner has been responsible for operations across BuzzFeed Entertainment, including social media, analytics, production, post-production, studio, and research operations worldwide. She’s helped launch properties including Tasty, Nifty and Goodful, and headed up strategy for how to replicate BuzzFeed’s most successful content across different channels and countries.
“We’re grateful to Michelle for her many fantastic contributions to BuzzFeed, and we wish her the very best,” a company rep said. BuzzFeed currently does not plan to replace her position.
In January, BuzzFeed reorganized its entertainment group,...
Kempner is joining Facebook as a leader on the product marketing team, focusing on video products that foster communities. She also will be supporting Facebook’s outreach and support for individual creators.
A four-and-a-half-year veteran of BuzzFeed, Kempner has been responsible for operations across BuzzFeed Entertainment, including social media, analytics, production, post-production, studio, and research operations worldwide. She’s helped launch properties including Tasty, Nifty and Goodful, and headed up strategy for how to replicate BuzzFeed’s most successful content across different channels and countries.
“We’re grateful to Michelle for her many fantastic contributions to BuzzFeed, and we wish her the very best,” a company rep said. BuzzFeed currently does not plan to replace her position.
In January, BuzzFeed reorganized its entertainment group,...
- 7/19/2018
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
BuzzFeed, looking to put itself into a better position to hit its revenue targets, is making another sizable revamp to its advertising team.
The New York-based digital media company is letting go about 20 employees in the ad division, a spokesman confirmed. At the same time, it plans to hire people for 45 new positions.
BuzzFeed chief revenue officer Lee Brown announced the changes in a memo to staff Thursday. The reorg was first reported by Recode.
“BuzzFeed is taking steps to further strengthen its advertising team and support its diversifying revenue mix, including opening more than 45 new positions across Creative, Programmatic, Business Development, and other growth areas,” the company said in a statement. “Unfortunately, these changes will result in a handful of positions being eliminated. We thank our outgoing colleagues for their contributions to BuzzFeed and wish them the best of luck.”
The move comes after BuzzFeed pink-slipped 100 staffers in November,...
The New York-based digital media company is letting go about 20 employees in the ad division, a spokesman confirmed. At the same time, it plans to hire people for 45 new positions.
BuzzFeed chief revenue officer Lee Brown announced the changes in a memo to staff Thursday. The reorg was first reported by Recode.
“BuzzFeed is taking steps to further strengthen its advertising team and support its diversifying revenue mix, including opening more than 45 new positions across Creative, Programmatic, Business Development, and other growth areas,” the company said in a statement. “Unfortunately, these changes will result in a handful of positions being eliminated. We thank our outgoing colleagues for their contributions to BuzzFeed and wish them the best of luck.”
The move comes after BuzzFeed pink-slipped 100 staffers in November,...
- 6/7/2018
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
BuzzFeed Studios, BuzzFeed's video production arm that develops TV projects, feature films, and digital series for third-party distributors as well as its own channels, has a brand new leader.
MTV and Vice veteran Lauren Dolgen has been named head of BuzzFeed Studios following the departure of Matthew Henick in March. (Henick was tapped to lead global video content strategy and planning at Facebook). Formerly, BuzzFeed Studios was called BuzzFeed Motion Pictures -- though the division was renamed following a company-wide restructuring amid roughly 100 layoffs last November.
Dolgen, who will be based in Los Angeles and report directly to BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti, will be tasked with overseeing and developing content that draws from BuzzFeed’s other divisions, including BuzzFeed News and BuzzFeed Media Brands, which comprises standalone verticals like Tasty and Nifty. “Lauren’s fun, irreverent sensibility, her great eye for talent, and her obsession with pop...
MTV and Vice veteran Lauren Dolgen has been named head of BuzzFeed Studios following the departure of Matthew Henick in March. (Henick was tapped to lead global video content strategy and planning at Facebook). Formerly, BuzzFeed Studios was called BuzzFeed Motion Pictures -- though the division was renamed following a company-wide restructuring amid roughly 100 layoffs last November.
Dolgen, who will be based in Los Angeles and report directly to BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti, will be tasked with overseeing and developing content that draws from BuzzFeed’s other divisions, including BuzzFeed News and BuzzFeed Media Brands, which comprises standalone verticals like Tasty and Nifty. “Lauren’s fun, irreverent sensibility, her great eye for talent, and her obsession with pop...
- 5/7/2018
- by Geoff Weiss
- Tubefilter.com
BuzzFeed announced today that Lauren Dolgen will head BuzzFeed Studios. The MTV veteran replaces Matthew Henick, who left BuzzFeed in March for a position at Facebook.
Dolgen has over 20 years of experience, working for MTV and Viceland. As Head of BuzzFeed studios, she will oversee development of original productions for BuzzFeed partners across TV, Svod, and film, as well as the company’s growing slate of original digital series, which is the fastest-growing driver of revenue for the popular online media company. Current productions at global digital media company include the live morning show Am to Dm for Twitter and the dating series RelationShipped fro Facebook. This also includes Follow This, BuzzFeed News’ latest venture for Netflix as well as Brother Orange, a feature film in development with Warner Bros.
In addition, she will be responsible for creating and developing series concepts drawing from IP and talent from BuzzFeed. This...
Dolgen has over 20 years of experience, working for MTV and Viceland. As Head of BuzzFeed studios, she will oversee development of original productions for BuzzFeed partners across TV, Svod, and film, as well as the company’s growing slate of original digital series, which is the fastest-growing driver of revenue for the popular online media company. Current productions at global digital media company include the live morning show Am to Dm for Twitter and the dating series RelationShipped fro Facebook. This also includes Follow This, BuzzFeed News’ latest venture for Netflix as well as Brother Orange, a feature film in development with Warner Bros.
In addition, she will be responsible for creating and developing series concepts drawing from IP and talent from BuzzFeed. This...
- 5/7/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Lauren Dolgen, the veteran MTV producer who had a strong hand in that network’s “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant” franchises, will join Buzzfeed as head of its BuzzFeed Studios, and will oversee the company’s slate of original content.
Dolgen, who recently was head of West Coast development for the Viceland cable network, will supervise original productions for TV, video-on-demand, film and digital, drawing from intellectual property found in BuzzFeed News and other parts of the digital-content company. She will be based in Los Angeles and report to Jonah Peretti, the company’s founder and CEO>
She joins after the early-March departure of Matthew Henick, who left a job overseeing BuzzFeed’s efforts to make TV shows and films for a similar role at Facebook.
“Lauren’s fun, irreverent sensibility, her great eye for talent, and her obsession with pop culture
make her the perfect fit for BuzzFeed,...
Dolgen, who recently was head of West Coast development for the Viceland cable network, will supervise original productions for TV, video-on-demand, film and digital, drawing from intellectual property found in BuzzFeed News and other parts of the digital-content company. She will be based in Los Angeles and report to Jonah Peretti, the company’s founder and CEO>
She joins after the early-March departure of Matthew Henick, who left a job overseeing BuzzFeed’s efforts to make TV shows and films for a similar role at Facebook.
“Lauren’s fun, irreverent sensibility, her great eye for talent, and her obsession with pop culture
make her the perfect fit for BuzzFeed,...
- 5/7/2018
- by Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
’Smartphones are not little televisions,’ new head of content strategy and planning tells Miptv.
Facebook’s head of content strategy and planning Matthew Henick heralded a new era of “social entertainment” as smartphone ownership and social network engagement proliferate, in a keynote speech at Miptv on Monday (April 9).
Henick, who has just moved to Facebook from his role as head of Los Angeles-based BuzzFeed Studios, said it was time to stop viewing smartphones and other smart devices as an extension, or smaller more portable versions, of the TV screen.
“Smartphones are not little televisions,” he told assembled industry in Cannes.
Facebook’s head of content strategy and planning Matthew Henick heralded a new era of “social entertainment” as smartphone ownership and social network engagement proliferate, in a keynote speech at Miptv on Monday (April 9).
Henick, who has just moved to Facebook from his role as head of Los Angeles-based BuzzFeed Studios, said it was time to stop viewing smartphones and other smart devices as an extension, or smaller more portable versions, of the TV screen.
“Smartphones are not little televisions,” he told assembled industry in Cannes.
- 4/9/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
’Smartphones are not little televisions,’ new head of content strategy and planning tells Miptv.
Facebook’s head of content strategy and planning Matthew Henick heralded a new era of “social entertainment” as smartphone ownership and social network engagement proliferate, in a keynote speech at Miptv on Monday (April 9).
Henick, who has just moved to Facebook from his role as head of Los Angeles-based BuzzFeed Studios, said it was time to stop viewing smartphones and other smart devices as an extension, or smaller more portable versions, of the TV screen.
“Smartphones are not little televisions,” he told assembled industry in Cannes.
Facebook’s head of content strategy and planning Matthew Henick heralded a new era of “social entertainment” as smartphone ownership and social network engagement proliferate, in a keynote speech at Miptv on Monday (April 9).
Henick, who has just moved to Facebook from his role as head of Los Angeles-based BuzzFeed Studios, said it was time to stop viewing smartphones and other smart devices as an extension, or smaller more portable versions, of the TV screen.
“Smartphones are not little televisions,” he told assembled industry in Cannes.
- 4/9/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
’Smartphones are not little televisions,’ new head of content strategy and planning tells Miptv.
Facebook’s head of content strategy and planning Matthew Henick heralded a new era of “social entertainment” as smartphone ownership and social network engagement proliferate, in a keynote speech at Miptv on Monday (April 9).
Henick, who has just moved to Facebook from his role as head of Los Angeles-based BuzzFeed Studios, said it was time to stop viewing smartphones and other smart devices as an extension, or smaller more portable versions, of the TV screen.
“Smartphones are not little televisions,” he told assembled industry in Cannes.
Facebook’s head of content strategy and planning Matthew Henick heralded a new era of “social entertainment” as smartphone ownership and social network engagement proliferate, in a keynote speech at Miptv on Monday (April 9).
Henick, who has just moved to Facebook from his role as head of Los Angeles-based BuzzFeed Studios, said it was time to stop viewing smartphones and other smart devices as an extension, or smaller more portable versions, of the TV screen.
“Smartphones are not little televisions,” he told assembled industry in Cannes.
- 4/9/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Facebook is beefing up its video division with two top-tier hires. The social network has tapped Matthew Henick, former head of BuzzFeed Studios, to lead global video content strategy and planning, and Mike Bidgoli, a former Pinterest exec, to serve as product lead for its episodic video hub, Watch.
Henick (pictured above, left) was the driving force behind BuzzFeed’s expansion into TV and film, including a still-in-the-works Warner Bros. feature called Brother Orange and a true crime series at Oxygen -- both of which were based on BuzzFeed reporting, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Henick, who will now helm Facebook's greater video vision across Newsfeed as well as Watch, formerly served as head of development at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures -- though that division was renamed BuzzFeed Studios following a company-wide restructuring last month amid missed revenue goals.
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Henick (pictured above, left) was the driving force behind BuzzFeed’s expansion into TV and film, including a still-in-the-works Warner Bros. feature called Brother Orange and a true crime series at Oxygen -- both of which were based on BuzzFeed reporting, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Henick, who will now helm Facebook's greater video vision across Newsfeed as well as Watch, formerly served as head of development at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures -- though that division was renamed BuzzFeed Studios following a company-wide restructuring last month amid missed revenue goals.
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- 3/6/2018
- by Geoff Weiss
- Tubefilter.com
Depending on how deep your knowledge of the Internet goes, Brother Orange is either a viral phenomenon that passed you by or an international yarn that you hold near and dear.
Warner Bros. and BuzzFeed will be hoping it’s the latter, as the studios are teaming for a big-screen rendition of the story that involves a stolen iPhone, selfies, iCloud feeds and orange trees. It may not be as iconic as say, Nyan Cat, but both parties are evidently invested in Brother Orange, with The Hollywood Reporter bringing word today that Jim Parsons, star of The Big Bang Theory, has climbed aboard for a key role.
He’ll play Matt Stopera, whose titular BuzzFeed article about a stolen iPhone spawned the Brother Orange meme we know today. Two years ago, Stopera had his mobile phone stolen, only to find that it had inexplicably made its way to China, where...
Warner Bros. and BuzzFeed will be hoping it’s the latter, as the studios are teaming for a big-screen rendition of the story that involves a stolen iPhone, selfies, iCloud feeds and orange trees. It may not be as iconic as say, Nyan Cat, but both parties are evidently invested in Brother Orange, with The Hollywood Reporter bringing word today that Jim Parsons, star of The Big Bang Theory, has climbed aboard for a key role.
He’ll play Matt Stopera, whose titular BuzzFeed article about a stolen iPhone spawned the Brother Orange meme we know today. Two years ago, Stopera had his mobile phone stolen, only to find that it had inexplicably made its way to China, where...
- 11/14/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons is set to topline Brother Orange, Warner Bros. and BuzzFeed Motion Pictures’ big-screen telling of the internet phenomenon, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Parsons will also produce with Todd Spiewak through the duo's That's Wonderful Productions banner, joining producers Michael Shamberg and Matthew Henick, head of development at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. Parsons will play BuzzFeed editor Matt Stopera, who in 2014 had his iPhone stolen. Unbeknownst to him, the cellphone made its way to China and, a year later, random pictures began appearing on his photo stream, including a number of pictures
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- 11/14/2016
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
If a company gets big enough, it will eventually start making movies — just ask WWE, Amazon and now BuzzFeed. Warner Bros. is partnering with the website to develop “Brother Orange,” a dramatization of an incident involving BuzzFeed editor Matt Stopera that began when his iPhone was stolen and turned him into a celebrity in China. “Broad City” co-creator Ilana Glazer and Ellen DeGeneres will co-executive produce along with Stopera and Jeff Kleeman.
Read More: Abbi Jacobson & Ilana Glazer on Their Favorite Comedic Performances on ‘Broad City’ & Beyond (Consider This)
Over the course of more than a year, Stopera’s phone made its way across the continent and eventually to China, where photos of the eponymous man (real name Li Hongjun) started flooding his photo stream. After several stories on the bizarre incident, which went viral both domestically and in China, the two met up, became friends and appeared on “Ellen” together.
Read More: Abbi Jacobson & Ilana Glazer on Their Favorite Comedic Performances on ‘Broad City’ & Beyond (Consider This)
Over the course of more than a year, Stopera’s phone made its way across the continent and eventually to China, where photos of the eponymous man (real name Li Hongjun) started flooding his photo stream. After several stories on the bizarre incident, which went viral both domestically and in China, the two met up, became friends and appeared on “Ellen” together.
- 7/11/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Brother Orange, an international story of friendship and a bona fide online phenomenon, is getting the big screen treatment.
The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop, confirming that Warner Bros. and BuzzFeed are joining forces for the feature, which is based on Matt Stopera’s titular BuzzFeed article about a stolen iPhone that spawned a worldwide search for selfies, iCloud feeds and orange trees.
The story goes that, two years ago, Stopera’s mobile was stolen at a New York bar, leading the writer and DJ to trace the digital footprints of a mysterious thief all the way to China. It didn’t take long before the globetrotting search went viral – such is the Internet way – leading to spike of 20 million views in only 24 hours.
Fast forward to the point where Stopera was united with the Chinese man, who he aptly dubbed Brother Orange due to his tendency for taking selfies beside fruit trees,...
The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop, confirming that Warner Bros. and BuzzFeed are joining forces for the feature, which is based on Matt Stopera’s titular BuzzFeed article about a stolen iPhone that spawned a worldwide search for selfies, iCloud feeds and orange trees.
The story goes that, two years ago, Stopera’s mobile was stolen at a New York bar, leading the writer and DJ to trace the digital footprints of a mysterious thief all the way to China. It didn’t take long before the globetrotting search went viral – such is the Internet way – leading to spike of 20 million views in only 24 hours.
Fast forward to the point where Stopera was united with the Chinese man, who he aptly dubbed Brother Orange due to his tendency for taking selfies beside fruit trees,...
- 7/11/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
The Execs Amy Emmerich (Refinery29) David Grant (PopSugar) Chad Gutstein (Machinima) Matthew Henick (BuzzFeed) Courtney Holt (Maker Studios) Stephanie Horbaczewski (StyleHaul) Reza Izad (Studio71) Jimmy Maymann (AOL) Martha Nelson (Yahoo) Dawn Ostroff (Conde Nast) Keith Richman (Defy Media) George Strompolos (Fullscreen) John West (Whistle Sports) Troy Young (Hearst Magazines) At The End Of Newfronts, The Headline Should Read … Emmerich Live and Snapchat and Vr, Oh My! Grant Five Years In: Are the NewFronts More Like an Auto Show or a TV Upfront, and Does It Matter? Henick We'll All Work for Ellen One Day Holt Digital Companies Take Evolved Approach to Solving
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- 5/12/2016
- by Natalie Jarvey
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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