Disney and YouTube Partner to Produce Original Web Series Caleb Hamilton, November 8, 2011November 8, 2011 The Walt Disney Company and YouTube recently inked a multi-million dollar deal that seems to play on both company’s weaknesses. Disney is having trouble attracting young people looking for video content to their website, whereas YouTube is not “kid-friendly” in the eyes of some parents. Will this new deal work out for the two media companies?Disney Interactive Media and YouTube will spend a combined $10 million to $15 million on new, original web series. Disney plans to base the first series on its popular puzzle app Where’s My Water, featuring an alligator named Swampy. The videos will be distributed on a co-branded channel on Disney’s website and YouTube. Disney is currently prepping an overhaul of its website to correspond with the deal. This channel will also pull amateur video from content uploaded to YouTube on a daily basis.Disney Interactive co-president, James A. Pitaro had this to say about the new partnership:“It’s imperative to go where our audience is. [The idea is to] bring Disney’s legacy of storytelling to a new generation of families and Disney enthusiasts on the platforms they prefer.”Disney Interactive has been losing money over the last four quarters, so the pressure is on Mr. Pitaro to create videos that can be monetized quickly. YouTube also hopes to benefit from this venture by gaining credibility with parents, many of whom don’t like the fact that their children can be subjected to very inappropriate video content.“It’s an acknowledgment that we want to work with the best brands and, yes, we expect this partnership to attract new advertisers,” said Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s global head for content partnershipsMr. Kyncl emphasized that YouTube is solely acting as a distributor and has no plans to get into the production business. Disney will sell advertising inventory and give YouTube part of the revenue. In addition to original content and selected amateur video, Disney will also include video from its television shows.Mr. Pitaro told the New York Times that the Disney-YouTube deal “is a very nice first step. It shows that we’re not thinking small.” He also says that the Disney.com overhaul should be completed by fall 2012.Source: The New York Times Viral Marketing Viral Videos The Walt Disney CompanyViral videoYouTube
AMC Plans Zombie Invasion To Promote “The Walking Dead” October 25, 2010The premiere of AMC’s original series The Walking Dead may not be airing until Halloween night, but Tuesday morning, the zombie invasion begins. AMC and FOX international networks are teaming together to coordinate a stunt invasion during morning rush hour in major cities around the world. The infection starts at… Read More
Social Networks ‘Walking Dead’ Kicks Off Universal Halloween Horror Nights 2014 Maze Reveals June 9, 2014Who says June is too early for Halloween? For many, excitement for Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights starts as soon as the day after the current one ends. Fans begin to speculate what John Murdy (Hollywood’s creative director) and Co. will bring the following October for the whole year in between…. Read More
Fan Made Work Viral Video: The Assassination of Yogi Bear By The Coward Booboo December 13, 2010Devin over at Badass Digest has found a rather strange video. Animator Edmund Earle decided to make an alternate ending to the upcoming Yogi Bear that mirrors the powerful ending of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The result is conversely comical, poignant, and above all,… Read More