Popular YouTube series like Fred and The Annoying Orange have been limited to being watched through web browsers. Thanks to Flingo, series managed by Collective Digital Studios will soon find their way onto viewers’ connected TV sets, with their own branded line of TV apps.
Blip.tv struck a strategic partnership with The Collective to provide a mix of technology and ad sales for the management firm’s web clients. It’s a big win for Blip.tv, which will now take over distribution and monetization for some of the most popular producers on YouTube.
Justine Ezarik is joining the cast of Spike TV’s rebranded Game Trailers TV on Jan. 27, but don’t worry, iJustine fans — the YouTube star will still be keeping up with her independent video work, even while covering tablets and TVs for the show’s fourth season.
Most of the people who have turned their YouTube accounts into thriving and profitable platforms for their content aren’t known for having much of a serious side. But director Tony E. Valenzuela may be changing that with the dramatic thriller Black Box TV.
Attendees of the inaugural VidCon conference last weekend were largely on the young side, but watching fans interact with their favorite YouTube creators made it clear that entertainment is changing, with audiences expecting a greater level of connection with creators than ever before.
Burger Joint Carl’s Jr. is enlisting video blogger iJustine and eight other YouTube stars to pimp its Portobello Mushroom Six-Dollar Burger, reports AdWeek. Brands hiring YouTube stars to tap into online audiences is nothing new, but as AdWeek writes, it’s not just the video audience Carl’s Jr. is after:
The YouTube stars were chosen not only for their creative flair, but for the networks of followers they can mobilize. Ezarik, for instance, not only has 94,000 subscribers to the iJustine YouTube channel — the nine YouTube celebs combined total 3.8 million subscribers on the site — but also boasts 590,000 followers on Twitter and 25,000 Facebook fans. These networks, in essence, comprise a new kind of media buy.
While we wonder how effective iJustine is at promoting products other than herself, hiring her is a good example of a company thinking beyond just playcounts and approaching the web as an interconnected whole. Watching commercials is no longer a passive experience like it was with oldteevee — both the people hawking the products and the people watching can be active participants in the pitch process.
But Carl’s Jr. is not the first to seek out this social media spokeswoman. Ezarik has also been featured in promotions for Mozy, Sanyo, AT&T and eBillme, among others.
Read More about Carl’s Jr. Buys Into a NewTeeVee Kind of Network
Magnify.net Raises $750K; Innovation Ventures led this Series A1 round for the video publishing company. (Silicon Alley Insider)
AT&T’s Viral Series Not So Viral; Lost in America stars iJustine, but is not attracting lots of eyeballs. (Advertising Age)
Open-Source Movie Lets Fans in on the Action; footage from Jathia’s Wager will be uploaded and fans can edit together their own version of the movie. (io9)
Universal Music Group Hooks Up With Meebo; agreement will deliver ad-supported videos from UMG acts like Kanye West and Ludacris to the online chat platform. (release)
Hulu Adds to HD Gallery; episodes of The Office, 30 Rock and Heroes now streaming in high-definition on the site. (Broadcasting & Cable)
Dori Media Group Taps Kaltura; open-source white-label video service to power Novebox.com, a new social network dedicated to telenovelas. (emailed release)
