First Ever Livestream-to-TV Format Pioneered by Viacom Labs, Greenlit for On-Air Series
October 24 2016 - 12:18PM
Business Wire
MTV Australia to Produce Unprecedented On-Air
Show Integrating Livestream Content from Fans
Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB, VIA) announced today that Viacom Labs, an
incubator for the future of fan experience and engagement, has
pioneered a breakthrough television format that pulls in
livestreams from fans as a curated real time feed running on-air
during a regularly scheduled television show. MTV Australia, the
Labs’ partner in the experiment, will be the first to produce and
launch an original series based on the test. The as yet untitled
show will air on Australia’s 24-hour linear music channel, MTV
Music, and is set to premiere in 2017.
This Smart News Release features multimedia.
View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161024006111/en/
Viacom Labs successfully tested a new
television format allowing fans to co-create a show with their own
livestreams that are curated in real time into an on-air program.
Viacom Labs’ test partner, MTV Australia, has greenlit a show based
on this experiment. (Photo: Business Wire)
The successful experiment in June 2016, which attracted an
audience more than double MTV Music Australia’s average, involved
collaboration from Viacom teams across three continents – the
United States, Europe, and Australia – where production teams and
music fans were invited to livestream themselves dancing to music
videos that aired on MTV Music Australia during the test.
“Viacom Labs’ mission is to constantly evolve how fans connect
to the content they love and give them opportunities to make it
their own,” said Susan Claxton, co-head of Viacom Labs. “Labs’
global livestream-to-tv experiment with our amazing colleagues at
MTV Australia demonstrates what’s possible when we work together to
leverage the dynamics of the social web and the massive scale and
context of linear television.”
Fans were empowered to co-create the show simply by using their
dance moves and a device to livestream. The livestreams, which can
be pulled from most livestreaming platforms once fans include the
designated hashtag, were selected in real time by a show producer
in a control room who viewed them on many screens simultaneously.
The result was an unprecedented storytelling format that makes
linear television more kinetic and interactive than ever as viewers
saw the fan dancing on the screen in a box superimposed on the show
screen.
“By partnering with Viacom Labs, we are developing a truly
innovative and immersive fan experience never seen on television,”
said Simon Bates, Vice President and Head of MTV Asia Pacific.
“Marrying the technology of livestreaming with a linear broadcast
catapults fan engagement into the 21st century and we’re excited to
be the first market to bring the concept to life.”
The livestream test and resulting Australian series news comes
on the heels of the announcement that Kiel Berry joins Viacom Labs
as Co-Head/SVP, sharing that role with Viacom veteran Susan
Claxton, Co-Head of Viacom Labs/SVP. Prior to joining Viacom, Berry
ran Linkin Park’s Machine Shop Ventures, a VC with stakes in Lyft,
Hyperloop One, and Blue Bottle Coffee, among many others. Berry ran
the band’s Machine Shop Entertainment before that, aligning Linkin
Park’s influence and interest across music, technology, content and
design. He also worked at Creative Artists Agency in their
Entertainment Marketing and International Business Development
groups, and began his career working overseas and stateside as an
investment banker at J.P. Morgan after graduating from University
of Pennsylvania.
About Viacom
Viacom is home to premier global media brands that create
compelling television programs, motion pictures, short-form
content, apps, games, consumer products, social media experiences,
and other entertainment content for audiences in 180 countries.
Viacom's media networks, including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central,
MTV, VH1, Spike, BET, CMT, TV Land, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., Channel
5 (UK), Logo, Nicktoons, TeenNick and Paramount Channel, reach over
3.8 billion cumulative television subscribers worldwide. Paramount
Pictures is a major global producer and distributor of filmed
entertainment.
For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit
www.viacom.com. Keep up with Viacom news by following Viacom's blog
at blog.viacom.com and Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/viacom.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161024006111/en/
Press:ViacomLenore Moritz,
212-846-4950Lenore.Moritz@viacom.comorBridget Darcey,
212-846-7398Bridget.Darcey@viacom.com
Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2024 to Oct 2024
Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB)
Historical Stock Chart
From Oct 2023 to Oct 2024