nancy-tellem
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Xbox Originals TV to fill the gaps between game launches
Xbox has a place for original television, wedged somewhere between major game releases. Of course, we can't get away with just calling it television - Xbox Entertainment Studios is making "premium television experiences," said president Nancy Tellem, who joined Microsoft in 2012 after heading up CBS. It's the kind of "network that probably none of you watch," she told a group of journalists in San Francisco earlier this month. We must have had the scent of cable cutting about us. We also heard from Jordan Levin, the studio vice president and former CEO of WB Network, where he shepherded shows like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Gilmore Girls." Levin sounded cautious about the first-year slate of Xbox Originals, which will bring a considered mix of original documentaries, reality shows and episodic fiction to Xbox 360 and Xbox One starting in 2014. "We're both not delusional about how tough it's going to be, and how long it's going to take," he said, framing Xbox Originals within the domain of premium cable. "We aspire not to talk down to this audience." Both are certainly sold on the numbers available to them through Xbox: 85 million consoles, 48 million Xbox Live subscribers, hours and hours and hours of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video consumed, and "all the assets of Microsoft at out disposal," Tellem said. These numbers and the "gamer" audience tied to them are the most concrete directive I could discern from this early Xbox Originals showcase. The consumer-facing end of it – the cost, the quality, the distribution – is in progress or just plain wishy-washy. And what's a "premium television experience" anyway?
Microsoft partners with UK studio to produce sci-fi drama 'Humans'
Microsoft is pushing forward on its original television programming initiative by partnering with UK broadcaster Channel 4 and production company Kudos to create a drama series called Humans. The sci-fi drama is an English-language adaptation of Sveriges Television and Matador Film's series Real Humans, and depicts a modern family that lives with a highly-developed robotic servant known as a "Synth." The show will air on the Xbox platform in North America and Channel 4 in the UK in 2015. What's more, Bloomberg recently interviewed Microsoft's President of Entertainment and Digital Media Nancy Tellem about the company's media ambitions on Xbox Live. Tellem said Microsoft's approach to television, which spans multiple genres like sports, animation and feature-length projects, will be "under the banner of Xbox Originals." Tellem also touched on the properties that Microsoft owns, such as Fable, Age of Empires, Gears of War and Forza, noting that "these are the things that frankly if we weren't attached to Microsoft everyone would yearn to have." Tellem is the head of Xbox Entertainment Studios, which set its sights on "interactive TV" in February 2013. One of the company's projects is a live-action show based on the Halo series that has ties to Steven Spielberg, which Tellem assured is still in development. As far as the expansion of the Halo brand is concerned, while no movie based on the property is in sight, a "digital feature" for Halo is expected to launch this year. Additionally, former AMC programming director Ari Mark joined Xbox Entertainment in January to create unscripted video content. [Image: Xbox Entertainment Studios]
Original Xbox programming coming 2014, 'different animal' from Netflix
Microsoft's Nancy Tellem, president of entertainment and digital media - and no relation to Soulja Boy Tell'em, in case you were wondering - hopes to launch the first Xbox original programming early next year, according to Variety. "We're hoping we will be able to put something up in the first quarter, at minimum second quarter," she said at the Variety Dealmakers Breakfast. The process has been slow; Unfortunately, the Nancy Tellem vision for the future of content consumption has been met with hesitation and confusion from Hollywood. "We aren't Netflix, we aren't Amazon," Tellem said. "We're a different animal." Xbox original programming was a large part of the Xbox One reveal event back in May, and included teases of a series based in the Halo universe, produced by Steven Spielberg. Whether that series will be one of the first to come to Xbox next year, Tellem didn't tell.
Microsoft reportedly funding Blake's 7 remake for Xbox Live TV content push
According to the Financial Times, Britain's other blockbuster sci-fi series may finally be remade, thanks to Microsoft's growing interest in television. Blake's 7, the Terry Nation-created show about a band of renegades fighting for survival, is believed to be part of Xbox Live's push for original and exclusive TV content to rival both traditional media and services like Netflix. Persons familiar with the matter have claimed that after cable channel SyFy withdrew its funding, Steve Ballmer and former CBS Chief Nancy Tellem opened up Microsoft's secret checkbook. Naturally, none of the parties are willing to confirm the deal, but that won't stop us humming the classic series' theme for the rest of the day.
Xbox Entertainment Studios working on original 'interactive' TV
Microsoft's new "Xbox Entertainment Studios" in Los Angeles is making a variety of "entertainment" different from what you might expect Microsoft to produce for Xbox: television programming. "Interactive" TV, but TV nonetheless.The studio is spearheaded by president of entertainment and digital media Nancy Tellem, who also oversees live events on Xbox – like the Elections 2012 hub and similar "interactive" presentations for the Grammys and the (upcoming) Oscars. XES will work to create original interactive content for Xbox (and other devices).While the new studio creates programming, Microsoft also plans to add more channels of other companies' programming, to the tune of 40 new TV and entertainment apps this year.
Microsoft: Xbox 360 at 76M sold worldwide, Kinect at 24M
Microsoft has sent out a chest-thumping press release, boasting about new milestones for the Xbox 360, Kinect and Xbox Live. As of now, 76 million Xbox 360 consoles have been purchased worldwide, with a total of 24 million Kinects flailing their way into homes around the globe.The hardware numbers are bolstered by 46 million subscribers on Xbox Live. Microsoft says this new figure represents a 15 percent increase in year-over-year subscribers – both free memberships and premium Gold subscribers are accounted here.In a missive over on Microsoft's website, newly appointed President of Entertainment and Digital Media Nancy Tellem says the company is looking to launch 40 new custom Xbox interactive entertainment apps for 2013. It's quite a sign of the times if we're not counting games as "entertainment apps."
Channeling my inner Liam Neeson in Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2013
Video games are great because they let you do the things you either couldn't do in real life or wouldn't want to do. A guilty pleasure for me has always been the Cabela's line of games, a series focusing on hunting animals in their natural habitats. Through this franchise, I've been able to channel my inner Liam Neeson; a man known for punching wolves in the face.Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2013 let me do something pretty amazing: I got to fight a pride of lions with a shotgun, alone, in the woods. I shot every single one of them and it was pretty intense – though completely the opposite of what I would do in real life if pitted against the horde: run, screaming like a small child.%Gallery-166050%
Microsoft hires CBS executive to make original video content for Xbox
After dismissing its Inside Xbox teams in the US and Europe earlier this year, Microsoft has hired a new exec to oversee the creation of original video content for the Xbox brand. Nancy Tellem will oversee a new LA-based studio responsible for producing the content and report directly to Microsoft Studios corporate VP Phil Spencer.Tellem's last post was with CBS, where she served as entertainment president. Her first goal is to put together a team who will start production on exclusive series for Xbox, content that will reach "a very broad range of consumers," she hopes. "We're going to reach out to a very broad range of consumers. When I first got to CBS we looked at what the core audience was and built from there, and that's just what I'm going to do again."The types of content she'll help produce aren't set in stone right now – it could be long-form content or more short-form independent pieces. "What's so exciting about this opportunity is we're looking at the next iteration of television," Tellem told LA Times. "We're starting from scratch and we'll be looking at linear and interactive content, both longer-form, like television, and shorter form."
Microsoft hires former CBS executive to produce original video content for Xbox
Earlier today, rumors started circulating around the web about Microsoft having hired a former CBS executive to oversee the creation of original video content for the company's famed console. It didn't take long for the whispers to turn into something more concrete, however, as Redmond has now made it official, announcing that Nancy Tellem will be the outfit's Entertainment and Digital Media president. According to Microsoft, Tellem's set to take over a new production studio in Los Angeles, California -- one that's going to be in charge of developing "interactive and linear content for Xbox and other devices." Certainly this could be seen as a smart move from Microsoft in its quest to take over the living room reigns, which would make perfect sense given the Xbox's obvious transition from a simple gaming console to an all-around media hub. You'll find all the official details inside the presser below. [Image Credit: Getty Images / Peter Kramer]
