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Netflix plans to offer around 700 original titles in 2018
This year, Netflix aims to have around 700 original TV shows and movies on its streaming service, Variety reports. CFO David Wells told an audience at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference today that the company will spend some $8 billion on originals and licensed content this year saying, "Let's continue to add content. It's working. It's driving growth." Among those 700 productions will be around 80 originals made outside of the US, such as the German show Dark.
Apple bolsters its TV unit with more top Sony talent
Seasoned execs from the world of network television are dotted all around video services. Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon have all made big hires from TV land to help boost original programming. And, it seems Apple has been taking notes. Keen to launch its own competitive line-up of exclusive shows, the tech giant is adding yet more execs to its TV unit. The same unit that has $1 billion to play around with for new content. And, that may one day shoot its productions on its very own Hollywood studio lot. You can't accuse Apple of being shy about its ambitions.
Apple sets $1 billion budget for original TV shows
Apple is finally putting its money where its mouth is, setting aside $1 billion to pursue the original programming agenda it's been making so much noise about it recent times. In June, the company poached Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg -- the TV execs behind Breaking Bad and The Crown -- from Sony, noting at the time that it "had exciting plans in store for customers". Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has opened its war chest to make those plans a reality.
Spotify's new series tackles topics like immigration and equality
Spotify's foray into original content began in 2016, with a documentary about the young days of legendary rock band Metallica, followed by a video series on Green Day earlier this year. Now the streaming service is getting ready to launch "I'm with the banned," an in-house initiative that will feature music, videos and a documentary inspired by issues like immigration and LBGTQ equality. The original series brings together artists such as Desiigner, Pusha T, K.Flay and X Ambassadors on six new pieces of music, all created with help from singers, songwriters and producers who are affected by Trump's controversial travel ban.
Facebook bolsters original video ambitions with MTV hire
As rumored a couple of months ago, Facebook is getting serious about making its own original content. The company has now hired a former MTV executive, Mina Lefevre, to be its Head of Development. According to Deadline, she will be leading Facebook's efforts to create scripted and unscripted content -- something she has plenty of experience with. During her time at MTV, as the executive vice president and head of scripted development, LeVre worked on shows like Awkward, Scream and Teen Wolf, to mention a few. It'll be interesting to see what she ends up developing for Facebook, especially as it continues to make a major push into video.
Netflix reportedly spent $40 million on Chris Rock
Chris Rock has had well-known comedy specials on HBO like Bigger and Blacker and Never Scared, but in 2017 when he returns with his first special in eight years, it will be on Netflix. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Deadline, the streaming service outbid others including HBO, Amazon and Hulu for the rights to two specials at a price of $40 million.
Comcast's Watchable streaming app adds new exclusive series
Even cable giant Comcast has to pay attention to internet viewers, and last year it launched an interesting YouTube-like site called Watchable. Packed with content from creators including Buzzfeed and Vice it took aim directly at the very millennials that might not have cable at all, and now Comcast is trying harder to attract those viewers by offering several free new shows that are exclusive to Watchable. Oddly, probably because the site is not called "embeddable," we'll have to show you the trailers for its original programming on YouTube.
Disney Channel to release 12 original short films online
In an effort to better engage with young audiences, Disney Channel is set to release 12 short-form movies online. The original content is part of a new collection called "Free Period," which will hit Disney Channel's website as well as its apps on mobile devices, connected TVs and set-top boxes like the Apple TV. Free Period (also the name of one of the shorts) will have a presence on YouTube too, where movies are rolling out daily now through August 21st. Disney Channel says these short films offer something for every kid, since they include comedy, mystery and more.
Dr. Dre will reportedly star in Apple's first original TV series
Rumors have swirled about Apple building its own TV service for untold months now -- and the company has also been rumored to be creating its own original content, ala Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and basically every other streaming service worth its salt. Now, The Hollywood Reporter says it has details about the first Apple original series. Vital Signs is reportedly a six-episode series starring Apple employee Dr. Dre in a dark, "semi-autobiographical" role.
Amazon's Audible stocks up on original radio programming
Amazon really wants you to listen to its podcast and audio-book service, Audible. And it's hoping to win you over by grabbing comedians like Maria Bamford and folks from the public radio and podcast world for original content, according to Bloomberg. Audible's also looking to fill some 100 jobs around the world (there's a recruiting fair in New Jersey next week), looking for software engineers, designers, lawyers and a slew of writers. In so many words, Jeff Bezos and Co. are working to separate Audible from the myriad other places you can find podcasts and audio books by creating exclusive programming for its a la carte and $14.95 per-month subscription service.
Jay-Z's Tidal music service to offer original TV shows
Under the management of Jay Z, music streaming service Tidal has slowly grown to more than one million subscribers. The company has sought to differentiate itself from the likes of Spotify and Apple Music with a mixture of high-fidelity tracks and exclusive video content, but it now believes that original programming could give it an extra edge over its rivals. Variety reports that Tidal has ordered two new series: Season 2 of New York street drama Money & Violence, which will debut in January, and No Small Talk, a series profiling rising comedians, which hits the streaming service today.
Apple is reportedly planning to make its own original video content
Rumors suggest that Apple is finally ready to introduce new Apple TV hardware next week, but that's not the only part of its new video strategy. According to Variety, Apple is preparing to launch its own original video programming in an effort to compete with Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and the many other tech companies that are making their own movies and TV series. It doesn't sound like this content will be ready to show off next week, though. Variety reports that Apple is having "preliminary conversations" with big players in Hollywood; the company's content lead Eddy Cue is apparently leading the effort.
Snapchat could be the new home of non-destructive journalism
Back in August, Snapchat introduced the Story feature, allowing users to contribute snaps to a live feed for major events like the World Cup. That same month, details of the ephemeral sharing service's news and ad plans feeds also surfaced. Now, Digiday reports that not only will there be news, but the app is aiming to be a bit more ambitious. According to that site, when the newsy Discover feature goes live, it'll include original content from Snapchat on top of the posts from other media outlets (around a dozen, according to previous reports). In recent months, the company has nabbed writers and video producers formerly of MTV, News Corp and The Verge. The app is pushing animations for holiday to users' feed already, but the new project is said to bring videos that are several minutes in length. And what about those ads? The report claims they'll appear as both pre-roll content and Snapchat's usual disappearing messages. While there's not much info on what Discover will look like when it arrives, it seems all that new content will reportedly start to rollout this month.
Netflix's Daredevil TV show will be led by Cabin in The Woods director Drew Goddard
Netflix's slate of original content has been extraordinarily well-received so far, and that's likely related to the people behind the shows. Big names like David Fincher and Kevin Spacey drew people to House of Cards, while the award-winning Orange is the New Black came from Jenji Kohan, the creator of Weeds. A string of collaborations with Marvel will lead off with a new 13-episode Daredevil series in 2015, and now Marvel has announced Drew Goddard will take the helm. He's serving as writer and director of the show's first episode, as well as executive producer and showrunner for the series. Previously he directed and co-wrote (with Joss Whedon) The Cabin in the Woods, and is also credited as a writer for Cloverfield, World War Z, Lost and Alias. The Man Without Fear's big-screen outing didn't go so well and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC has been uneven at best, so we'll see if Goddard can turn things around this time.
Netflix releases trailer for Ricky Gervais' Derek, streaming begins September 12th
A few more of these, and it won't even be news. Netflix is going hard into the original content business, and judging by the outstanding results with House of Cards, we're guessing that it'll be aiming for similar results with a different demographic here. Derek, described as something of a comedy / drama mishmash, is fronted by the affable Ricky Gervais. The show actually aired as Dramedy over on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, so while it's not exactly a Netflix original, it's getting "original treatment." Per usual, the entire season will be available to stream at once on September 12th (overwhelming, we know), and if you're looking to decide just how much time you should set aside, the trailer is embedded after the break.
Netflix renews 'Orange is the New Black' for season two, before season one launches
Netflix is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to building a library of first-run content, tonight announcing it's signed up new series Orange is the New Black for a second season, set for release in 2014. That's particularly notable because unlike Hemlock Grove's renewal last week, this series hasn't even been posted to the streaming site yet. It's not the company's first bold move however, as it signed up for two seasons of House of Cards without seeing anything first, but that had David Fincher and Kevin Spacey attached. This new show is written by Weeds creator Jenji Kohan and follows a woman from Brooklyn sentenced to 15 months in federal prison -- season one debuts July 11th.
Netflix renews Hemlock Grove for a second season
Netflix's first foray into the horror genre seems to have gone well, as the company announced it's renewing Hemlock Grove for a second season. The 10 episode run will debut next year, presumably after fellow Netflix Originals Lilyhammer (later this year) and House of Cards (currently in production) make their second run through the gauntlet. Hemlock Grove didn't receive the same level of critical praise as other series Netflix has premiered, but executive producer Eli Roth called worldwide fan response "phenomenal" and season one "just a warm up." So let us know -- did you enjoy it enough that you're looking for more (and, will presumably hang onto that Netflix subscription)?
Netflix signs up Dreamworks for multiple new original TV series, promises over 300 hours of programming
In what Netflix says is its largest-ever deal for original content, it's announced that Dreamworks Animation will provide "over 300 hours of new programming" based on both existing and incoming movies and franchises. Spanning all the territories where Netflix operates, the first series airs next year, following the previously announced spin-off series for Dreamworks' incoming Turbo movie which debuts in December. Following the movie studio's purchase of Classic Media earlier this year, Netflix also promises new content from a stable of characters that includes Where's Waldo, Caspar and Fat Albert, although it hasn't specified any new series for these just yet. Netflix will also show several Dreamworks Animation features in the coming years as part of their premium pay TV window deal, with The Croods, Turbo, and Mr. Peabody and Sherman all signed-up to appear on the streaming service in the future.
Five Amazon pilots get the green light
Well, it seems that you, the web video watching public, has spoken. Amazon announced today that it has whittled its robust list of pilots down to five titles, thanks to viewers like you. Winners will be turned into series available to users of Amazon Prime Instant Video and Lovefilm later this year and in early 2014. That list includes the John Goodman political comedy Alpha House, the startup-centric Betas and the kids series Annebots, Creative Galaxy and Tumbleleaf. For the full press release and quotes from the folks behind the series being various states of "thrilled," click on through the break.
Netflix's 'Long Term View' lays out predictions for internet vs. traditional TV delivery
Haven't been reading every Netflix quarterly report or listening to each earnings call for the last several years? No problem: you can quickly get caught up on the company's strategy thanks to a "Long Term View" document posted to its investor relations site. Boiling down many of the things executives like Reed Hastings have been saying into a single PDF, it's easier to digest road map of where Netflix thinks this whole online video thing is going. Among other things, it sees the simplicity of its offering -- no ads, no VOD, no-hassle cancellation, access on any screen at any time mobile or TV -- as a main selling point. How to keep customers happy? Make sure that they think of Netflix as the better option for their entertainment time than other possible choices. Hit the source link to dig into it yourself or check below for a breakdown.
