Monday, June 13, 2011

NEWS: Blip.tv adds YouTube stars

The web series network blip.tv and Collective Digital Studio, the online content unit of entertainment management and production company "The Collective" have linked up to give the online video network distribution rights to some of YouTube's biggest home-grown stars.

This means blip.tv will distribute content from the likes of Fred, The Annoying Orange, FreddieW and iJustine. They all became famous on YouTube and have millions of subscribers. The agreement applies to Collective Digital Studio's entire roster of talent. Blip.tv will control distribution and monetisation of the shows on its own site, YouTube and other online platforms.
"This partnership is one more step in the realisation of our plans to provide creative talent with a 360-degree solution to build their brands in the digital space," said The Collective's CEO and founder Michael Green.

Collective Digital Studio announced also two new online series. One centres on Fred (real name Lucas Cruikshank) and will be made by Rugrats and Wild Thornberries producers Kate Boutilier and Eryk Casemiro. Fred's YouTube channel has 2.24 million subscribers and his videos have received a total of 778 million views. His popularity has already resulted in a spin-off film, which was released last year. The other one will be a new web series by FreddieW creators Freddie Wong and Brandon Laatsch.

Last month, Blip.tv relaunched its website as a consumer-facing destination for original web series. Shows featured on the new site are picked by Blip.tv's editors and organised into 16 categories, including comedy, drama, sports and fashion. Blip.tv said it is on pace to reach 1 billion views per quarter.

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