Adweek May 2, 2016

In pulling together our annual Video Issue this year, which we publish on the first day of the fifth annual Digital Content NewFronts, I had to gut check our coverage plan several times as news hit during the weeks just before deadline that altered and elevated digital video’s place in the media and marketing landscape. Facebook, for example, continues to shape the future. Video is definitely a priority for the social giant, and Facebook Live video content is being created by a wide array of publishers, including Adweek, and viewed there at growing pace and volume. And at its F8 conference earlier this month, Facebook dropped a considerable amount of new innovation into the marketplace that will have a material effect on video and pretty much every modern media form.…

When NBCUniversal announced last week it will acquire DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion, the deal was mostly perceived as a play by NBCU’s parent Comcast to rival media giant Disney’s film and video interests. Disney, which owns both Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm as well as broadcaster ABC, is also in the short-form, millennial-focused multichannel network space with Maker Studios. Now, NBCU will be, too. Under the terms of the proposed deal, DreamWorks Animation will separate its controlling interests in MCN AwesomenessTV and tech company Nova into a new group called DreamWorks New Media, which will be chaired by DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. The move puts NBCU in business with Verizon and Hearst. Each owns a 24.5 percent stake in AwesomenessTV, which produces and distributes videos aimed at preteens and millennials.…

‘We see VR as potential to own an interesting conversation.’ Amy Emmerich, chief content officer, Refinery29 Since its inception in 2012, Digital Content NewFronts presentations have been all about convincing marketers to double down on digital video. But this year’s extravaganza seeks to raise the bar, with publishers adding more sophisticated virtual reality and 360-degree storytelling into the mix. For the last 18 months, publishers have toyed with Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard to produce immersive, visual storytelling. It was purely experimental. But with Facebook and YouTube building 360-degree videos into their platforms and with headsets like Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear available to consumers, heavy hitters such as The New York Times, AOL and PopSugar are betting that brands are ready now to get on board. “In many of…

‘We now have the opportunity to really make this the new standard.’ Alex Debelov, CEO, Virool Not so long ago, it was taboo to turn horizontal video on its head, as marketers grappled with doing more for mobile than merely refitting TV spots for smaller screens. But today, vertical video, once seen as a Snapchat anomaly, is gaining traction and providing publishers and advertisers with perhaps another way to win over the ever-growing mobile audience—with some 163.7 million Americans owning smartphones by the end of this year, per eMarketer. Virool, a programmatic video distribution company, is planning a vertical video ad unit called Vertical Reveal. Using a portion of the $12 million in venture capital it recently raised, the San Francisco-based firm is betting on a format that, as Virool…

With marketers and media buyers putting social stars PewDiePie, Lilly Singh and Logan Paul into heavy rotation, multichannel networks now are incubating the next wave of talent through a host of development programs such as Maker Studios’ Spark initiative, which is funding some 30 different creator projects. The bonus in doing so, say buyers, is having greater control over emerging brands. “When you go really big, you have less creative control,” explained David Lang, president, Mindshare Content+Entertainment. “When you work with up-and-coming influencers, they may have less followers, and they still make it on their own, but the brand may have a little bit more creative input.” Lang believes brands should be working with lesser-known as well as more-established influencers to give them more well-rounded campaigns, and many networks are…

JeromeASF / MCN: Machinima Main platform: YouTube / Followers: 4.04 million Minecraft gamer Jerome Aceti, aka JeromeASF, created the web series The Bacca Chronicles for Machinima, which follows a security force tasked with maintaining fair play and justice on a Minecraft server. Lele Pons / MCN: AwesomenessTV Main platform: Vine / Followers: 10.9 million The Venezuelan-born Vine star has a huge following with her comedic videos that feature jokes on her friends, her family and even herself, with posts like “How clothes look on Mannequins vs. on me.” She recently launched her YouTube page, which amassed 50,000 subscribers in its first day. King Keraun / MCN: Maker Studios Main platform: Instagram / Followers: 1.5 million A former felon for robbery and credit card fraud, Keraun Harris gained his 1.5 million…