Commentary

Broad(Band) Appeal

Readers of CosmoGIRL! and Popular Mechanics may not have much in common, but they’ll soon be able to boast their own shows online. Fox TV Studios is pairing with Hearst to develop original digital and TV content based on Hearst properties.

Cosmogirl.com will host a scripted show focusing on three high school friends in their junior year. While professionally produced, some of the plots for the two-to-three-minute clips airing twice weekly will be inspired by viewer e-mails.

For Popular Mechanics, Fox is creating instructional clips featuring hands-on-guys. Both projects are starting up online this year, but could evolve into TV shows.

The programs are among the first steps in Hearst’s plans to build out its broadband offerings. The Fox partnership highlights Web publishers’ interest in producing short-form video, rather than relying on consumer-generated clips.

Should there be crossover appeal between the CosmoGIRL! and Popular Mechanics shows, Fox and Hearst should know: “Beauty and the Geek” has already been taken by the CW Network.

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