• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, September 14, 2007

To deliver on its promise of highly engaging, professionally produced programming, MySpace has signed Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the creators of "My So-Called Life" and "thirtysomething," to produce a new series--exclusively, at first--for MySpaceTV.

The Emmy-winning producers have agreed to create 36 eight-minute episodes of a series titled "quarterlife," which will debut Nov. 11 on MySpaceTV.com, and focuses on six creative 20-somethings with tendencies toward highly revealing video blogging.

The deal represents an ongoing effort by MySpace--still the most popular social networking site online--to attract more ad dollars with sponsor-friendly programming.

"What MySpace has to deal with right now is a ton of inventory that advertisers don't find very useful," said JupiterResearch analyst Emily Riley in reference to the site's sea of member pages.

To foster the sort of inventory that any brand would love to sponsor, MySpace this summer launched MySpaceTV as a platform for longer-form and professionally produced content. Shortly after, it released the first episodes of "Afterworld," an original Web series produced by Santa Monica-based Electric Farm Entertainment.

Also, just this week, MySpace reached a deal to carry content from My Damn Channel, the digital production studio just launched by former MTV and CBS Radio executive Rob Barnett. My Damn Channel is getting its own branded channel on MySpace and MySpaceTV, featuring original work from comedians like Andy Milonakis and Harry Shearer, filmmaker David Wain and music producer Don Was.

Yet, MySpace appears to be fighting an uphill battle in its effort to change the way consumers use its site. According to Jupiter, while about a third of all Web users seek out social sites, only 2.8% of that third go to view professionally produced videos.

"The experience is still largely about communication," said Riley.

Indeed, despite a $3 million budget, Afterworld has yet to surpass 500,000 views on MySpace. That stands in stark contrast to the more than 8 million views of "Prom Queen," which is produced by former Walt Disney head Michael Eisner's Tornante Co.

Still, online video remains a hot business. Three out of every four U.S. Web users viewed online clips in July, according to comScore, while they averaged three hours of viewing during the month.

Including YouTube streams, Google dominated the field with 2.5 billion in July, followed by Yahoo with 390 million streams, and MySpace parent Fox Interactive Media with 298 million streams that month.

MySpace is not unwise to be using its platform as an entertainment hub, added Riley, as its highly connected community is fertile ground for a show's popularity to spread like wildfire.

"If they do find the right content for their audience, it would probably spread very quickly."