Keeping the focus on fresh content, multimedia entertainment studio Electus has partnered with actor/director duo Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman to launch their podcast show “Hollywood-Babble On This Week” on its new YouTube channel, LOUD. Premiering with a Comic-Con special in mid-July, “Hollywood-Babble” will feature co-hosts Smith and Garman as they highlight a compilation of best-of clips from a new episode of their podcast. Explaining the thinking behind the deal, Drew Buckley, COO and head of digital at Electus, said they wanted to “build on the strengths of both YouTube and traditional television in terms of creating series with high production value that speak directly and intimately to the YouTube community.” The company also announced several additional series that will launch on LOUD in the coming weeks, featuring YouTube personality George Watsky, actor/comedian JB Smoove, MMA stars Rashad Evans and Kenny Florian, jeweler-to-the-stars Ben Baller and TV personality Quddus. Founded in 2009 by former NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman and Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp, Electus has sought to differentiate itself with unique talent content. Largely conceptualized by Silverman (with the help of production studio DiGa), LOUD is expected to house fresh and edgy series featuring celebrities and popular YouTube talent. Last year, Electus acquired Engine Entertainment, with which it formed an in-house global distribution arm named Electus/Engine Distribution to handle worldwide sales for Electus' content, including television, motion picture and digital. At the time of the deal, Electus said the acquisition would not disrupt an existing partnership with Elisabeth Murdoch's Shine Group -- which, according to Electus, would continue to handle international distribution.
Monday, CBS reported that there is a “possibility that some public television and radio stations” could start running political ads. If stations get the OK, they will all have a choice to make: is the risk of turning customers off by running political ads worth the money? John Vrba, senior vice president of US International Media, said, “On TV here [in Los Angeles], we see mostly sponsorships. On radio the same with a few 15-second ‘commercials,’ but no call to action.” Vrba says that the current no-call-to-action rule “seems to restrict spending on public airwaves, along with the 15-second length [of radio ads]. He added, “The Los Angeles DMA probably has more television and radio outlets than any other metro, so there are plenty of commercial places to air political ads.” If local stations are given the OK to run political ads, the rules of the game change. And, based off of Vrba's comments, the Los Angeles market could be heavily affected.
Boost Mobile, the first-ever marquee partner of the WNBA, is launching a new TV spot based on a new campaign entitled "It's All About the W." The ad first airs on June 23, during the Chicago Sky versus Minnesota Lynx game. The motivational ad touts Boost Mobile and the WNBA workiing together to motivate, blaze new trails and challenge conventional thinking. This new spot features in-game footage, with a voiceover talking about inspirational words that begin with "w." It will air during nationally televised WNBA games on ESPN and ESPN2 throughout the season, and the spot will be updated in the upcoming weeks with additional WNBA game footage, per a joint release on the campaign. Boost Mobile right now is the league’s most prominent national marketing partner, with its logo on the front of the game jerseys of 11 WNBA teams, including the Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Seattle Storm, Tulsa Shock, and Washington Mystics. Boost is also the Presenting Partner of the WNBA Playoffs and The 2012 WNBA Performance Awards presented by Boost Mobile. The 2012 WNBA Performance Awards presented by Boost Mobile is a series, currently in its first season, that also includes the WNBA Players of the Month presented by Boost Mobile and four of the WNBA's most prestigious year-end honors: WNBA Most Valuable Player presented by Boost Mobile, WNBA Defensive Player of the Year presented by Boost Mobile, WNBA Sixth Woman presented by Boost Mobile, and WNBA Most Improved Player presented by Boost Mobile. Although Boost Mobile stands alone as Marquee Partner for the 16th season of the women's professional hoops, the league has 18 brands signed on as sponsors at more traditional levels of activation. Among them are Coca-Cola, HP adidas, Bacardi, AmEx, and EA sports. The WNBA last season saw big increases in attendance, sales, sponsorships, and ratings. WNBA games on ESPN2 last year saw a 5% increase in ratings, with the All-Star game getting a nearly 50% increase versus 2009. Web site traffic was up 11% and the league's online streaming page at WNBA.com saw a 55% increase in viewership. WNBA teams added eight marketing partnerships last year, including the deal with Boost.
Online Media Daily reported that Los Angeles' Creative Artists Agency won the Film Grand Prix and the first-ever Branded Content & Entertainment Grand Prix awards during the Cannes Lions awards last week.