• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, April 12, 2010

Yahoo Monday announced a new content production deal with Reveille -- the studio behind TV hits including "The Office" and Showtime's "The Tudors" -- and the launch of its first original daily news show, "Who Knew?" with Reveille and sponsor Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.

The new series will focus on little-known and out-of-the-ordinary facts and information behind high-profile news stories and will feature a new 90-second episode each weekday based on the most-clicked story of the day. As sponsor, Toyota will promote the launch of its redesigned Avalon sedan. The effort, geared to young baby boomers, will include branding elements such as "one comforting fact" each week about the car as part of Toyota's campaign featuring the tag line "Comfort Is Back. Travel Avalon Class."

The debut "Who Knew?" episode uses the news peg of the Shroud of Turin going on public display this weekend to provide a breezy, fast-paced video looking at quirky facts surrounding the famous relic. (Who knew formal study of the Shroud was called sindonology?)

The video is bookended by a brief "brought to you by" message for the Avalon and a 15-second post-roll ad for the car. Toyota also has a pair of display units on the right side of the "Who Knew?" page within Yahoo News that lead to interactive landing pages with more information about the new car. One launches a slow-loading video of a slick-haired emcee introducing the Avalon on stage.

The automaker will also sponsor a takeover of the Yahoo home page on April 14 and what it calls a "first-of-its kind" ad execution on the Yahoo News home page in May. The arrangement with Reveille and Toyota is part of Yahoo's broader strategy to step up original branded entertainment across its content properties in collaboration with advertisers and Hollywood talent.

Yahoo and Reveille, for instance, also recently produced "Real Life Makeover" for Wal-Mart on Yahoo Shine, the Web portal's site for women. In January, Yahoo also struck a production deal with Electus, the digital studio started by Reveille founder and former NBC entertainment co-chair Ben Silverman and Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp. No new shows have debuted on Yahoo from that partnership yet.

Last fall, Yahoo struck a deal with WPP's GroupM Entertainment to develop short-form Web series that tightly integrate brand messaging into programming. Yahoo's existing lineup of sponsored programs including "This Week In Music," "The 411 on omg"; and "Daytime in No Time," the spinoff of Yahoo's popular "Primetime in No Time," offering a video recap of the prior evening's TV shows, and "Tech Ticker," which is focused on technology and finance.

Reveille itself is no stranger to digital programming, having entered into a similar partnership in 2006 with Microsoft on "MSN Originals," a branded content initiative that has led to shows including "It's Everybody's Business with Jack and Suzy Welch," sponsored by Microsoft; "The Guy's Manual," featuring ESPN personality Kenny Mayne, sponsored by Grape Nuts; and "Five Minute Office Workout," by Kraft and starring Bob Harper from "The Biggest Loser."

For its part, Yahoo has been pleased with the response to its sponsored Web series and plans to continue expanding its original video production with advertiser backing. Video was the fastest-growing segment of online display advertising last year -- increasing 39% to $1 billion, according to data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers.