Turner To Launch Direct-To-Consumer Digital Platform With Jenna Lyons

WarnerMedia’s Turner division will launch a new venture in partnership with former J. Crew president and creative director Jenna Lyons. The unnamed venture will include a direct-to-consumer offering that spans content and commerce, with daily online content and a weekly unscripted lifestyle TV program.

The venture will launch in 2019 and expand into “a full-fledged digital platform in 2020,” Turner says.

The unscripted program will include Lyons sharing “her curatorial perspective,” bridging the gap between content and commerce, although Turner has not revealed any details.

T-commerce is a hot topic in the connected TV space, with a number of companies developing technologies to allow frictionless purchasing of goods that appear on programming viewed through smart TVs or connected TV devices.

Some online programs allow for instant purchasing of merchandise or goods, such as movie and concert tickets. (YouTube is in the midst of expanding its capabilities in this space, but nascent in the connected TV space.)

Lyons, with her fashion and style background, could use her Turner platform as a proving ground for T-commerce concepts. Lyons and Turner will work with marketing agency Observatory to consult on brand relationships and the “content-meets-commerce” side of the business.

 “I want to build a story-driven, comprehensive resource for anyone to satisfy their personal style and help make aesthetic choices,” Lyons stated, when announcing the deal. “We will bring that together with real-time entertainment with Kevin Reilly and the team at Turner," she noted, applauding the company's "open-minded approach to thinking about commerce across multiple platforms.”

Next story loading loading..