Mashable, one of the web's leading news sites for social media, is teaming up with Dick Clark Productions to push into original video programming, starting with “Dojos,” a show that goes behind the scenes at some of the nation’s fastest-rising tech companies.
Think MTV's "Cribs" for the techie crowd.
Produced by DCP and Tubefilter and distributed by Mashable, the show is part of a larger push into original video by the social media web site.
Mashable, which according to Quantcast has about 9 million monthly unique visitors, will collaborate on and distribute original video through deals likes this and also will syndicate from sites like What’s Trending. (The site claims to have 23 million uniques.)
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“To date, most of our original video has been news and reviews that complements our existing coverage,” Adam Ostrow, Mashable’s SVP for content and executive editor, told TheWrap via email. "'Dojos' is more of a documentary style, fast-paced program that profiles the companies and personalities that Mashable typically writes about on the site."
Dick Clark Productions is a leading television production company, producing the Golden Globe Awards, the American Music Awards and "So You Think You Can Dance."
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Ostrow said Mashable, which has become a go-to site for news about social media and other aspects of the digital world, is developing a few other shows like "Dojos," as well as simpler interview or news-style shows. It already features some of the latter on its website and YouTube channel.
An announcement on the expanded video slate has yet to take place, but it will unveil additional shows and production partners in the coming months.
The productions are funded by sponsors and monetized by brand integrations, but further financial details are not being disclosed.
"Dojos" will detail the “innovative workspaces, enviable perks and unique office culture” of today’s tech companies and startups.” They are still in the process of picking which companies to profile, hoping that more will approach them after the announcement.
“We’re not going to go for the obvious,” Ariel Elazar, VP of digital distribution and brand licensing at DCP, told TheWrap. “We want to have every size company from the titans to the startups.” That should include companies in Los Angeles, northern California, New York, Chicago and Austin.
Based on what Elazar and Ostrow said, each episode of “Dojos” will be three to seven minutes long, and the first season will run for at least 13 episodes. Mashable will provide ancillary content on its website and promote the show on its social media accounts and mobile and tablet apps.
When asked whether the show would air on Mashable's YouTube channel, Ostrow said he anticipated it would but that they are "working out details on distribution beyond Mashable."
Elazar said they considered going to a more traditional distributor – a YouTube, Netflix or Yahoo. Ultimately, Mashable made the most sense.
“When we learned that Mashable was becoming a venue for video as well, we thought this was sort of niche-y programming, and that it was the right fit,” Elazar said.