Conde Nast Entertainment is launching 175 new digital pilots by the end of 2020, the company announced Tuesday at Digitas’ 9th annuals NewFronts event held in New York. The studio also announced the launch of a new sports channel on YouTube for GQ, and a partnership with Twitter that will see the company live stream coverage of its Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit, WIRED25, and The New Yorker Festival on the platform.
Digital shows coming out of the studio will include Vanity Fair’s “The Great Pretender,” which explores how actors master technical skills to portray the iconic characters they’ve made popular; GQ’s “Grails” designed to appeal to men in search of style tips; Allure’s “Seeing Triple,” a makeup competition show; Wired’s “Mind Magic,” which explores the how and why of optical illusions, and the ways our brains can play tricks on us; and Bon Appétit’s “The World’s Kitchen,” a series hosted by Andy Baraghani, who learns to prepare culinary staples from around the world by visiting iconic local restaurants. The pilots mentioned are expected to launch throughout 2019.
The company is continuing to invest in its ad-supported Bon Appetit OTT service and announced the return of three shows — “It’s Alive: Goin’ Places,” “Bon Appétit’s Baking School” and “Making Perfect” — which will drop on the OTT channel all at once and then be strategically distributed on YouTube. In total, the company is bringing back 50 digital series that will launch across its social media channels, as well as its owned and operated websites.
During its NewFronts presentation, the company announced an expanded version of its Condé Nast Prime ad offering (called Conde Nast Prime Time), which will encompass all new primetime series on all platforms, including YouTube and OTT. The update is intended to make it easier for advertisers to utilize top performing videos that generate more viewership and longer watch times.
Condé Nast digital videos garnered 14 billion digital video views in 2018, with global video views up +16% over 2017, according to the company, which has more than 27 million subscribers to its YouTube channel. The announcement follows a strong year for the company, last year alone its received an Academy Award nomination (for documentary “Joe’s Violin), five Webby wins with 13 nominations and honors, two ASME nominations, as well as a James Beard nomination.
Founded in 1909, the company’s portfolio of media properties includes Vogue, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Self, GQ, The New Yorker, Condé Nast Traveler/Traveller, Allure, AD, Bon Appétit, Wired, W, and Brides. In 2011, the company created Condé Nast Entertainment to develop film, television, and premium digital video programming for the company’s brands.