Yahoo to work with Simon Cowell as it unveils 18 new series as part of digital video push
Yahoo has announced 18 new series in an effort to bolster its digital video presence and attract advertisers.
The new premium content offerings, which were announced at the company’s NewFront presentation in NYC on 27 April (Monday), will run across the site’s live broadcasting, digital magazine, and original programming platforms. They bring Yahoo to a total of 55 series.
Advertisers will have the opportunity to buy video ads on a show, channel, or audience basis.
The upcoming shows include ‘Ultimate DJ’, a global electronic live music competition executive produced by Simon Cowell and ‘The Pursuit’, a scripted comedy series aimed towards millennials that’s being billed as a modern-day ‘Friends.’
At the NewFronts event, Cowell said of his latest music competition endeavor: “We want to respect what’s happening around the world. It’s not about gimmicks, it’s about creativity.”
Other series, including ‘I Am Naomi’ starring executive producer and supermodel Naomi Campbell, will run on Yahoo’s ‘Digital Magazine’ channel along with 13 other new magazine shows including ‘Riding Shotgun with Michelle Rodriguez’ and ‘Thug Kitchen.’
Speaking of Yahoo’s decision to ramp up its digital magazine branch, Kathy Savitt, CMO and head of media, said: “In 2014, we set out to make Yahoo digital magazines the destination for the inner geek in all of us.”
Launched in 2014, its digital magazine categories include ‘Yahoo Style’, ‘Yahoo Movies’, and ‘Yahoo Parenting.’ According to the company, many of the magazine’s current video series reach more than one million views per episode.
Yahoo Live launched last year, and the company said live programming on the site has seen more than 110 million streams. While it will continue its partnership with Live Nation to stream live concerts, it also plans to broadcast other events including the iHeartRadio Ultimate Pool Party and the iHeartRadio Music Festival and Jingle Ball.
Other new live offerings include ‘Everybody’s Business’, a weekly show on Yahoo Finance and ‘Yahoo News Live’ with global news anchor Katie Couric.
Regarding the live news show, Couric spoke to the audience about her excitement: “We’re at the epicenter of delivering great content when you want it and where you want it.”
Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, told the crowd that the company is proud of its transformation into a mobile-first company. She also mentioned the acronym ‘mavens’ – which stands for ‘mobile,’ ‘video,’ ‘native,’ and ‘social,’ as a way to remember the four fastest growing areas of digital advertising.
The company also announced its partnership with Millward Brown Digital, a brand and digital measurement company that will allow marketers to better measure performance of their digital ad campaigns across Yahoo.
