web series Articles

A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode or webisode.
While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept itself isn’t entirely new. Scott Zakarin created the first advertiser supported web series in 1995, The Spot.
The rise in popularity of web series can be seen as a result of...

Food Network Executive Jumps To YouTube: A Sign Of Things To Come?

Because YouTube has Google money to spend, the online video destination has an attractive place for people who are already in show business or hope to launch an entertainment career.  Recently, the defection of Food Network's Bruce Seidel to Electus' unnamed new YouTube food channel, ...

The Original Content Wars Have Begun, But They're Bigger Than Hulu Vs. Netflix

For several years consumers have enjoyed streaming premium content services like Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and others. But as more and more television and film content moves online, the owners of the copyrights (typically studios or production companies) have started to see the potential in ...

Zooey Deschanel's HelloGiggles Picks Up Web Series, The Single Life

Last year, Dentyne Gum sponsored a scripted online dating web series called The Single Life.  Starring Taryn Southern (The Temp Life), Jeremy Searle, and "host" Leslie Miles (Final Destination 5, J Edgar), the show is a fictionalized how-to in online dating, complete with Blind Date-esque ...

Blip.TV Founder Says SOPA And PIPA Threaten All Online Video Platforms

I interviewed the founder of the Blip.TV, Charles Hope, who shares his thoughts about why The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is extremely bad for online video platforms and their users, and explains what's really needed is not new laws, but better business innovation.

The Weekly Online Video News Round Up - Web Series Edition

This week's online video news was dominated by web series talk. For instance, we have a retrospective on the BMW web series, The Hire, which was way ahead of its time. We also have some articles about a new Tom Hanks web series, the future ...

International Academy Of Web Television Awards Demonstrate Maturity Of Online Video Industry

While at CES I had the distinct pleasure of attending the inaugural International Academy Of Web Television Awards ceremony that celebrated all things online video and included the likes of Felicia Day, Shari Lazar and Kevin Pollack. It was pretty cool and, to me, demonstrated how far we ...

Yahoo Web Series Roster Expands With Sports Prank Show, Blindsided

Right after Yahoo! announced Tom Hanks' web series, Electric City, another announcement came in that they would be teaming with CollegeHumor to produce a sports prank web series called Blindsided.  It premieres next week.  It will not have a host, so it will probably have ...

Every Brand Will Be A Studio: Philosophical Musings On The Future Of Video

I think I'm going to write an e-book... call it "Drop Out Of College & Learn Video." I had this revelation after an email chain with ReelSEO writer, Chris Atkinson. See, Chris and I are not only co-workers, but we've been friends for more than ...

Mortal Kombat Legacy Is The Web Series Proof Of Concept

We've been sharing some video interviews from my recent trip to the Machinima LA offices, including a tour of the facility and a chat about the company's belief that YouTube is social. I also got a chance to talk with CEO Allen DeBevoise about the Mortal ...

Yahoo! To Distribute Tom Hanks Web Series, Electric City, An Interactive Video Experience

I'm on a plane as I write this, and still working--see how dedicated I am to the cause? Anyway, there's a ton of emails in the inbox already today from CES (which is where I'm headed) and this one caught my eye because it's some ...

Dating Rules From My Future Self: High Concept Comes To Web Series

2011 saw some very interesting science fiction and drama shows hit the web.  Comedy will always rule, but there's definitely room for other genres and those continue to build audiences.  How about combining some very light science fiction to a romantic comedy?  Dating Rules From ...

Major League Baseball To Make Fan Cave A Web Series In 2012

Last year, MLB.com offered a chance for one lucky person to watch all 2,429 regular season games and attend All-Star and postseason games through a contest called MLB Dream Job.  The winner was then sent to New York City and a former Greenwich Village Tower ...

Walking Dead Web Series Tank Zombie Canceled

AMC has been providing great shows for a few years now, with Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead being their calling cards.  But when Walking Dead show-runner Frank Darabont got fired in July, it created some bad blood between people working on the ...

Machinima Releases Exclusive John Woo Web Series 7 Brothers

Machinima and John Woo have teamed to adapt Woo's graphic novel, 7 Brothers, into a web series.  The first four episodes will be exclusively on Machinima, YouTube's top channel.  Written by Garth Ennis (Preacher) and drawn by Jeevan J. Kang (Spider-Man: India), the series is ...

TumTiki Launches TikiGuide’s Video Countdown To Christmas

Last month, Chris Atkinson reported that Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR), one of the nation's largest providers of telecommunications services, was creating TumTiki.  I was getting ready for SES Chicago, so I didn't get a chance to check out the largest online library of premium TV ...