Maker Studios, the MCN and digital studio owned by Disney, has been ratcheting up its efforts lately. Last week came the announcement of its upcoming linear series for History, Crossroads of History. Now the company has announced Maker Studios Spark, a sprawling initiative that will invite digital creators from the likes of YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Vine to pitch concepts that can be funded and developed into cross-platform franchises or new series. Spark has quietly been in operation for the past few months, working with creators including YouTube prankster Magic of Rahat and The Ellen DeGeneres Show alum Sophia Grace. You can watch the inaugural Spark vids, almost all of which went live yesterday, here.
Related Stories
Whoopi Goldberg and cast mates will take The Stand on CBS All Access Dec. 17
The Stand, CBS All Access’ television adaptation of the storied 1978 Stephen King novel, will debut December 17. Starring Whoopi Goldberg, Alexander Skarsgard, James Marsden, Odessa Young, Jovan Adepo and Amber Heard, the limited series unfolds around King’s apocalyptic struggle between good and evil after a plague destroys most of the country. Ben Cavell serves […]
McKinnon lands unprecedented Exotic deal
Get ready cats and kittens. Joe Exotic (working title), UCP’s limited series starring and exec-produced by Kate McKinnon, scored a straight-to-series order by both the NBCU television and streaming divisions. In an unprecedented move, project will roll out across broadcast net NBC, streamer Peacock, and a basic cable net USA. Series is based on the […]
Cat’s meow: Quaid will star in his own animal rescue story
Dennis Quaid is the cat’s meow. He’s partnering with ITV America’s Leftfield Pictures for unscripted TV project Saving Dennis Quaid, which he’ll star in and exec produce. Project documents the animal lover’s recent headline-making pet rescue where he and partner Jimmy Jellinek set out on a mission to adopt a 6-year-old black cat from Lynchburg, […]
Turner Sports Shaq’s up
Big news at Turner Sports, as the company lands a multiyear extension of its partnership with Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq’s expanded role gains the Basketball Hall of Famer more airtime, including on TNT’s Inside the NBA and NBA on TNT, as well as contributions to NBA.com. He also will develop projects throughout the WarnerMedia portfolio including […]
The Tonys go digital
The 74th Annual Tony Awards ceremony will go on, presented digitally sometime in the fall. Date and platform are TBA. The event had originally been scheduled for June 7, but was replaced by plans for a streaming special on the same date due to COVID-19. That special was postponed amid unrest over the George Floyd […]
CynCity
Cynsiders
What Happens If Time Runs Out For TikTok?
As the clock winds down on TikTok (or not), don’t push the panic button yet,...GenAI: Changing the Marketing Game
Gen AI is disrupting the ad testing market, enabling marketers to test the effectiveness of...Adjusting Priorities in Advertising
Eden Collective, a consultancy of senior media strategists dedicated to bridging the gap between short–term...