The transition from static images to video is upon us – makeup tutorials, high-speed dinner recipes, musical snippets. There’s no doubt we’ve all paused on our social media pages to watch one of these bite-size clips, captivated by the simplicity of what we’re watching.
Now Time Inc., the Synapse parent company, has decided that it’s time to dive head-first into video. In the annual NewFront presentation, Time Inc. introduced the People/Entertainment Weekly Network, “a free, advertiser-supported streaming video service from the world’s most respected entertainment media brands.” The network will feature original content of the celebrity, pop culture, and lifestyle variety – more than 100 hours of original programming and a library of more than 50 hours of content. And that’s just the beginning.
As his career comes to a close, Time Inc.’s Sports Illustrated Group has forged a partnership with all-time basketball great, Kobe Bryant, to produce an animated short film based on his poetic farewell to the game, “Dear Basketball.” The collaboration will premiere on SI.com along with shorter videos highlighting the behind the scenes animation.
On another court, Time Inc. is targeting a different market by launching INSTANT, “a mobile-first, all-video platform featuring content about the lives and projects of digital celebrities as well as content created by digital celebrities exclusively for INSTANT.” Think Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, Vine, and other platform super stars – INSTANT is the one-stop shop to visit all of those personalities. The INSTANT prototype will be rolled out at VidCon 2016.
All this means a lot more unique content, exclusive to the popular brands that consumers love, courtesy of Time Inc.