MySpace, owned by Rupert Murdoch?s
News Corporation has today announced a distribution partnership with production company ShineReveille to offer shows produced by the social network?s
MySpaceTV to traditional media outlets.
ShineReveille is the distribution arm of Shine Group, a company founded
by Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert Murdoch. The financial terms
of the deal were not disclosed.
MySpace?s managing director of International, Travis Katz had this to say, ?MySpace provides the creative community with a launch pad to virally test and distribute content to the world?s largest focus group. MySpaceTV has quickly become Hollywood?s digital playground and our relationship with ShineReveille opens up the globe to MySpace?s international content creators.?
Under the partnership, MySpaceTV show?s such as
Quarterlife and
Roommates will be distributed through television and DVD and will be sold exclusively by ShineReveille outside of the US. MySpace will retain all distribution rights inside the United States, whilst retaining international web and mobile distribution rights.
?MySpaceTV is a proven fertile ground for emerging creative approaches and techniques; this deal gives their content the opportunity to transfer directly to traditional platforms. There is an appetite to create versions of successful online content that can work for the traditional television platform, as MySpace have already demonstrated. This partnership allows this to be taken to the next level,? ShineReveille international president Chris Grant added.
In November 2007,
NBC Universal picked up MySpace?s Quarterlife. Whilst it was the first internet series to be picked up by a traditional TV network, it?s transfer to television was not the instant success it was billed to be.
Last week, MySpace announced plans to set up a music download service to
rival iTunes, and promptly signed three of the ?big four? record labels, Sony BMG, Warner Music and Universal. EMI has not yet signed in on the deal.