http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/disney-turns-mobile-apps-show-pilots-139863
Disney may have found a new formula for launching original online series: find mobile games that already have a following and treat them as backdoor pilots.
The company’s Interactive division announced plans to launch a 10-episode series, Talking Friends, based on a popular series of iPhone gaming apps, Talking Tom Cat. That series, the result of a partnership between Disney and the app developer Outfit 7, will debut shortly on both YouTube and Disney’s digital kids properties.
Talking Friends arrives on the heels of the Where’s My Water?, another kids-aimed Web series based on a hugely popular educational gaming app. That show will also roll out shortly on Disney’s kids-aimed YouTube channel, one of close to 100 new channels debuting this year on the Google-owned video hub.
“These shows are tapping into IP we already have created, and we’re basically expanding these games’ worlds,” said Zadi Diaz, Disney Interactive’s head of content, following the division’s upfront presentation in New York on Thursday. In other words, it’s a lot easier to launch a Web show when it’s already got a built-in audience. Beside the two app-derived shows, Disney has also recently introduced Power Up, a retro gaming show hosted by Christina Grimmie, an 18-year-old with a significant pre-existing YouTube following. That tween-oriented show (sponsored by Xbox) has already run four of eight planned episodes on Disney, with some episodes eclipsing 100,000 views.
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