Broadband Content Bits: MySpace/Endemol; Vatican/YouTube; WordPress TV; Kutcher/Sundance
This story was written by Tameka Kee.
MySpace, Endemol launch Web-based reality series : MySpace and Endemol have partnered to launch Get Married on MySpace, a 13-episode Web series that will let the social net's users plan key aspects of a couple's wedding. Couples submit their video entries in March; members vote on the finalists and the series debuts in May. Each week, viewers will vote on details like the bride's dress, the rings and the wedding location; the final episode will be the wedding itself. Sponsors haven't been announced, though the companies are hyping various parts of the series (including the couple's individual vlogs and the profile pages) as premiere ad inventory. Release.
The Pope on YouTube : Pope Benedict XVI is slated to launch a YouTube channel, complete with the text and video of his speeches, according to Reuters. It's the latest move by the Vatican to reach Catholics in the digital generation: it launched a mobile TV service in 2007, sent inspirational text messages to young Australian Catholics for World Youth Day in 2008, and endorsed an iPhone prayer app in December (per CNET). Google (NSDQ: GOOG) will work with the Vatican TV Center and Vatican Radio for the channel launch.
WordPress bloggers get video tutorials : Automattic has launched WordPress TV, a video site full of tutorials for users of the popular WordPress blogging platform, per ReadWriteWeb. WordPress TV also features coverage of past WordCamp conferences; Matt Mullenweg, founding developer of the blogging software, said he hopes the site will serve as a "community" for WordPress users as well, in a company blog post.
Kutcher, Rose host web show at Sundance : Ashton Kutcher and Digg founder Kevin Rose co-hosted 24 Hours at Sundance, an online game show focused on four Internet celebs as they pulled pranks during the first day of the film festival. The contestantsincluding VentureBeat CEO and editor Matt Marshallfilmed themselves with *Nokia* camera phones; video service Qik streamed the show, and viewers sent them clues in real-time. "If it's successful, what we'd like to do is take the platform and move it to multiple venues," Kutcher told the LAT. "So, we could do '24 Hours at the Grand Prix,' '24 Hours at the Super Bowl.'"
By Tameka Kee