Here’s an interesting programming mash-up courtesy of Comcast and Facebook: the AP reports the two companies are working on a joint effort to create a TV series that will mesh online, user-generated videos with Comcast VOD. The Facebook Diaries consists of 10 half-hour episodes produced by R.J. Cutler, the cinema verite specialist behind The War Room, Flip That House, American High, to name a few. The shows, scheduled to air later this year, will be seen simultaneously on Facebook and Comcast’s Ziddio.com, the cable operator’s answer to YouTube that was launched late last year. The videos also will be shown and stored on Comcast’s VOD service. The deal also is expected to increase more web traffic to Ziddio from Facebook’s more than 16 million users. The first stage is set to begin in late March, when Comcast and Facebook will ask users to post videos about their lives on Ziddio.
Variety: Amy Banse, president of Comcast Interactive Media, said she’s negotiating with other cable operators to take the show on VOD. Owen Van Natta, COO of Facebook, said he and Banse will seek out advertisers to sponsor “Facebook Diaries.”
Related:
—More On Comcast’s User-Gen Ziddio Site And VOD Channel
—Comcast To Launch User-Gen Video Site/Channel Ziddio