LOS ANGELES – The Paramount Network (formerly Spike) and Viacom Velocity, Viacom’s in-house branded content studio, today announced that they are partnering with next gen studio Indigenous Media to develop, produce and socially distribute native episodes of Indigenous Media’s short docs franchise “60 Second Docs.” “60 Second Docs” will reveal a fascinating untold story or element relating to Paramount Network’s slate of new scripted or unscripted originals. The short-form docs are intended to enhance the viewer experience and afford the opportunity for advertiser integration.
Among the first projects will be the highly anticipated “Waco” and “American Woman,” both featuring star-studded casts.
The collaboration follows a successful premiere of a special episode of “60 Second Docs” promoting Spike’s six-part documentary series TIME: The Kalief Browder Story.
"This deal continues Velocity’s ongoing commitment to develop partnerships with the most relevant, socially native content creators to work side-by-side with our own creative teams to build original branded content formats,” says Thomas De Napoli, Sr. Director Content & Platform Strategy at Viacom Velocity. “Not only does the ‘60 Second Docs’ format allow us to create branded content for advertisers, but it also enables us to also promote our own networks and strategically distribute this content across social media.”
“60 Second Docs” is the premium series of short docs that shines a light on a wide variety of topics, people and perspectives. Available across various social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Twitter it is optimized for social sharing and an increasingly on-demand and mobile-first audience. With over 70 million views a month and more than 4 million views an episode, it is the top Facebook publisher of wholly original, premium content.
“We are constantly looking for opportunities to expand the reach of the ‘60 Second Docs’ brand and format and believe that working with Viacom Velocity we can demonstrate the power of original premium short form content as a vehicle for brand and series promotion,” said Jake Avnet, COO of Indigenous Media. “There is clearly a thirst for bite-sized content, and we believe the Paramount Network properties lend themselves to the creation of authentic, provocative viral video for the connected generation.”
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About Indigenous Media
Indigenous Media is a next generation studio focused on storytelling through premium, original video content for global audiences and multi-platforms, from digital and emerging media to film and TV. The company is founded by award winning filmmakers Jon Avnet (Black Swan, Fried Green Tomatoes, Justified, Risky Business), Rodrigo Garcia (In Treatment, Albert Nobbs, Mother& Child), and Jake Avnet. Recent projects include Sickhouse, and 60 Second Docs, a series of short documentaries distributed across social platforms. Indigenous Media is also discovering new film and television talent through its incubator programs, in partnership with Conde Nast Entertainment: The Big Script, with The Black List and Josh Hutcherson, and Project Her, with Lesli Linka Glatter, Kasi Lemmons, Sarah Treem, and Betty Thomas. They are also the producers of WIGS, the award-winning scripted series, short films, and documentaries, all starring female leads that launched in 2012. Principal investors for Indigenous Media include WPP and ITV. For more info, visit indigenousmedia.com.
About Viacom
Viacom is home to premier global media brands that create compelling television programs, motion pictures, short-form content, apps, games, consumer products, social media experiences, and other entertainment content for audiences in more than 180 countries. Viacom's media networks, including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Spike, BET, CMT, TV Land, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., Logo, Nicktoons, TeenNick, Channel 5 (UK), Telefe (Argentina) and Paramount Channel, reach over 3.9 billion cumulative television subscribers worldwide. Paramount Pictures is a major global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment.
For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com. Keep up with Viacom news by following Viacom's blog at blog.viacom.comand Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/viacom.
