Spot Runner + Stars + Mobile, etc. = High Quality Opportunity

United Talent Agency, a high-powered rep firm for Hollywood stars like Jack Black and Vince Vaughn, and Internet-based ad platform Spot Runner are spinning off a new company that is dedicated to providing a platform for professional actors and directors to create, distribute and profit from short-form Internet content.

The company, called 60Frames, is betting that the same high-quality content that makes movie blockbusters and hit TV shows can create the same buzz online. Joel and Ethan Coen, makers of Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski, are the first talent lined up to produce shorts.

"When I started looking on YouTube at what was available, it became clear to me that most of what was there was not very good," said Jeremy Zimmer, a partner at UTA. "People were excited about going online to look for video but they quickly became disenchanted because the quality wasn't there."

To remedy that, 60Frames will finance Internet video productions from established talent, then distribute clips through a series of outlets, including peer-to-peer networks, Web portals and emerging channels like mobile. Spot Runner will sell the ads tied to the content.

"There hasn't been enough high-quality consistent inventory for advertisers to move their budgets online," said former UTA exec Brent Weinstein, who will serve as CEO of 60Frames. "There's this big gap that artists want to fill."

60Frames, which is part owned by UTA and Spot Runner, has closed a $3.5 million Series A venture funding, led by Tudor Investment Corp. and Pilot Group, a financing organization co-owned by former AOL COO Robert Pittman.

60Frames is not UTA's first foray into Web video. Last October, it launched UTA Online to scout for talent. It hooked up with online video sharing site Veoh in January to establish a channel for aggregate and showcase submissions.

Date July, 2007
SOURCE: www.organic.com

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