Fox powers Web video with 15 Gigs

DIGITAL: Division's series might crossover to TV, DVD

By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 9/21/2009

SEPT. 21 | DIGITAL: 20th Century Fox is the latest studio to go online with original series.

The studio quietly launched Web development division 15 Gigs (a play on Andy Warhol’s 15 seconds of fame) this summer with a handful of new series on YouTube and Hulu and even more in development.

On Wednesday, it launches two new series—Heart Felt and Ashley the Wise—at the New York Television Festival.

Although most of the series will start out on the Web, Fox hopes some will develop a strong enough following to make the leap to DVD, TV and other platforms, said Gabriel Marano, VP of programming for Fox Television Studios. Marano is heading 15 Gigs with Ilsa Berg, Fox TV director of programming.

Fox’s TV division set up 15 Gigs as a development division, a place to incubate new talent and test more experimental ideas from higher profile talent who might not find an easy place on TV.

“If they migrate to TV, that’s fantastic. If they don’t, it’s OK, because it’s a safe place to experiment,” Marano said.

Ashley the Wise, a post-apocalyptic comedy in the tone of Clueless narrated by Bruce Campbell and created by Burn Notice writer Mike Horowitz, is one of those shows that Marano said likely wouldn’t have gotten a green light if it were originally pitched for TV. The genre-mixing show was instead developed through 15 Gigs for the Web, but Marano said it turned out so funny that the studio is now pitching it to TV networks.

15 Gigs is an inexpensive way for the studio to test new ideas with audiences. Marano said for the cost of a TV script, they can produce and distribute a Web series. The division spends between $5,000 and $25,000 for online shows, though if they think they can make the money back through DVD sales or TV, they can spend more.

Since launching, 15 Gigs has debuted:

• Tease, a drama series set at a strip club;

• When Ninjas Attack, a comedy about ninjas solving conflicts;

• The Iceman Chronicles, a dramedy in which a small-town veterinarian/coroner is forced to solve a murder;

• Slacker PI, a comedy about two pot-smoking slackers whose favorite TV cop becomes their imaginary friend.

All are airing on YouTube and Hulu. When Ninjas Attack also is available on mobile phone’s through a Fox deal with Sprint.

“Like many people in this space, we’re experimenting with different monetization strategies,” Berg said. “We don’t think anyone’s found the golden ticket, so we’re trying different models.”

Berg said the studio is using the shows to develop online communities and to figure out the best online rollout strategies.

They’re also trying to work with new talent on a broader range of genres. They’ve struck a development deal with Web producer Black 20, which they worked with on Heart Felt, a soapy drama about people and puppets in New York. Heart Felt debuts online this week.