[ad_1]
Walmart goes to Hollywood.
The world's largest retailer, in constant struggle with rival Amazon, said this week it has partnered with two entertainment companies, an old school and the other at the forefront of the sector.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has agreed to create an abbreviated original series for Walmart's ad-supported streaming service, Vudu. These are expected to debut early next year. It's the first of many studios Walmart plans to work with to create new content for Vudu, a retail spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Walmart is also investing in a joint venture with Eko, a New York start-up that is focusing on "interactive storytelling," a video format that allows viewers to control the plot of commercials and commercials. TV episodes.
The investment with Eko totals $ 250 million, according to two knowledgeable people on the subject who spoke under the guise of anonymity to discuss the details of the deal. It is thought that this is the most important gamble on the niche of interactive entertainment, which has long been trying to place producers at the forefront of potential gold mining, but has never been adopted at all. ladder.
"We are not trying to become a studio," said Scott McCall, executive vice president of entertainment, toys and seasonal products at Walmart. "We hope to work with the studios to reinvent the new content."
Walmart's incursion into entertainment comes as the company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, strives to expand beyond retail. With most of the country saturated with big-box stores, Walmart is experimenting with many new businesses, including the launch of a high-end concierge service in Manhattan. the acquisition of the main Indian e-commerce site, Flipkart. We are now turning to content creation.
Walmart's substantial investment is a validation for Eko, co-founded by 37-year-old Yoni Bloch, who described himself in an interview in his New York office as "a relatively famous singer in Israel." judge on the Israeli version of "American Idol".
Eko met with Walmart when Retailer General Manager Doug McMillon met with Bloch during his visit to Israel last year.
The two companies began working together on an interactive presentation prepared by Eko for the Walmart shareholders' meeting – the annual corporate pep meeting in Bentonville attended by thousands of workers.
Walmart considers interactive storytelling – essentially a video version of "Choose Your Own Adventure" books – as something that can be used in both entertainment and advertising.
For example, a cooking show could help viewers buy ingredients online by watching. Or a love story in which viewers can choose what happens to the characters. In turn, each choice could help Walmart to give an overview of the preferences and attitudes of the viewers.
"The idea is to take a leap forward from what everyone else is doing," Bloch said.
Between video games and traditional television, interactive storytelling has been hampered by technological barriers and complex funding. Achieving good publicity or a traditional TV episode is quite expensive, let alone a branch in different directions depending on the choices people make when they look.
Interactive content has also been hampered by a generational divide. Older consumers – and media managers – are used to a passive viewing experience and have difficulty grasping this way of participating in storytelling. The youngest spectators are the opposite. (Netflix already offers some interactive programs for children.)
Eko is far from being the only one tracking down the promise of interactive content, but he owns a secret weapon: Nancy Tellem. Ms. Tellem, Eko's Executive President (and a member of MGM's board of directors), gives Eko considerable credibility in Hollywood. She has held senior positions at CBS and Warner Bros. Television for about two decades before joining Microsoft in 2012 to create an Xbox-centric television company. Microsoft closed its division in 2015.
For Mr. Bloch, Walmart reminds him of early visits to the United States.
"Walmart was for me the symbol of America," Bloch said. "I just remember that my mother said we had to go to Walmart because everything is big and cheap there."
He started his company in 2010 with his group companions, many of whom had a background in computer science.
Eko has attracted investments from Silicon Valley companies such as Sequoia Capital, as well as support companies like Warner Music and Intel. In addition to the $ 250 million investment in the joint venture, Walmart also directly invested an undisclosed amount in Eko.
Many details about the joint venture are still being developed, such as how these programs or commercials can be viewed. Walmart and Eko said they would share their income.
Walmart strengthened its Hollywood exposure at this year's Academy Awards when the company sponsored three short films featuring three female directors: Melissa McCarthy, Nancy Meyers and Dee Rees. Movies, which were inspired by a Walmart e-commerce box, doubled with an advertisement for the retailer.
The first project from the MGM partnership, announced at a conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, will be a "reinvention" of the comedy "Mr. Mom ', who will debut on Vudu early next year.
Mr. McCall said that Vudu would work with MGM to revitalize other classic films and create entirely new content.
Source link
