MySpace follows Bebo into original content

by Ann-Marie Corvin, Media Week 10-Apr-08, 15:35

LONDON - MySpace has commissioned a new original content series from the team behind rival social network Bebo's online drama Kate Modern.

Big Balls Films is to produce 60 mobisodes of coming-of-age drama, I Love Chieftown for MySpace, which are each between four and five minutes long.

Music will feature heavily in the series, which follows the lead character Jamie, an aspiring filmmaker, as she films an up-and-coming band.

Like Kate Modern, the show is fully interactive, with users having the opportunity to shape the stories, choose characters, meet the band and even feature as an extra in the show.

Big Balls Films' last foray into online drama, Bebo's Kate Modern, attracted five advertising partners - Orange, Proctor & Gamble, Microsoft, Disney/Buena Vista and Paramount. Each paid a minimum of £250,000 to have their brands integrated into the storylines of 45 four-minute episodes.

Separately, MySpace has announced a content deal with distributor ShineReveille International, which will enable the social network to internationally distribute its own content in various forms across television, DVD and merchandise.