The world of viral videos is colliding with traditional TV and film content.
Playa Vista online media company Fullscreen Inc. announced last week that it planned to launch a paid video subscription service on April 26. The $5-a-month service would be a cross between a video-streaming service such as Netflix and a YouTube multichannel network.
The offering is to include feature films, scripted and unscripted shows as well as content from social media content creators.
Fullscreen got its start in 2011 as a YouTube multichannel network, selling advertising on behalf of independent video creators. The firm has since branched out to other social media platforms such as Facebook and has started producing shows for television as well.
“This is for an audience that we know and love – a generation of young people that grew up with online video and social media,” George Strompolos, Fullscreen’s chief executive, said in a statement. “The phone is their primary screen and they look up to an entirely new breed of creators and stars.”
Fullscreen’s subscription service is several dollars less expensive than those offered by Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and YouTube Red.
The timing is right for such an offering, said Jonathan Skogmo, chief executive of Culver City’s Jukin Media, a YouTube multichannel network featuring viral videos.
“Generally, as you look at the industry right now, it’s really the greatest time to be a content creator and content provider because there are so many platforms that you can create content for and distribute it to the masses,” he said.
But he noted that nothing is a sure bet.
“Building a platform like this there is definitely a huge risk and there is also a high reward,” Skogmo said.
Fullscreen’s new service is targeted at audiences between the ages of 13 and 30, and it will feature more than 800 hours of content. The firm has licensed the rights to numerous TV shows and movies produced in the 1990s, including “Dawson’s Creek,” “Saved by the Bell,” and “Daria.”
Fullscreen will also show original movies produced in partnership with its YouTube stars, such as superhero comedy movie “Electra Woman & Dyna Girl.”
Adding traditional TV and film content to its library and increasing the production value of content produced with YouTube stars will be important factors in convincing prospective customers to subscribe to Fullscreen’s streaming service, said Skogmo.
“The television audience does expect things to be a lot more premium,” he said. “It’s got to be more polished.”
Comparing Salaries
Salary comparison website Comparably of Santa Monica, founded by Jason Nazar, has released the results of a survey on salary satisfaction among tech employees.
Not surprisingly, the survey says there is dissatisfaction with compensation among female tech employees. Women are often paid less than men and are underrepresented in the industry, according to numerous studies.
Women in tech working in operations and sales roles were especially dissatisfied, according to Comparably’s survey. Only 28 percent of female respondents in sales roles reported satisfaction with their compensation, compared with 54 percent of men. Only 36 percent of women in operations roles reported satisfaction with their compensation compared with 53 percent of men.
The survey also says female tech employees are more likely than men to have close friends and mentors at work.
“Almost in every single case women have more mentors at work than men,” said Nazar, Comparably’s chief executive. “I think that is fascinating, and maybe a byproduct of women sticking together because they are underrepresented.”
However, only 31 percent of women in engineering roles reported having a close friend at work, compared with 60 percent of men.
“That speaks maybe to how male engineers are bonding and maybe the lack of bonding of females in engineering,” said Nazar, noting that women are far less represented in technical roles.
Comparably’s survey drew from 1,000 online respondents.
The website also allows employees to share their salary anonymously in order to compare their earnings with what others make in similar work environments. Comparably is focusing on tech industry salaries before expanding to other sectors.
The startup has raised $6.5 million in seed funding and launched to the public earlier this month.
Rebooting
Car price comparison website TrueCar Inc. of Santa Monica has hired Jim Menard as senior vice president of dealer sales. Menard previously worked as an executive at Search Optics of San Diego, a digital marketing agency for the auto industry, and Autotrader.com Inc. of Atlanta, an online marketplace for car buying and selling. TrueCar has staffed up in recent months to support its efforts to mend relations with car dealers.
Staff reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 232.
