Verizon Wireless Enrolls at Valemont U

Big backing for a Web series set on a fictional college campus may breathe new life into the budding industry for producing high-quality online programming

By Aymar Jean Christian

MTV viewers who tuned into the season openers of The Hills and The City on Sept. 29 got an unexpected glimpse of another series making its debut that night. Before The Hills got under way and just after The City ended an hour later—during what would ordinarily be a commercial break—Viacom's (VIA) MTV snuck in the first episode of Valemont, a teen murder mystery set on the campus of a prestigious university of the same name, sponsored by Verizon Wireless.

What's unique about Valemont is that it's destined not for TV, but the Web. Producers will air a small number of episodes on TV but continue the series online. In the past, most Web series have remained confined to the Web, often to support TV programming. But in a turnabout for scripted online series, Valemont is getting prime-time billing on a popular TV show before attempting to gain traction online. "We want to use on-air to promote the Web," not the other way around, says Valemont creator Brent Friedman, who's also the brains behind such other Web series as Afterworld and Gemini Division.

Valemont, with its high-profile premiere and heavy promotion, may give a boost to a budding, scripted, Web-series industry that, in spite of notable early successes, has yet to find a sustainable way to make money. It also underscores how companies can use the gamut of media—including the Web, TV, and online social tools—to pitch brands and products to highly targeted audiences. "This really graduates the format to a new level," says John Shea, executive vice-president for integrated marketing for MTV Networks Music and another Viacom channel, Logo.

TV Towers Over Most Web Successes

The Los Angeles-based Web-series industry had some early hits, including Lonelygirl15, Sorority Forever, Prom Queen, and Friedman's shows. But all were short-lived. Many independent online series go underfunded—if they get money at all.

Notable current exceptions include numerous network-produced series, such as the offshoots of NBC's Heroes that are sponsored by Sprint Nextel (S). USA Network also has a series featuring characters of its Psych TV show when they were teens. But these are extensions of shows, not wholly original series.

To be sure, there are also some high-quality, well-funded standalone Web series that are not affiliated with TV shows. Among them: NBC Digital's In Gayle We Trust, sponsored by American Family Insurance, and The Broadroom, written by Candace Bushnell of Sex and the City fame and branded by L'Oreal's Maybelline. The offbeat Web series The Guild, backed by Microsoft (MSFT) and Sprint, is distributed on various Microsoft vehicles, including Xbox Live. Even heavily branded shows such as Ikea's Easy to Assemble are successful. But unlike Valemont, none of them aired in prime time.

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