Fullscreen, one of the biggest YouTube multichannel networks, said it plans to launch a subscription-based video service in the next few months.
The MCN did not release pricing info, launch date or other details of the coming SVOD service, which had been rumored to be in the works for some time.
The company’s SVOD service — to be called, simply, “Fullscreen” — will offer original and licensed programming, including: Legendary Digital Media’s “Electra Woman and Dyna Girl” series starring Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart; Cameron Dallas and Nash Grier’s feature-length “The Outfield” teen drama (pictured above); “#O2LForever,” a documentary about the final days of now-disbanded YouTube supergroup Our2ndLife; and a teen parody series (working title: “Filthy Sexy Teen$”) from Fox, Abominable Pictures and Jonathan Stern (“Wet Hot American Summer”) and Paul Scheer (“The League”).
“We think there’s an underserved audience out there,” Fullscreen CEO George Strompolos said at Variety’s Entertainment & Technology Summit in L.A. Wednesday. “We want to create a premium video environment where the best work can be made by Fullscreen and other studios.”
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Fullscreen is owned by Otter Media, a joint venture of AT&T and Chernin Group. Otter Media recently formed Ellation, an effort to roll up its subscription-video businesses into a single service; however, the Fullscreen SVOD service will be separate from Ellation.
“In the coming months, we’ll be rolling out a new premium entertainment service that we believe will bridge the gap between social media and television for youth audiences,” Strompolos wrote in a blog post Wednesday. “Just as premium cable networks raised the bar for television over the past decade, we aim to do the same with a new generation of creators, stars and personalities.”
Fullscreen’s premium service “will not be for everyone,” Strompolos acknowledged. He hinted that it will have a strong focus on playing across smartphones and tablets: “We’re building something special for a very specific audience — a community of viewers who grew up online and live on their mobile devices.”
