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New film series shows first on web

The made-for-Internet series, “Section 8”, is to premiere on the giant social networking site in the US.

It will then be distributed worldwide for TV by leading entertainment group Endemol before being released in cinemas, the companies involved said at the MIPTV entertainment trade show here this week.

The Paramount Digital Entertainment deal with French film major Gaumont to produce “Section 8” gives a glimpse of the future as the world’s TV, mobile and web worlds start to converge in a multi-platform universe.

Some 12 episodes of between six and nine minutes are planned with the first one scheduled in September. In each the characters are killed off one by one, with viewers given clues on the killers to enable them to influence the online finale. MySpace will provide behind-the-scenes content and enable viewers to interact with the cast.

The plan is to distribute the 12-episode series as a full-length feature once it reaches its final climax as well as to make it available on other platforms such as iTunes and as a DVD.

Disney Media Networks also announced here the launch of multiple channels on YouTube to offer short-form TV content to the video-sharing service’s millions of fans.

“This deal provides us with the opportunity to reach a broader online audience, to experiment with different monetization models and to extend the reach of our advertisers,” Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney/ABC Television Group said.

The five-day MIPTV show, closing Friday, was the scene of a series of new initiatives in the online, mobile and video-on-demand (VOD) space, including the launch of a world-wide VOD service, Zillion TV, that lets viewers choose the ads they watch.

Zillion TV allows viewers to choose whether to watch free programmes paid for through adverts, targeted to suit their tastes, rent TV content for a nominal fee, or choose to “buy-to-own” from shows and films on offer.

Giant Hollywood studios and TV networks, including Disney, 20^th Century Fox Television, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros, have all signed up to supply content ranging from TV shows to movies, sports and music.