AwesomenessTV flaunts dominance among Gen Z, announces scripted MLB series
NEW YORK -- It was hard to tell that this was AwesomenessTV's first NewFront.
The DreamWorks-owned company, founded by TV veteran Brian Robbins in 2012, has built a reputation as a major player in the digital space.
And its presentation showcased that.
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"It's really hard for me to believe that we launch AwesomenessTV as a YouTube channel," Robbins said at the event, noting the company began as an idea thought up in his kitchen.
To date, the company now has 90,000 channels and is home to talent management company Big Frame, DreamWorksTV, Awestruck (a network for millennial moms) and Awesomeness Films.
On Wednesday, the company announced that it has expanded with an Apple TV app and an AwesomenessTVbot, which debuted on popular chat app Kik. ATV content is now available on over 31 platforms.
Also in the works: A partnership with MajorLeague Baseball to create a multi-episode original scripted series. AwesomenessTV also announced new seasons for two of its most popular series, Royal Crush and Guidance,and a new series for go90, t@gged,which has already been greenlit for a second season.
Though Jeffrey Katzenberg recently sold DreamWorks to Comcast's NBCUniversal, he will remain in charge of its digital platform.
And AwesomenessTV has the backing of many big investors, the most notable of which is Verizon. Recently, the telecommunications giant said it is acquiring a 24.5% stake in AwesomenessTV, bringing the value of the digital entertainment company to a whopping $650 million.
The NewFront was held at an open studio space, where mini pizzas and sliders were handed out to guests as they mingled.
During the presentation, Robbins acknowledged AwesomenessTV is not the No. 1 so called "multi-channel network." However, he said it does dominate in the most advertiser-desired demographic: Generation Z.
To prove that point, he brought up a handful of AwesomenessTV talent including t@gged co-stars Jc Caylen and Lia Marie Johnson, BETCH stars Maddy Whitby and Monica Sherer, Awesomeness Films star Kian Lawley, host of DreamWorksTV’s Life Hacks for Kids Sunny Keller, Awestruck’s Kandee Johnson and video superstar, best-selling author and Amazing Race competitor Tyler Oakley.
President of AwesomenessTV Brett Bouttier and Chief Partnership Officer Paul Kelly also presented.
Keller was the most lively of the bunch, saying that DreamWorksTV has produced over 100 original series and has over 1.5 million subscribers in 2 years. She came on stage to tell advertisers what they need to know about the kid demo.
Like other presenters, AwesomnessTV also touted efforts to help advertisers understand data.
The company will partner with ZEFR, a video-data and technology company, to introduce “Signal,” a best-in-class content and multi-platform distribution program that will enable custom content created for Gen Z to be distributed via advertising across multiple platforms.
“We are matching our storytelling prowess with innovative technology partnerships that will enable our brand partners to hyper target the hard-to-reach Gen Z audience wherever they are found,” Bouttier said. “That’s why we’re partnering with industry leaders like ZEFR, Kik and Brightline.”
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Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
