Ben Affleck, Matt Damon launch 'Runner' reality competition on go90
LOS ANGELES -- Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have been trying to get their cross-country-chase reality competition series The Runner on the air for 16 years.
Now, it's finally getting made -- but for mobile-first audiences.
The duo, in partnership with Adaptive Studios and Pilgrim Media Group, announced Wednesday that they are taking the competition show to Verzion's go90 this summer. Their show was initially expected to air on ABC in 2001, but was ultimately pulled over security concerns following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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Yahoo also attempted to revive the series in 2006, but once again The Runner never got the green light reportedly over financial and production considerations.
The news comes as Verizon's free mobile platform, which first launched in October 2015, continues to rapidly expand its content offerings. To date, it has racked up 1.6 million subscribers to its main channel and 194,000 followers on Twitter.
It has partnered up with digital entertainment players such as StyleHaul, pop culture network DanceOn, AwesomenessTV's millennial mom network Awestruck and Disney-owned Maker Studios. It also has exclusive content from CollegeHumor and Vice. To date, it boasts over 50 exclusive series.
Still, Damon and Affleck are perhaps the most notable names to bring exclusive content to the social entertainment platform.
The Runner will follow an individual as he or she "attempts to make it across the United States unnoticed over the course of 30 days, while the entire country endeavors to locate and capture him or her using all available technology." At stake? $1 million for the Runner and the chase teams (called "Chasers").
"This is an excellent format for a brand new platform," said Marc Joubert, a founding partner at Adaptive Studios, in a statement. "The Runner is our way of meeting a Millennial audience where they live – on their smartphones and on social media.”
Mobile is indeed where certain consumers gravitate for their content. According to research firm eMarketer, U.S. adults will spend an average of 3 hours and 8 minutes per day on mobile devices, excluding voice activities. The firm's research suggests Millennials are also the most active video viewers of any U.S. age group.
Go90 users who tune in to The Runner also have the opportunity to make money in exchange for providing tips, sightings and evidence of the Runner's location.
“We’ve been busy bringing a lot of original content to go90, but to deliver on an original with this level of interactivity for users excites us,” Shawn Strickland, head of product innovation at Verizon, said in a statement. “Go90 is inherently social and producing content that supports those elements of the platform creates a pairing for something unique.”
Affleck and Damon executive produce through their company Pearl Street Films. Adaptive Studios’ Joubert and Perrin Chiles will serve as executive producers alongside Pilgrim Media Group’s Craig Piligian and Mike Nichols.
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Topics Verizon
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.
