US-based video production company New TV has increased its first funding round to $1bn, $200m of which has come from a range of entertainment providers, CNN reported yesterday.
Walt Disney, 21st Century Fox, Warner Bros and Entertainment One are among the media and entertainment companies that have collectively provided the $200m, and the rest has come from what CNN called institutional investors, largely from the US and China.
New TV is pursuing a business model based on the production of dramatic video content with budgets comparable to high-end content from streaming outlets like Netflix or Amazon Prime, but divided into episodes that are about five to 10 minutes long, as with a YouTube video.
The company has been formed by Jeffrey Katzenberg, former chairman of Disney Studios and co-founder of entertainment group Dreamworks, and will be overseen by Katzenberg’s new media holding company, WndrCo.
Meg Whitman was hired as chief executive of New TV, which is still in stealth, from enterprise software producer Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where she held the same position.
New TV is reportedly seeking partnerships with established content hosts outside the media sphere such as social network operator Facebook, electronics producer Apple and telecommunications firm Verizon to distribute the content.
Sony Pictures, the film production subsidiary of electronics and entertainment group Sony, is also interested according to Deadline, which stated that Katzenberg is approaching entertainment producers not just for funding but for possible content.