The two are hardly strangers. They worked closely together
this year to create the “Streamy” awards – recognizing outstanding achievement
in shows produced exclusively for the broadband audience.
While both companies are decent-sized fish in the tiny,
tiny pond that is Web TV, they hope that by creating a larger organization,
they can build the audience to a sizable enough number that larger advertisers
begin to take notice of the medium.
Tubefilter is making a serious push for ad dollars,
launching a digital version of the “upfronts” that broadcast networks host each
year. The initiative attracted execs from Sony and IFC this spring.
Web TV is still small, but has attracted the interest of
some notable Hollywood names. Neil Patrick Harris’ performance in Joss Whedon’s
“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” created enough buzz for the character to cameo
during this year’s Emmy awards. Rosario Dawson starred in “Gemini Division” for
NBC.com. And Felicia Day is considered a leader in Web TV programming due to
her work on “The Guild”.