Disney Going Digital with New Production House

Stage 9 to Produce Original Short-Form Content for New-Media Properties, YouTube

By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/28/2008 8:46:00 AM

Disney-ABC is launching Stage 9, a new-media-content studio that will produce original short-form content for the company’s new-media properties.

As part of the launch, the studio will debut Squeegees, its first original show, on YouTube and ABC.com.

“An integral part of our overall digital strategy, Stage 9 was created to bridge the gap between user-generated content and traditional production, and it is a perfect example of how we are continually looking at innovative methods to develop, produce, market and distribute the high-quality programming that consumers demand,” said Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC Television Group, in a statement.

The studio already has more than 20 programs in development, including the second season of Voicemail, which premiered on ABC.com last year, and science-fiction thriller Trenches.

The decision to partner with YouTube on distribution is indicative of the studio’s desire to spread its content across the Web and go where people are watching, rather than having people come to it.

“By partnering with popular YouTube content creators, Stage 9 is developing a new model that will change online-video production as we know it,” said Jordan Hoffner, head of premium-content partnerships for YouTube, in a statement. “To have a storied company like Disney-ABC make new content for the YouTube community is quite groundbreaking and reflective of their unwavering imagination and YouTube’s position as the home for quality professional video.”

Barry Jossen was brought on as general manager of Stage 9, and he is tasked with creating content that will appeal to the 18-34 demo Disney-ABC is seeking.

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