Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Eisner Strikes Internet TV Deal

I wonder if Disney will end up buying it?

LOS ANGELES (Financial Times) – Michael Eisner, the former Walt Disney chief executive, is taking Hollywood into the world of internet television after brokering a deal to create an online channel with one of the entertainment industry’s leading talent agencies. The deal was struck between Veoh, the internet TV operator in which Mr Eisner holds a significant stake, and United Talent Agency, which represents actors such as Johnny Depp, Ben Stiller and Harrison Ford. The channel, which will be supported by advertising, will showcase new talent in an effort to discover the next Hollywood star. It will be open and available to all Veoh users to submit, view and share content. The project also brings Hollywood together with the amateur film-making talent producing online video on user-generated content websites such as Google’s YouTube. The deal was negotiated by Mr Eisner and Jerry Zimmer, a board member of UTA. Dimitry Shapiro, chief executive of Veoh, said the deal with UTA would become “the new gateway for talent discovery in Hollywood”, adding the channel would bring the “newest and brightest creative minds to the new, more flexible medium of internet TV”.

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