Latest from Next TV in Time-inc

Allen Media Group’s Local Now Adds 'Time' FAST Channel to Lineup

jon.lafayette@futurenet.com (Jon Lafayette) — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 00:29:24 +0000

Allen Media Group’s free streaming service Local Now said it added the Time Inc. free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel to its lineup.

Time launched the channel in October.

“Time is thrilled to partner with Local Now to distribute our FAST channel,” said Time Digital GM Jeff Li. “Local Now’s strong focus on news provides Time’s trusted journalism an excellent platform to reach viewers who want to understand the people, events, and issues that impact the world.”

Local Now features more than 450 channels including a Local Now channel for every market in the country.

“We are excited to add the Time FAST channel to Local Now’s growing line-up of national news and entertainment channels,” said Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. “Time is a phenomenal brand and a great addition to Local Now.”

VR Takes On Mt. Everest

Jeff Baumgartner — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 20:17:00 +0000

Time Inc.'s Sports Illustrated and Endemol Shine Beyond USA are teaming on Capturing Everest, a multi-part, multi-platform documentary series that will be offered in virtual reality/360 video formats.

The series, shot on location over a two-month period using specialized cameras rigged to zip lines and body harnesses to capture a complete ascent of Everest, is slated to premiere in early 2017 via Time Inc.’s new LIFE VR platform and SI.com in 360-degree video, they said. Capturing Everest will be the first VR experience from SI to be offered on the new platform alongside other fare from Time Inc. brands such as Time and The Drive.

“Attacking the world’s highest summit seemed like the perfect place to go with our new VR initiative, and by partnering with Endemol Shine and adding in the world-class storytellers from Sports Illustrated, I think we have something truly special and unique to offer our audience,” Mia Tramz, managing editor of Life VR, said in a statement. “We can’t wait to bring viewers along for this once-in-a-lifetime journey. This is exactly the type of experience LIFE VR was created for.”

The series follows a team led by Garrett Madison, a six-time Everest summiteer who has led 37 climbers to the summit of the world’s highest peak, they said.

Watch a trailer for the series in 360-degree format.

Time Sets Launch of ‘Life’ VR App

Chris Tribbey — Thu, 05 May 2016 18:45:00 +0000

Time Inc. is launching a new virtual reality (VR) app that will feature content from across the company’s brands, including Time, People, Entertainment Weekly and Sports Illustrated, the company announced May 5.

Life VR will debut this fall as a free app for both iOS and Android devices, and will be the home to all of Time’s VR content, covering news, travel, sports and more. The content will work with both VR headsets and without them as a 360-degree mobile device experience.

“Throughout its history, Life has been a lens through which to see deeper into the world around us,” said Nancy Gibbs, editor of Time and head of the Life brand. “This breakthrough in technology now invites our audience not just to observe but to experience the stories we are telling.”

Time Snaps Up Viant

Jeff Baumgartner — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 14:45:00 +0000

Time Inc. has inked a deal to acquire and Viant, an ad-tech vendor that will bring in a data-driven programmatic platform.

Time, home to brands and media outlets such as Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and People, said it will combine its own premium content, subscriber data, and advertising inventory with Viant’s cloud-delivered, first-party data and programmatic capabilities.

Founded in 1999, Viant owns and operates digital ad technology and media companies such as Specific Media, Vindico, Myspace and Xumo. Of that group, Xumo has built an OTT service (subscription required) that streams ad-supported “channels” focused to a range of connected TV platforms from content partners such as Time Inc., Condé Nast Entertainment, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed, PopSugar, Mitú Network, Machinima, TYT Network and The Onion. Xumo’s ad-based OTT service launched last fall on Panasonic and Vizio TVs, and has been gearing up for debuts on TVs from LG Electronics and Funai Electric, which makes and distributes TVs under the Sanyo, Philips and Magnavox brands in North America.

“This acquisition is game changing for us,” Time Inc. chairman and CEO Joe Ripp, said in a statement. “Marketers are selecting media partners that have either data-driven capabilities or premium content; we will be able to deliver both in a single platform, and will stand apart from those that offer just one or the other. In other words, we will be able to deliver advertisers’ messages targeted to optimal audiences across all types of devices, along with the ability to measure ROI.”

“Over a year ago we launched a people-based platform with the Viant Advertising Cloud. With over 1 billion global registered users connected to their households and devices, we knew our data and technology story was solid,” added Tim Vanderhook, Viant’s CEO. “The combination of Time Inc. and Viant is all about the marriage of first party data and premium content.”

Sports Illustrated Launches Digital Channel

thomas.umstead@futurenet.com (R. Thomas Umstead) — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 14:15:00 +0000

Sports Illustrated Thursday said it has launched a new digital channel that will feature original, sports-themed films.

Sports Illustrated Films will debut on the newly created SI.com/films channel and will feature content created from filmmakers within SI parent Time Inc. as well as outside the company, said officials. SI will launch six films before the end of the year.

Two new films released today on the site include Brett Favre: Life After the Game, which profiles the NFL legendary quarterback, and The Rise and Fall of the Danbury Trashers, about a minor league hockey team based on a 2014 Sports Illustrated story.

The site will also feature an archive of more than 40 SI productions, including all three seasons of its series Underdogs, said officials.

As part of the initiative, SI has reached a production agreement with Mandalay Sports Media and Velocity to produce a variety of programming under the “Sports Illustrated Films” banner, according to officials. Mandalay will produce Patrick and ‘Zo, focusing on the rivalry and friendship between legendary NBA centers Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning, while Velocity will develop a new video franchise devoted to the greatest moments in sports.

“We see amazing potential for Sports Illustrated-branded programming both domestically and internationally, and we are going to pursue those opportunities very aggressively,” said J.R. McCabe, senior vice president of Time Inc. Video in a statement. “Today’s announcements reflect the vision we have for many of our brands.”