The Huffington Post is getting into the 24-hour programming game. The news site has announced the launch of HuffPost 24, a round-the-clock digital video network.
The new OTT offering will be made up up live programming, short form content, documentaries and original series, which they showed off during NewFronts. The digital outlet is planning to increase its daily video output by 16 hours. In an email exchange with the brand’s GM of video, Nathan Brown, he explained that upped video content is a necessity because, “consumers and advertisers are demanding video at a fast pace.”
In order to produce all the new programming, Huffington Post has began HuffPost TV and HuffPost Films. HuffPost TV will be in charge of developing all TV content. HuffPost Films will not only acquire and distribute independently-made feature movies, it will also produce its own. Both departments, along with HuffPost 24, will be headed up by Brown.
The GM told B&C that going forward, HuffPost 24 will be focusing on creating content like the newly-announced docuseriesNow What?With Ryan Duffy. The new network’s mission “is to shift the conversation from problems to solutions,” says Brown, and former Vice correspondent Duffy will do that by featuring individuals who are using innovation and ingenuity in the face of crisis.
Also, sponsored and native content “will play a significant role in programming,” according to Brown. “We are in the development stage of some very compelling branded entertainment for HuffPost 24.”
Once the multiplatform offering launches, it will be available for streaming on Huffington Post’s app and website. There will also be VOD distribution.
The recent acquisition of Huffington Post’s parent company AOL by Verizon is set to bolster the ambitious launch. Brown called the telco giant a “true partner” and expected they “will benefit Huffington Post in every way: funding, distribution and monetization.”
