The People/Entertainment Weekly Network streaming service will launch this fall and offer original long form content as well as live coverage of events, Time Inc told advertisers today in its Newfront presentation.
The announcement was one of several the company made: It plans to introduce Life VR, offering virtual reality experiences to iOS and Android devices from the company’s publications including Time, People, EW, and Sports Illustrated.
Time Inc also unveiled a deal with NBA star Kobe Bryant and Believe Entertainment Group to create a production company, Kobe Studios, that will develop multi-platform videos. The effort will include an animated short film for SI.com, Dear Basketball.
The People/Entertainment Weekly Network will be “the first free-to-consumer, advertiser-supported OTT service in the entertainment category, creating original programming specifically designed for the lean-back, long-form environment,” says Rich Battista, who’s President of the Entertainment and Sports Group and Video.
He pitched advertisers that it will reach “engaged, passionate audiences with dynamic new advertising formats and solutions.”
Programming will include ties to the company’s franchises including People’s Sexiest Man Alive, Heroes Among Us, World’s Most Beautiful, Half Their Size, EW’s Fall TV Preview, Must List, Reunions, Entertainers of the Year and People en Español’s Mas Bellos.
Time also says it will cover awards shows, festivals and premieres.
The company’s shares, down nearly 30% over the last 12 months, are up 2% this morning.