Co-founded by former Discovery and Disney executives, Struum is a new entrant to the streaming space that, rather than offering its own content, instead hopes to find a niche in helping viewers manage the flood of content available from hundreds of streaming services. It will provide viewers á la carte access to shows and movies without having to subscribe to each platform, giving visibility to smaller services. Former Disney chief executive Michael Eisner’s The Tornante Company is Struum’s main financial backer.

Continue reading Struum to Aggregate Content from Many Streaming Services

Walmart is partnering with MGM, which will create short-form original series for release in 2019, to help boost content on its ad-supported streaming service Vudu. The company also invested a reported $250 million in a joint venture with New York startup Eko, which produces so-called interactive stories in which viewers control the plots of commercials and TV episodes. This investment is believed to be the largest ever made in this particular storytelling niche that has interested creatives for years but never caught on. Continue reading Walmart Signs MGM Deal, Invests in Interactive Storytelling

In 2013, the interactive music video for Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” (directed by Vania Heymann) signaled a new wave of interest in interactive video. Although interactive media has been around for a long time, enthusiasts say that interactivity is now ready to make bigger inroads in entertainment and advertising. Web-based standards means that interactive videos can play across multiple platforms; it’s a way to differentiate content in a crowded market and, most importantly, click-through rates are impressive. Continue reading Startups Promote Interactive Video for Next-Gen Storytelling