As expected, Fusion CEO Isaac Lee outlined, in a Thursday memo to staff, a series of changes to the television network’s “existing in-house, studio-based shows” that includes the discontinuation of its latenight series Come Here and Say That, hosted by Alicia Menendez. Another series, Soccer Gods, will become a “digital-first brand.”
The startup Vessel, designed to be the premium platform for online video creators, is courting online video stars with the promise of a bigger payday. Right now there are 175 creators on the cloud-based platform.
Instead of free-for-all distribution supported solely by advertising, new service Vessel will charge $3 per month for exclusive early access to clips of musicians, sporting events, comedians and many other forms of entertainment not available on YouTube or any other digital video service for at least three days.
The Wall Street Journal reports Facebook, Snapchat and streaming-startup Vessel are promising large TV-channel owners better terms for their video programming than Google’s YouTube, hoping to capitalize on mounting frustration with the Web giant. WSJ subscribers can read the full story here.
Former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar launched a new startup, Vessel. The project was formerly known as The Fremont Project. Vessel will focus on content, mainly video. It’s backed by Benchmark, Greylock and Bezos Expeditions. The last is Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s personal investment arm.
