Chris McGurk, Lloyd Braun, Jana Winograde Launch Microco Venture
Micro-dramas take place on the endless scroll of social video platforms in Asia. A group of Hollywood veterans dive into to bring this form of the US content.
Chris McGurk, chairman and CEO of Cineverse, and Banyan Ventures of Lloyd Braun work together to launch microco. Jana Winograde, former President of Showtime and former head of ABC’s Business Operations, will serve as CEO of MicroCo. Susan Rovner, former President of Warner Bros. TV and former head of programming for NBCuniversal TV and streaming, will register as Chief Content Officer in October. Erick Opeka, Chief Strategy Officer for Cineverse, will also work closely with the MicroCo team.
“Microco combines a new style of stories that involve both fans and makers, with ultramodern technology that we have developed for years, and an elite leadership team that includes some of the most successful media and content executives of our generation,” said McGurk. “The end result will be a category that defines studio and platform. Early results in space have underlined the enormous strategic benefit of this new format, including the possibility of building an original IP engine with global possibilities for generating income, to integrate brand partnerships and to support a robust creator economy.”
The plan is to use the streaming platforms of Cinevers and the Content Library to launch the MicroCo series with episodes that run for 1 to 2 minutes. The micro series -Trend originated a few years ago in Korea, China and other influential areas.
“The average person leaves a day through hundreds of feet, but almost nothing is built to last a long time,” said Braun, whose long career as a producer and executive stints includes as chairman of WME and ABC Entertainment Group. “We merge the interference rigor of Series television with the pace, the energy and intimacy of short form-the creative, emotionally rich, quality series that have been developed especially for this format and speak directly about how people now consume content.”
The partners hope to release their first shows by the first quarter of next year. Given the ultra low budgets for this content company, it is unlikely that Microcco Hollywood Union talent will use.
“While viewing habits are shifting to fast, social and mobile experiences, our microseries will tell a high impact that are meant to be shared,” Winograde said. “Whether it is the genre or the maker community, we have the tools to meet fans in their native ecosystems and to pull them into this new format and the platform is only built for them.”
Cineverse operates countless fast channels and serves streaming content via the Cinresse platform. McGurk, who previously led Universal Pictures and MGM, emphasized that Cinressse was deeply invested in the engineering and the technology needed to get microco productions off the ground. Cineverse is the home of more than 71,000 titles, including films, TV programs and podcasts. The company left a stamp last year with the release of the Horror Pic “Anthrifier 3”, which scored at the cash register with a modest $ 1 million marketing budget that emphasized McGurk, reflects the technology -based approach to the Digital Ballyhoo company.
“Although the need for great stories never changed, viewing habits have done that and microdramas have proven that stories with short form can attract and involve a audience,” said Rovner. “But what is missing is the quality, creative passion and pleasure that our team will bring to this format.”
Opeka emphasized that Microco has the chance to secure the most important first-mover benefit for this format in the US
“By bringing Hollywood best practices to a global format that has been taken in Asia – but not cracked in the US – we believe that microco is unique positioned to lead this space,” Opeka said. “The technology, the talent, the timing – it all goes up.”
(Shown: Chris McGurk and Jana Winograde)
