Online social networking Website MySpace.com has a development deal for a reality-based television show with Pipeline Entertainment, the producers of Blind Date and Classmates.
Pipeline, who announced the deal April 14, said they have domestic and international rights to create reality-based and dramatic shows based on experiences of MySpace.com users "who share their lives creatively" with their online communities. The first entry is MySpaceTV, co-created by Pipeline and Chameleon Entertainment.
"MySpace.com has all the right elements for successful television, including enormous reach, audience connectivity, an influential community and measurable traffic and impressions," said Pipeline president Matthew D. Papish, co-announcing the deal. "But most important, it is a vast source of fascinating real-life experiences that make truly compelling storytelling."
With Blind Date and Classmates, Papish showed a flair for melding traditional television and Internet content, and MySpaceTV is being set up to offer advertisers an exclusive site to buy "a powerful integrated package that gives them exposure to millions of people, plus branded content inside the show, plus traditional spot buys," Pipeline said. But Papish also said viewers get a new deal, too.
"For audiences, the Website will be like the fourth act to the TV show - they can go to the destination site to participate in the many challenges, and affect the outcome of the stories on the show," he said.
MySpace cofounder Chris DeWolfe said, co-announcing the deal, that the inspiration for the new development packages came after ideas were solicited from MySpace.com users themselves.
"The show will be created by MySpace users and feature MySpace users," DeWolfe said. "Matthew Papish & Damon Harmon saw our user creativity as the real backbone of MySpace, and they tapped into that in a big way."
