Discovery Digital Networks took to its NewFront presentation on Tuesday to announce a new digital hub for its community and roster of talent: TLCme.
TLCme serves the brand’s categories of Family, Home, Beauty, Style, Health and Food through community-driven content and contributors like Discovery’s own Stacy London.
The site it set to launch the week of May 10, coinciding with TLC’s Mother’s Day-themed week, “Mother of All Weeks.” The restaurant TGI Friday’s has signed on as a launch sponsor for the project.
“Our viewers – who we affectionately call our ‘heart seekers’ – come to us seeking a sense of community, and we’ve brought them honest, unfiltered programs with compelling stories that offer just that,” says Scott Lewers, TLC’s SVP of multiplatform strategy. “With TLCme, we’re thrilled to be able to extend this conversation into a space where fans can engage with us and one another in a truly authentic manner.”
Discovery Digital also signed YouTube’s Louis Cole to its online Seeker channel, adding his YouTube channel FunForLouis as well as an original series later on. Cole has more than 1.3 million subscribers on his travel-based YouTube channel.
Also on the slate for this year is a VR-integration for the MythBusters team over at Discovery.
Collective Digital Studio, also pitching at the NewFronts on Tuesday, expanding its programming lineup with Epic Meal Time, Rhett & Link, Pretty Little Liars’ Shay Mitchell and an event called Prank Week this November.
The studio also signed a deal with Insomniac Events, making a foray into electronic dance festivals like the Electric Daisy Carnival. Digital influencers will post related content for Insomniac’s platforms and Collective Digital will connect the channels with advertisers under the deal.
Fashion and lifestyle brand StyleHaul’s presentation unveiled its first scripted projects, a partnership with Maybelline called Vanity, starring Denise Richards, Alex Frnka and model Karrueche Tran.
StyleHaul, an MCN with more than 3000 online content creators on its roster, also announced its new social platform, StyleHaul Society, which will feature branded product demos by StyleHaul talent distributed across social platforms.
Read more at Broadcasting & Cable and The Hollywood Reporter.
Brief Take: Discovery’s TLC brand is a natural fit for the digital community space, connecting its style, food and health brands (like Say Yes to the Dress, Cake Boss) into an easily accessible space online.
[Image courtesy of Discovery]
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