Meet the “Chuck Norris of Love” in this New Short with Lou Diamond Phillips the

Reposted from our Red Carpet Report site.

We watch a lot of indie films, shorts, and webseries at Mingle Media TV and love to share and support these projects with our audience. First, we did rush to look at it because we are fans of Lou Diamond Phillips, before we even saw the premise of the story which is typical, unless you don’t know the cast and you spend time looking at the rest of the info to see what it’s about.

We clicked on the link and watched it on YouTube. We’ve embedded it here for you below.

After watching, we wanted to thank the EP and tell them we would share this – but most of all, we read the rest of the story…

Writing for the Actor

“Lucy in the Sky with Diamond” was written for LDP and was sent to him while he was working on the new TV show Longmire (another show we love). Lou was pretty flattered by the gesture of getting a script written just for him and so he said “yes” to the project. (The power of asking for the order – if you don’t you will never get it).

Chuck Norris of Love

You’ve seen the jokes about Chuck Norris…

• Chuck Norris’ body guard is protected by Chuck Norris
• Chuck Norris doesn’t call the wrong number. You answer the wrong phone.
• Chuck Norris has already been to Mars; that’s why there are no signs of life.
• Chuck Norris and Superman once fought each other on a bet. The loser had to start wearing his underwear on the outside of his pants.
• Chuck Norris can strangle you with a cordless phone.

… and so on. LDP is a man-made of unique blending of ancestries with this father being Scots-Irish and Native American (Cherokee) and his mother of Filipino-Chicnese descent. He has played some very memorable roles in some great movies like La Bamba, Young Guns, Courage Under Fire, Stand and Deliver and oozes cool on and off-screen. We’ve (Red Carpet Report) have interviewed him and find him charming in person, with his family and irresistible. Hence why we watched the short before we read what it was about.

Now LDP is not the only one in this comedy short. It also stars John Patrick Jordan (American Pie, Mad Men) and Brian Thomas Smith (The Big Bang Theory, Happy Endings).

If you haven’t clicked play yet… what are you waiting for? If you have, why haven’t you shared this yet? Oh, good, thanks. We appreciate it. So does Joey (writer/director) of this piece – be sure to do it for Joey too.

About Joey Boukadakis

 

Writer and Director Joey Boukadakis graduated from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, as well as the Masters of Professional Writing Program, also at USC. He’s written screenplays for Disney and MGM studios and his music videos have played on MTV, VH1, BET, and CMT. His films have screened at Sundance, Vail, San Diego, Boston, St. Louis, Miami, Atlanta, HollyShorts, CineVegas, Palm Springs International, and MethodFest film festivals. He lives in Los Angeles, CA. Follow Joey on Twitter https://twitter.com/Joeybouk

Lou Diamond Phillips in New Comedy Short Film, Lucy in the Sky with Diamond

My Gimpy Life, Anyone But Me, Cost of Capital, What’s Trending Among Top Winners at 2nd Annual IAWTV Awards #IAWTVAwards #CES

2nd Annual @IAWTV Awards #IAWTVAwards, a set on Flickr.

Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet Report host, Misty Kingma, were on hand as the official media crew for the 2nd Annual IAWTV Awards tonight at the Palazzo, in Las Vegas, interviewing the celebrated guests and celebrities on the red carpet for arrivals and at the winners circle. Mingle Media TV is also a proud sponsor of this year’s  International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) Awards which is part of the Entertainment Matters program at this year’s International CES.

Want Photos and Videos of Our IAWTV Awards Coverage?

Be sure to visit check our Red Carpet Report website for all updates on IAWTV Awards interviews and photos following tonight’s event along with other events covered by Mingle Media TV including photos and interviews here at http://www.redcarpetreporttv.com or on our Flickr channel http://www.flickr.com/photos/minglemediatv/ or on our Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork

Chris Hardwick, IAWTV Award Winner – best Channel

Felicia Day, IAWTV Award Winner Best Writing (Non-Fiction) – The Flog

Blake Calhoun, IAWTV Winner, Best Editing – Continuum

IAWTV Award Winners: Best News Series – The Philip DeFranco Show

IAWTV Award Winner: Best Writing (Comedy) – Squaresville – Matt Enlow

IAWTV Award Winner: Best Female Performance (Comedy) – My Gimpy Life – Teal Sherer Teal

IAWTV Awards Winner: Best Makeup/Special Effects , Best Costume Design– The League of S.T.E.A.M.

IAWTV Award Winners, The LIzzie Bennet Diaries, Best Interactive/Social Media Experience

The IAWTV Awards is an official web television industry awards show established for content creators, by content creators. Nominees for the 2nd Annual IAWTV Awards were chosen by majority vote of the active voting membership of the IAWTV from over 470 officially submitted web series, live online events, and online channels. For more about IAWTV visit http://www.iawtv.org or http://www.IAWTVAwards.org.

Official Winners

• Best Animated Series – Red vs. Blue
• Best Cinematography – H+ The Digital Series – Brett Pawlak
• Best Comedy Series – Squaresville
• Best Costume Design – The League of S.T.E.A.M. – The League of S.T.E.A.M.
• Best Design (Art Direction/Production) – Continuum – Eric Whitney
• Best Directing (Comedy) – My Gimpy Life – Sean Becker
• Best Directing (Drama) – Anyone But Me – Tina Cesa Ward
• Best Directing (Non-Fiction) – The Flog – Sean Becker
• Best Documentary Series – PRODIGIES
• Best Drama Series – Leap Year
• Best Editing – Continuum – Blake Calhoun
• Best Educational Series – Engineer Your Space
• Best Ensemble Performance – Squaresville
• Best Female Performance (Comedy) – My Gimpy Life – Teal Sherer Teal
• Best Female Performance (Drama) – Blue – Julia Stiles – Blue
• Best Host (Live) – What’s Trending – Shira Lazar
• Best Host (Taped) – Daily Grace – Grace Helbig
• Best Hosted (Live) Series – What’s Trending
• Best Hosted (Taped) Series – Daily Grace
• Best Interactive/Social Media Experience – The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
• Best Live Event – Bill Maher: CrazyStupidPolitics
• Best Makeup/Special Effects – The League of S.T.E.A.M. – The League of S.T.E.A.M.
• Best Male Performance (Comedy) – The Jeff Lewis 5-Minute Comedy Hour – Jeff Lewis
• Best Male Performance (Drama) – The Booth at the End, Season 2 – Xander Berkeley – Leed
• Best News Series – The Philip DeFranco Show
• Best Online Channel – Nerdist Channel
• Best Original Music – Cost of Capital – Rob Gokee
• Best Supplemental Content – Red vs. Blue
• Best Variety Series – Rhett & Link
• Best Visual Effects (Digital) – H+ The Digital Series – Faction Creative and The Sequence Group: VFX Supervisor Ian Kirby; Digital Effects Supervisor Chris van Dyck; VFX Producer Caleb Bouchard
• Best Writing (Comedy) – Squaresville – Matt Enlow
• Best Writing (Drama) – The Booth at the End, Season 2 – Christopher Kubasik
• Best Writing (Non-Fiction) – The Flog – Felicia Day

This year at the 2nd Annual IAWTV Awards, Mingle Media TV Network’s Red Carpet Report (RCR) team covered the red carpet arrivals and winner’s circle. Hosting for the second year for the Red Carpet Report is entertainment journalist and pop culturist, Misty Kingma and producer / videographer JD Piche, who will be assisted by other members of the RCR team to produce the video and photography content for sharing, distribution and licensing.

For more of Mingle Media TV’s Red Carpet Report coverage please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook here:

https://www.minglemediatv.com
http://www.redcarpetreporttv.com
https://www.facebook.com/minglemediatvnetwork
https://www.facebook.com/RedCarpetReportTV
http://www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
http://www.flickr.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
https://www.twitter.com/minglemediatv

Follow Misty at http://www.twitter.com/MistyCityLA

2nd Annual @IAWTV Awards #IAWTVAwards

2nd Annual @IAWTV Awards #IAWTVAwards, a set on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet Report host, Misty Kingma, were on hand as the official media crew for the 2nd Annual IAWTV Awards arrivals and winners circle. The International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) is part of the Entertainment Matters program at this year’s International CES. Out of the 470 officially submitted web series, live online events, and online channels a total of 34 winners were selected during the award show.

Be sure to visit our Red Carpet Report site for all the details on the winners and other events covered by Mingle Media TV including photos and interviews here at www.redcarpetreporttv.com.

The IAWTV Awards is an official web television industry awards show established for content creators, by content creators. Nominees for the 2nd Annual IAWTV Awards were chosen by majority vote of the active voting membership of the IAWTV from over 470 officially submitted web series, live online events, and online channels. www.iawtv.org

For more of Mingle Media TV’s Red Carpet Report coverage please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook here:

www.minglemediatv.com
www.redcarpetreporttv.com
www.facebook.com/minglemediatvnetwork
www.facebook.com/RedCarpetReportTV
www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
www.flickr.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
www.twitter.com/minglemediatv

Follow Misty at www.twitter.com/MistyCityLA

MMTVN’s “Indie Intertube” Web TV Talk Show Receives Two IAWTV Nominations & To Speak on CES Panel

Mingle Media TV’s popular talk show with hosts, April Grant and Amanda Shockley, well-known podcasters, entertainment bloggers and live stream hosts of Indie Intertube.TV have been nominated for two awards in the 2nd IAWTV awards and will join Web Video Panel at CES. 

Online media and interactive web television network, Mingle Media TV Network (MMTVN) announced today that the show, “Indie Intertube” which streams live on  their network on Sunday nights, received two International Academy of Web Television Awards (IAWTV) nominations in the categories of Best Hosted Live Web Series and Best Hosted Live event. The IAWTV Awards show will be held on Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at the Palazzo Theatre at The Venetian Resort Hotel in Las Vegas. Additionally, the two show hosts, April Grant, Executive Producer and Amanda Shockley, CTO will be panelists during the CES Entertainment Matters Conference on IAWTV’s Web Video panel, Wednesday January 9, 2013, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall — Upper Meeting Room Number N264.

The IAWTV Awards is an official web television industry awards show established for content creators, by content creators. Nominees for the 2nd Annual IAWTV Awards were chosen by majority vote of the active voting membership of the IAWTV from over 470 officially submitted web series, live online events, and online channels. IAWTV is also part of the CES Entertainment Matters Conference, focused on Web content creation, distribution, monetization, brand integration, audience development and the new online networks.

Shockley and Grant will join other web video experts including Margaret Laney, CMO, Awesomeness TV, Benny Luo, CEO, New Media Rock Star, Heath Corson, Writer, Aim High digital series, Jay Bushman, Transmedia Producer, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Fourth Wall Studios with host Jenni Powell, Head of Content, Vidcon and moderator Richard Spalding, CEO, 7th Chamber. Their panel will be held from 12:50-1:30 p.m. and entitled: Web Video and Social: The Chicken and the Egg. To register to attend the CES Entertainment Matters Conference featuring the IAWTV, please visit http://www.cesweb.org.

“Indie Intertube” is a weekly live-hosted web television show dedicated to independent Internet television and original for the web content. They bring together the fans of quality entertainment and the people who create online shows. Hosts April Grant and Amanda Shockley have several years of experience in creating online content between them, having produced “Indie Intertube” as a live podcast before branching out on live streaming web TV. Grant and Shockley focus on the world of web series with in-depth interviews, reviews and weekly awards with daily industry updates available on their website, Indieintertube.tv. “Indie Intertube” is broadcast every Sunday night on the Mingle Media TV Network at 7 PM EST at http://www.minglemediatv.com/IndieIntertube.html while simulcasting on the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, and other smart phones via a free Stickam.com app and archived for on-demand replay on their YouTube channel and website.

Other nominations in the “Best Hosted Live Event” category include: Bill Maher: CrazyStupidPolitics, MTV: Live in NYC, Transforming the World Through Comedy and We Day Winnipeg 2011; in the “Best Hosted Live Web Series” category include:  Mark Keizer and Wade Major, “Stupid For Movies”, Shira Lazar, “What’s Trending with Shira Lazar”, Beth Hoyt, My Damn Channel, Kristyn Burtt, “So You Think You Can Dance on AfterBuzzTV.”

“The Indie Intertube team has a cult following that grows with each live show as they research and find the best new content on the web to their audience,” said Stephanie Piche, CEO, Executive Producer of Mingle Media TV Network. “Amanda and April are advocates for content creators and provide a forum where they are showcased and where fans can give their live feedback during their broadcasts, this is a pioneering effort that is fueled by passion and integrity.”

Find out more about Amanda and April at http://www.indieintertube.tv.

About Mingle Media TV Network (MMTVN)

MMTVN is an online media and interactive web TV network that executive produces, curates, and broadcasts 100 weekly web series shows along with entertainment industry event coverage. Our video coverage, web series and live broadcasts are promoted via Twitter, blog posts, Facebook and other popular social networks; in addition to airing live on the iPhone, Blackberry, and Android platforms and syndicated through Blip.TV and over 15 syndication sites including AOL Video, YouTube, Samsung, Vizio, MeeFeedia, Blinkx, Daily Motion, Boxee, Roku and as an iTunes podcast. MMTVN’s audience reach online is over 250,000 weekly views of their video coverage, web series and live broadcasts. MMTVN’s live web TV shows feature lifestyle subject matter experts and social media content providers from celebrities, authors to bloggers. MMTVN has expanded its curation of web series with a growing number of independently produced shows from science fiction to drama, action to teen soaps now playing on the network. MMTVN also covers Hollywood celebrity and charity events from the red carpet and behind the scenes. MMTVN has covered the Oscars on the Red Carpet along with IAWTV Awards, Golden Globes, IPTVFest, HollyShorts, LA Shorts Fest, AOF Fest, Daytime Emmys, Saturn Awards, Streamy Awards, People’s Choice, NAACP, SAG , plus numerous Web Series Premieres and A-list Celebrity Fundraisers. For more information, please visit http://www.minglemediatvnetwork.com.

About the IAWTV Awards

The IAWTV Awards is an official web television industry awards show established for content creators, by content creators. The event serves as a platform for members of the IAWTV to honor the best of their profession, while networking among industry luminaries and supporting the IAWTV. Proceeds raised from the show are used for the betterment of the community by providing more member resources as well as professional development and education for professionals working in web television. For more information, please visit http://iawtvawards.org/ or follow us on twitter at @iawtvawards.

About CEA

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $186 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also owns and produces the International CES-The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online at www.CEA.com and www.Innovation-Movement.com.

Mingle Media TV to Sponsor 2nd IAWTV Awards and Red Carpet Report Team to be Official Media Host

MMTVN will sponsor the 2nd Annual IAWTV Awards show and their Red Carpet Report team will be the official media crew hosting the arrivals and winners circle on January 8th 2013 in Las Vegas as part of the CES Entertainment Matters Conference.

Online media and interactive web television network, Mingle Media TV Network (MMTVN) announced today that they will be a sponsor and the official media hosts for the Red Carpet event being held at the upcoming 2nd Annual IAWTV (International Academy of Web Television) Awards held on held on January 8, 2013 at the Palazzo Theatre at The Venetian Resort Hotel in Las Vegas as part of the CES Entertainment Matters Conference.

The IAWTV Awards is an official web television industry awards show established for content creators, by content creators. Nominees for the 2nd Annual IAWTV Awards were chosen by majority vote of the active voting membership of the IAWTV from over 470 officially submitted web series, live online events, and online channels.

Mingle Media TV Network is an Independent Entertainment Online TV Network focused on lifestyle content from fashion to drama connecting to audiences using multiple channels of social media networks and cover entertainment events, curate and support original web series, and produce live streaming Web TV talk shows. Their Red Carpet Report team produces and publishes media coverage on their YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork and other syndicated networks including their website properties. The Red Carpet Report team is known for focusing on getting the story, not the sound bite from entertainment industry professionals at awards shows, film festivals, premieres, and celebrity charity events.

“We are very excited to be part of this event as the Red Carpet Report team covered the 1st IAWTV awards and are proud to see that have many of the shows we host on the Mingle Media TV Network are nominees again this year,” said Stephanie Piche, CEO, Executive Producer of Mingle Media TV.

This year at the 2nd Annual IAWTV Awards, MMTVN’s Red Carpet Report team will consist of entertainment journalist, pop culturist and host Misty Kingma and producer / videographer JD Piche, who will be assisted by other members of the RCR team and will produce the video and photography content from the arrivals on the red carpet to the winners circle for sharing, distribution and licensing after the event.  https://www.redcarpetreporttv.com/

About Mingle Media TV Network’s Red Carpet Report

MMTVN’s Red Carpet Report is an online media and interactive web TV destination that produces entertainment industry event and news coverage. RCR has been credentialed for the Oscars Red Carpet for the past two years, Emmys, Film Festivals, Award Shows, Premieres, Industry Events and numerous celebrity charity events. Their red carpet coverage is promoted via Twitter, blog posts, Facebook, and other popular social networks and is syndicated to over 15 video sharing sites including YouTube, AOL Video, BlipTV, Samsung TV, Vizio TV, Daily Motion and iTunes along with streaming video partners: Boxee and Roku. Their audience reach online is over 1 million monthly views of our video coverage in the US with a 14-42 age range / 68% female demographic. Mingle Media TV also curates over 200 Indie Web TV series and Live Streams events and weekly lifestyle talk shows. For more information, please visit http://www.minglemediatv.com.

About the IAWTV Awards


The IAWTV Awards is an official web television industry awards show established for content creators, by content creators. The event serves as a platform for members of the IAWTV to honor the best of their profession, while networking among industry luminaries and supporting the IAWTV. Proceeds raised from the show are used for the betterment of the community by providing more member resources as well as professional development and education for professionals working in web television. For more information, please visit http://iawtvawards.org/.

About CEA
The Consumer Electronics Association 

(CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $186 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also owns and produces the International CES-The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online at www.CEA.com and http://www.Innovation-Movement.com.

Merry Christmas to All from Mingle Media TV Entertainment

Paley Center’s Evening with Husbands

Paley Center’s Evening with Husbands, a set on Flickr.

Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet Report host, JJ Snyder, were invited to The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills for the First Panel Event for an Online Series, “Husbands” Season Two Premiere including a Panel with the Series’ Cast and Creative team.

The acclaimed series returns August 15th on www.LoveHusbands.com.

Watch all our video interviews here on YouTube

More About “Husbands”
Waking up married after a drunken Vegas weekend used to be an adventure reserved for one man and one woman. But thanks to a new law, athlete Brady Kelly and actor Cheeks find themselves unexpectedly and legally wed. Unwilling to undermine the hard-fought battle with a public quicky divorce, these two decide to make a go of it. They were doing okay when they were dating. But how will it work out, now that they are HUSBANDS?

Follow “Husbands” at husbandstheseries.com
Follow on Facebook www.facebook.com/HusbandsTheSeries

For more info visit The Paley Center for Media at www.paleycenter.org, follow on Twitter @PaleyCenter #PaleyLiveLA.

For more of Mingle Media TV’s Red Carpet Report coverage please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook here:

www.minglemediatv.com
www.redcarpetreporttv.com
www.facebook.com/minglemediatvnetwork
www.facebook.com/RedCarpetReportTV
www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
www.flickr.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
www.twitter.com/minglemediatv
www.twitter.com/mingletvnetwork

Follow JJ at www.twitter.com/JJBird99

Thanks to The Lippin Group: www.lippingroup.com

Mingle Media TV Sponsors 2nd “Audience Choice” Category at Upcoming 3rd New Media Film Festival

MMTVN expands Audience Choice category sponsorship in the New Media Film Festival 2012, for web series, live stream, and trailers. Online voting by fans will create additional buzz to support new media filmmakers and independent content creators.

Online media and live web TV network company; Mingle Media.TV announced today that they will be expanding the categories that they sponsor for the “Audience Choice” category in the New Media Film Festival. The new categories “trailers” and “live stream web shows” will join the “web series” category and will benefit from online promotion, visibility to distributors, prizes totally over $5,000 as well as the opportunity to have their project selected to screen at the 2012 New Media Film Festival.

The New Media Film Festival brings together Industry Professionals and Content Creators across Film, TV, Games, Publishing, Mobile, Web, and Tech. The two-day event features the Best of New Media and includes Short Films, Mobile, Games, Web, iApps, Animation, Music Videos, Digital Comics, Web Series, Live Stream, Technology Platforms, and New Film Technologies. Screenings include Sundance, Cannes, and World Premieres as well as the best talent working in new media.

“We’re excited to support the New Media Film Festival by sponsoring the “Audience Choice” category for these three areas of growth.” Said Stephanie Piche, Executive Producer, Mingle Media TV. “With more and more independent digital film makers creating projects, we wanted to showcase their work through the online voting to help them gain exposure and find new fans.”

Call for Entries: New Media Film Festival
The New Media Film Festival is now accepting entries for the June 2012 Festival including the Mingle Media TV “Audience Choice” sponsorship.

The “Audience Choice” categories invite web series and LIVE stream video creators who have three or more episodes, less than 60 minutes in length to submit their project in the following unscripted and scripted genres: Action/Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Horror, Music/Performing Arts, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi, Special Interest, Sport/Fitness, and War. Filmmakers can also submit a pilot or trailer that is under 3 minutes in length to the competition. The audience gets to vote online for their favorite submissions in two rounds of voting before the winners are selected. The Grand Prize winners will be announced at the New Media Film Festival in Los Angeles, 2012. For more details, please visit: http://www.minglemediatv.com/NMFFAudienceChoice.html.

Mingle Media TV currently broadcasts over 100 live and episodic web TV interactive programs each week. MMTVN has produced over 6,000 hours of live stream interactive talk shows where audience members can interact with hosts and viewers online or via mobile devices. Show sponsors and advertisers benefit from an integrated ad approach, where the hosts talk about products, which later become meta-tagged content on the Internet within social networks as part of their sponsorship.

About New Media Film Festival
The New Media Film Festival brings together Industry Professionals and Content Creators across Film, TV, Games, Publishing, Mobile, Web and Tech. Founded by Independent Filmmaker, Susan Johnston and launching in Los Angeles, June 2010, the three-day event features the Best of New Media and includes Short Film, Mobile, Games, Web, iApps, Animation, Technology Platforms, and New Film Technologies. New Media Film Festival-SF Bay Area is produced in partnership with Producers Guild of America, NATPE, IAWTV, and San Francisco Writers Conference. New Media Film Festival (San Francisco and Los Angeles) are currently accepting submissions athttp://www.NewMediaFilmFestival.com. For more information about the Festival and/or sponsorships, please contact Susan Johnston, the Founder, and Director of the New Media Film Festival, at 310-288-1100 or info@NewMediaFilmFestival.com

About Mingle Media
 TV Network
MMTVN is an online media and interactive web TV network that executive produces, curates, and broadcasts 100 weekly web series shows along with entertainment industry event coverage. Our video coverage, web series and live broadcasts are promoted via Twitter, blog posts, Facebook and other popular social networks; in addition to airing live on the iPhone, Blackberry, and Android platforms and syndicated through Blip.TV and over 15 syndication sites including AOL Video, YouTube, Samsung, Vizio, MeeFeedia, Blinkx, Daily Motion, Boxee, Roku and as an iTunes podcast. Our audience reach online is over 250,000 weekly views of our video coverage, web series and live broadcasts and are currently in the top 20,000 websites in the US. MMTVN’s live web TV shows feature lifestyle subject matter experts and social media content providers from celebrities, authors to bloggers including executive producing two shows with Emmy award winners. MMTVN has expanded its curation of web series with a growing number of independently produced shows from science fiction to drama, action to teen soaps now playing on the network. In addition to curating produced webseries, MMTVN is promoting and securing sponsors for INDIE creators. MMTVN also covers Hollywood celebrity and charity events from the red carpet and behind the scenes. MMTVN has covered the Oscars on the Red Carpet along with Golden Globes, IPTVFest, HollyShorts, LA Shorts Fest, AOF Fest, Daytime Emmys, Saturn Awards, Streamy Awards, People’s Choice, NAACP, SAG , plus numerous Web Series Premieres and A-list Celebrity Fundraisers. Mingle Media TV is also sponsoring the Audience Choice Category in the New Media Film Festival for Web Series Creators. For more information, please visithttp://www.minglemediatvnetwork.com.

Hot off the press! Mingle Media TV Network Announces Expansion into Indie Web Series Productions, Branded Entertainment

MMTVN’s expansion will bring more web series creators together to learn about the business of web series, help produce new series and bring brands in to sponsor shows and build engaging campaigns to new audiences, no matter what screen they watch.

Announcing the Expanded Mingle Media TV Network

 

Online media and interactive web TV network, Mingle Media TV, announced today that they have added three new divisions to their Indie entertainment community. The new divisions are focused on production of web series, branded entertainment and red carpet coverage, building awareness of Indie web series with a new weekly screening LIVE broadcast and support for creators, and the business of web series division to support the business side of producing web series. Mingle Media TV is currently the only community that offers live and produced web TV shows along with celebrity reporting with their Red Carpet Report.

Mingle Media TV Network (MMTVN) celebrated its first year in operation on February 8, 2011, and currently broadcasts 70 shows on their site, has produced over 800 video interviews from the red carpet including the Oscars and over 1,500 hour long web TV talk shows. MMTVN distributes their content using social media networks from Facebook to Twitter and syndicates video distribution to the most popular destination sites from YouTube to Daily Motion. They also publish their video content to streaming media set-top boxes such as Boxee and Roku.

The planned expansion will bring the content that is hosted on MMTVN to more platforms such as Google TV, and expanding their current offering for produced content to Apps via Apple, Blackberry and Android formats. MMTVN’s LIVE stream partner, Stickam, has Apps for watching and chatting in real-time which have become quite popular for viewing live web shows along with Facebook and Twitter integration to reach the audience where they are most comfortable watching. Other planned tools will be an integrated program guide with show reminders, check-in and loyalty programs beyond the current Clicker.com integration, and a web series directory and monthly calendar for events, show schedules, premieres and meet-ups around the globe.

MMTVN’s production services expansion will bring the resources together for both creating and marketing Indie projects including bringing together a group of creators, writers, producers and actors who will work together on projects. Red Carpet coverage for hire outside of the traditional events that MMTVN covers will be monetized and the launch of a new daily savings coupon program with a video component called, Daily Savings TV will start across the country.

The Business of Web Series division is both a boot camp and a consulting arm where web series creators can learn how to create business plans and market their projects, how to promote and get publicity along with monetizing their series through sponsorships and product placement deals. MMTVN will offer these services to series that are hosted on their site as part of a partner program being released later this week. Series creators who are not hosted on MMTVN can subscribe to these services through a program fee or hourly consulting fee.

“Mingle Media TV Network is focused on bringing Indie entertainment to the audience, not the screen,” said Stephanie Piche, CEO and Executive Producer of Mingle Media TV. “We support Indie creators by helping them continue to disrupt traditional entertainment and take advantage of the growth of video being watched on all screens. Our goal is to bring in brand sponsors who are looking for niche audiences and want to connect on a more personal level as part of a social TV experience.”

Mingle Media TV has successfully used traditional and social media marketing techniques to build and grow awareness for their community online. Many of the MMTVN shows have national sponsors that benefit from both the live web show audience on Mingle Media TV to the creators own community where daily mentions, blog posts and recommendations are authentic and powerful. Mingle Media TV founder, Stephanie Piche, believes it’s important to bring back sponsorships and use the conversation that social networks offer to build awareness and commerce. Piche has over twenty years experience in bringing startups and products to market and has created and managed branded campaigns with great success and has seen first hand how the power of investing in content not ads builds a brand name authentically and exponentially.

Find out more about these new divisions by going to the Mingle Media TV Network’s new corporate umbrella site at http://www.minglemediatvnetwork.com. If you’re interested in contacting MMTVN for more information, please visit the website and submit a request via email or by phone.

About Mingle Media TV Network

MMTVN is an online media and interactive web TV network that executive produces, curates, and broadcasts 65 weekly web series shows along with entertainment industry event coverage. Our video coverage, web series and live broadcasts are promoted via Twitter, blog posts, Facebook and other popular social networks; in addition to airing live on the iPhone, Blackberry, and Android platforms and syndicated through Blip.TV and over 15 syndication sites including AOL Video, YouTube, Samsung, Vizio, MeeFeedia, Blinkx, Daily Motion, Boxee, Roku and as an iTunes podcast. Our audience reach online is over 250,000 weekly views of our video coverage, web series and live broadcasts and is currently in the top 20,000 websites in the US. MMTVN’s live web TV shows feature lifestyle subject matter experts and social media content providers from celebrities, authors to bloggers including executive producing two shows with Emmy award winners. MMTVN has expanded its curation of web series with a growing number of independently produced shows from science fiction to drama, action to teen soaps now playing on the network. In addition to curating produced webseries, MMTVN is promoting and securing sponsors for INDIE creators. MMTVN also covers Hollywood celebrity and charity events from the red carpet and behind the scenes. MMTVN has covered the Oscars, Emmy’s and Golden Globes events; WIN Awards, HollyShorts, LA Shorts Fest, AOF Fest, Saturn Awards, Streamy Awards, People’s Choice, NAACP, SAG, plus numerous Web Series Premieres and A-list Celebrity Fundraisers. Mingle Media TV is also sponsoring the Audience Choice Category in the New Media Film Festival for Web Series Creators. For more information on MMTVN Entertainment, please visit http://www.minglemediatv.com. For the Business of Web Series, visit www.businessofwebseries.com, for MMTVN productions, visit www.mmtvnproductions.com, and for MMTVN Screenings, visit www.mmtvnscreenings.com.

Web Series Creators Need to Get Savvy! Continuation of #WebSeriesChat Conversation

As you may know, I’m the co-host of the weekly #WebSeriesChat on Twitter and each week we chat about the business of “web series” in 140 characters. There seems to be a recurring theme in the chat which is somewhat due to new creators finding our weekly chat and some of the regulars still not figuring out all the pieces. So, I thought I’d share some of my knowledge with you in this post and hopefully inspire you to see the glass half full – not empty.

First, I have questions for webseries creators – are you creating art or do you want this to be your business? There is no wrong answer to this question. But this blog post is focused on the creators who want this to be a business – to get paid, sponsored, and continue to create.

There are several elements to launching any “product” and as a creator you need to have a plan and work the plan. As a professional marketing strategist, I spend a lot of time watching and reading trends in the industry that I work in. (In my career I have launched over 35 software/mobile products from startups in Silicon Valley to Fortune 500. You can read my resume at LinkedIn if you’d like to see more.) I consult with a lot of different companies including TV Shows about using social and new media marketing to engage with their target audience and getting sponsor love.

When I started pitching web shows over 2.5 years ago, I had to have some research to support the reasons why the brand / advertiser should sponsor my site / and shows. This is what some people refer to as marketing “spin” and it works if done well and in a way that makes YOU the trusted source. With that said – here are some questions and answers that might help you with your quest to build audience and get sponsored.

Question 1 – How many people do you need to have watching YOUR content to be valuable to an advertiser?

I got pretty frustrated seeing some comments today about needing a HUGE audience to get a sponsor. Not true. If you believe you can’t do something – guess what, you won’t. If you have a good product, a good presentation, know your audience potential and USE the Internet then you can get a sponsor. Now this does not mean you should not be building an audience while you are writing, filming, editing and producing your webseries. You should be a social media expert – you’re creating on the web – use it. Facebook, Twitter, connect with bands on Myspace and make a partnership where you promote their music and they promote your series (no more garageband music for your opening).

Here’s what you need to know – the value of a fan is worth something to the brand. You have fans. 100 – 1,000, 10,000. They have value – especially if you are talking to an advertiser who wants to reach YOUR audience. Let’s say your series is in the Teen Horror genre and you have 1,000 Facebook fans and your series gets 5,000 views an episode.

Value of A Facebook Fan

You find a sponsor who wants to reach the teen audience, you share with them your “social media savvy” i.e. community that you’ve built from your blog, press mentions, video, distribution, Twitter and Facebook activity. And you use these channels to post messages about your sponsors even asking your FANS to LIKE the sponsors… what’s that worth to the sponsor? There are a number of studies that show the engagement of a Facebook fan being greater than any other social media platform out there.

Additionally, these fans are also valuable to the brand this graphic shows the value at over $136 per LIKE. If you use your social media marketing arm and ask your fan base to LIKE your sponsors – and they get 1,000 LIKES from your community – that’s a perceived value of $136,000. Imagine getting 10% of that to create your season 1 of your series and then having a guaranteed season II when you double that audience and the fan base for you and your sponsor?

OH – and here are a few other things to think about when you worry about “video views”… If you are engaging an audience online – they don’t have to watch the video to talk about YOU and your project.

– 10,000 views translate to 10,000 people watched all or part of your video

What it doesn’t tell is how many places that video is embedded on (benefit of YouTube being easy to embed in reviews, articles, blog posts, social networking sites). It also doesn’t tell how many links to the video are out there with comments about the video, how many people on Facebook have seen the brand name associated with your project as the sponsor. It does not tell how many people were exposed to the brand and your project without ever watching the video or what the quality or influence of the viewer is on and offline.

This is where I use the marketing spin… the unknown can be a positive thing.

Oh, here’s ONE more fact for you: the entire Internet digital video market (advertising revenue) is around $1.1 Billion. Guess where $500 million of that comes from? The premium TV shows found on Hulu.com and other sites. There is $60 Billion spent on traditional TV advertising. We’re just getting started in tipping the digital advertising dollars towards digital web content. This means that video advertising inventory is scarce – and offering a brand a special social media engagement might net out more value to them as they are investing in content – banner ads are NOT content.

Online Video Viewership Growth Fast Facts:

• 32% more people watched video online (Dec ’09 to Dec ’10)
• 12% more time watching video content in Dec ’10 – i.e. 14 hours average
• Watching TV online at the networks site grew 82% (CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox)
• Multi-Screen Viewing Habits are growing TV, Computer, Mobile with 68.2% of US Internet users watching video each month (158.1 million people)

Why you need to get Internet Savvy? The average number of sites that 70% of consumers visit is 20 and only about 16% of Internet consumers are trying new sites… if there are 158 million people watching video online today, you need to start thinking outside of the box to reach them.

Question 2: What’s your genre? Where do people go on the Internet to chat about it?

Fan forums, communities, search Twitter conversations (that’s what the SEARCH bar is for in Twitter) engage with people who are passionate about what your theme is… Start sharing what you are doing, get people to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, your YouTube channel.

Bottom line – don’t wait until you have produced your series to start engaging with your audience. Use the different social media outlets, post photos, story lines, character info while you’re creating your project – get engagement. You need to get on Internet time… and you need to get savvy about the business of online video.

Question 3: Do you know what a Meta-tag is? Do you use them? Do you ask for comments and Ratings? Do you use Hotspots and Annotations?

I can’t begin to tell you how many videos I have watched on YouTube that just have a name as the title – no description and 2 words in the tags. REALLY? No one will find you in search. Oh and Google is the #1 Search Engine with about 70% of all global searches…. and who is #2? YouTube. No one will find you if no one can find you. Put descriptions and links on your videos – to your website, twitter, facebook – make it easy for people to find you. Use more than 2 keywords in the tags! Use the space in the title to tell people what your video is.

Did you know that 43% of YouTube’s top 100 videos are from YouTube partners? Ray William Johnson has six of the top 20 spots. Do you know how he does this? (1) He asks for comments and ratings with specific questions about what you just watched. ShaneDawsonTV has gotten 70K comments because he asked for them. (2) Incorporate your viewer feedback – you can make your episodes longer, improve sound, lighting or whatever the feedback is and your audience will love you for it – in fact why not do what Ray does and give viewers credit for helping improve his content. (3) Use hotspots and annotations: after a viewer watches your video on YouTube guess what – something “related” comes up and it’s probably NOT something YOU created. When your credits are rolling at the end create an annotation and hotspot to drive people to your website, fan page or twitter. ASK and they will follow you – especially if they liked what you created.

This concludes my blog rant… I hope that it has given you some good food for thought and that next week on #WebSeriesChat you come with some tips for the chat about what you’ve discovered that works for you rather than make blanket statements that you don’t have enough views.