Bleacher Report has beefed up the production staff behind “Game of Zones” as the popular animated series enters its fifth season.
The new season of “Game of Zones,” which will consist of eight four- to five-minute episodes running weekly on Thursdays, premieres on April 12. With plans to animate more NBA players as medieval, “Game of Thrones”-esque characters this year, as well as to do more polished and complex animations, Bleacher Report put more animators, designers and other production staff behind the show. Now, “Game of Zones” is produced by a team of 15 people, up from eight in the last season, which also had eight episodes. The team includes a new lead producer supporting co-creators (and brothers) Adam and Craig Malamut.
“We found that we needed more designers and animators because the tricky part of producing this show is actually creating the characters and the likeness [to the NBA players and personalities],” said Craig Malamut. “The logistics are a lot more sophisticated.”
“Game of Zones” remains Bleacher Report’s most prominent scripted series, especially as the Turner-owned sports and lifestyle publisher dives more into creating entertainment programming. Last year, Bleacher Report also produced the unscripted series “No Script,” starring NFL player Marshawn Lynch, for Facebook Watch. This year, Bleacher Report is targeting five entertainment projects, including “Game of Zones,” as the company aims to build out a content licensing business.
With “Game of Zones,” Bleacher Report is also putting additional videos exclusively on its mobile app. This includes behind-the-scenes clips of the staff producing various episodes, a director’s commentary and a bonus scene that was cut from the first episode of the new season. (“It’s a juicy scene, and it will stay on the app — until someone rips it,” said Adam Malamut.)
“We know there’s certain niche content that not everyone is going to be interested in, and we felt the app was a natural place for someone who wants to watch these DVD-style bonus features,” said Craig Malamut.
The new season of “Game of Zones” will continue to be distributed on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and inside Bleacher Report’s app. Full episodes will air on those platforms, with cutdowns and other clips made for Twitter, Instagram and other social feeds. Across the first four seasons of the show, which consist of 16 episodes and one bonus episode tied to the most recent NBA All-Star Game, the show has captured more than 90.1 million video views as well as a nomination in the digital innovation category for this year’s Sports Emmys.
https://twitter.com/mutsackcraig/status/979064789124177928
-
NBCUniversal tests new measurement program to prove it can push product sales for advertisers
NBCU will use the program to inform media planning discussions with advertisers and eventually to guarantee sales against an ad buy.
-
Member ExclusiveHow the future of TV and streaming has – and hasn’t – been reshaped so far by 2020
The coronavirus crisis has not resulted in a sweeping overhaul of the TV and streaming industry. But, while some changes are unlikely to stick, others may not yet be apparent.
-
WarnerMedia eyes spring debut for HBO Max’s ad-supported tier
The company is asking advertisers to spend at least $250,000 per quarter, and the streamer will carry no more than four minutes of ads per hour.
-
SponsoredThe race to frictionless consumer journeys is expanding beyond marketplaces
Compressing consumers’ path-to-purchase is the holy grail of advertising and marketing. When Jeff Bezos authored 1-Click in 2011, advertisers began to realize that in some cases — especially for consumables — awareness, consideration and purchase can all happen in seconds. Since then the rise of e-commerce marketplaces has forced a major shift in the design […]
-
Member Exclusive‘There wasn’t a huge shift’: TV upfront market did not undergo expected overhaul this year
TV upfront became more pliable this year, but the traditional model largely remained in place with most advertisers sticking to the traditional broadcast-year window.
-
WTF is creative separation?
As political ads start to flood the streaming market, controlling which ads run next to one another is becoming more of a focus.
