New Form Digital, a digital-first studio, launched with great fanfare almost exactly one year ago by Hollywood legends Ron Howard and Bryan Grazer who joined forces with Discovery Communications. I recently spent some time with SVP JC Cangilla who runs overall operations, among his many other hats. Cangilla previously worked as a senior executive in video at Yahoo! and has been a digital dealmaker for years. In a digital video world still dominated by low production values and large doses of serendipity (not necessarily bad traits, by the way), New Form Digital's approach is very different and, well, a bit more "traditional" -- focused on high production values and scripted story-telling -- but with digital, mobile and millennials top of mind.
Despite New Form Digital's high profile roots, most of you likely still don't know much about the company. JC changes that here -- giving extremely detailed responses that offer real insights about the company. Definitely worthy of reading and consideration, since New Form Digital is a "must know" company in the digital media "space."
Here are my 5 questions to JC -- and his answers unedited. Enjoy ....
(1) What is the reason your company exists (and what problem(s) are you looking to solve)?
New Form fills a white space that exists in the digital landscape: we are solely focused on developing, producing and releasing scripted series on digital platforms.
We’re an entertainment company with a technology mindset. Our scripted originals (typically episodic shows in sci-fi, drama, comedy, horror genres) feature digital-native talent (typically from Youtube, Vimeo, Instagram and Vine). We use data to make informed choices in the development, packaging and distribution of our scripted originals. And we tie it all together with really compelling story.
Our creative is led by Kathleen Grace, our Chief Creative Officer, who works with our Head of Development and Production, Melissa Schneider to find talent, develop the projects and build out a complete story. We are producing great stuff, with 14 series sold since we launched just one year ago. Some of my favorites are here.
My job is to take these great stories and use my knowledge of the larger video ecosystem to find the right homes for the stories and the right models for the business. It’s a fun job. We’ve done great deals with major media companies, MCNs, marketers and agencies. This content market has exploded in the past few years and there is significant demand for high-quality scripted series.
It’s hard to believe how much we have grown in just one year -- with nearly 25 pilots in development and 14 series sold and going into production over the next year. We’ve already announced 4 showswith Vimeo and have a number of deals on the horizon that we will be announcing in the weeks ahead.
(2) How are you different from your competitors?
We are the only entertainment studio built specifically to focus solely on scripted originals for digital platforms.
We’re not a multi-channel network (but we work and partner with MCNs like Fullscreen, Maker and Machinima), we’re not simply a production company (because we’re focused on developing story and talent) and we’re not a media company.
We are huge fans of creators and digital video in general. And we are in an explosive market with an incredible product. The digital video business is seeing record investment from traditional media holders, new platforms and, increasingly, marketers. We look to partner in each of those spaces.
(3) Why will you succeed (and what is your single most important ingredient for success)?
Scripted content and cinematic stories have historically shown massive value—both to the content creators (e.g. studios) and to the distributors (e.g. TV channels like AMC going big into scripted originals in the early 2000s or more recently with premium subscription platforms like Netflix and Amazon developing their own original programming). Our continued success will be dependent on successful stories and listening to the audience and creators.
As one example of our model in action, we recently released 14 “shows” on YouTube, within the channels of the most prominent actor or director on that show. We looked at performance of New Form Digital’s content vs. mostly non-scripted, conversational content that was consumed over the last 90 days on those channels. Our shows had a significantly longer watch time (+262%) and more shares and likes (+60%) than anything else in that time period. So we are excited to replicate that success with individual series across multiple platforms.
We’re uniquely positioned in the digital space to leverage the vast amount of data like this to help make the right creative choices. Digital efficiencies allow us to ideate, create and release quickly. We’re building the business to support scaled development and release.
(4) What makes you unique (and what do you enjoy most outside of building your business)?
The company is unique because of what we talk about above: focus on scripted, marrying tech into the entertainment process and focusing on digital talent, distribution and audience.
I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in digital video for the last 10 years (first at Spot Runner, then at Yahoo and now at New Form) and have seen growth and challenges in the space. The business that I’ve been able to generate is always dependent on having a wide knowledge of the entire ecosystem while being opportunistic. Flexibility, deep relationships, perseverance, and willingness to try new things are all important qualities that lead to success in this space.
From a professional standpoint, it’s never been a better time to be in digital video and yet the opportunity is still growing and evolving.
On a personal level, my son Jack is eighteen months old and nothing gives me greater joy than spending time with him and his mother. Jack’s favorite toy is a pink stroller and Sundays typically find him pushing through a crowded local farmer’s market so we can get to the strawberries he loves the most.
(5) What digital media trend is most interesting to you (and what is the least)?
It’s fascinating to see how quickly the video consumption experience is changing; feels like tectonic shifts are all happening at the same time. They include (but are not limited to): 1. major media embracing direct-to-consumer services and OTT experiences, 2. audiences, especially younger audiences, flocking to digital platforms and 3. marketers investing in content as means-in-itself and not just around the content. All three of these make us excited about the potential of our own projects.
Least interesting question that I get asked daily: Are you making short-form or long-form? Our episode lengths fit the story they are telling. Some are long, some are shorter. There is a structural legacy from TV that leads to assumptions that episode lengths less than 22 minutes in length aren’t “high-quality.” With binge consumption, DVR, and millennial video consumption patterns, we don’t think 22s are necessarily the best ways to engage and retain audiences. Thus you’ll see 10 minute episodes, 15 minute episodes and 5 minute episodes from New Form. And we’re confident that distributors and platforms will love the content, the audience engagement will be significant and then the monetization rates and the ad-serving technology will fall in line.