Disney UK and Ireland Strike Deal to Bring Hundreds of Short Form Videos to the Platform
In A Galaxy, Prank School with Rahat, Cover Versions, and Learn It or Burn It make their exclusive UK debut
Disney UK and Ireland today announced an agreement with Pay TV operator TalkTalk TV to air a collection of content from Maker Studios, a global leader in short form videos and one of the largest influencer networks worldwide. TalkTalk TV is the first Pay TV platform in the UK to offer both Maker Studios original series and content from its vast creator network - all on demand.
Tom Clark, Vice President of Digital Distribution, Disney EMEA comments: “Maker Studios’ content is compelling, fresh and innovative and resonates strongly with younger audiences. TalkTalk TV, as our first UK Pay TV client for Maker Studios, will give customers the ability to enjoy world class short form content whenever and wherever they want.”
Aleks Habdank, Managing Director, TalkTalk TV, added “We’re delighted that TalkTalk TV homes will be the first in the UK to enjoy Maker Studio content. As many of our customers are families, having access to top online entertainment in a safe environment, free from adverts, is hugely appealing. This partnership with Maker Studios demonstrates TalkTalk TV’s continued commitment to growth and serving our customers.growth from strength to strength. We’re passionate about bringing our customers the widest range of content, on a single platform and on their terms. We can’t wait for TalkTalk homes to start enjoying this service.”
Shameless Maya, How Ridiculous, Noodlerella, Daym Drops, Camila Coelho, and more, are among the global and local UK creators featured on the platform, which is now home to over 250 short form videos across gaming, lifestyle, family and entertainment. New content from the Maker Studios network will be refreshed on a monthly basis.
TalkTalk TV customers will be able to access Maker Studios content through TalkTalk’s Kids and Entertainment Boosts, which can be added a month at a time with no ongoing commitment.
Original series available now include Jobsworth starring Joe Weller, Pugatory starring CutiePieMarzia; Crash Pad starring Bart Baker; and Party Fun Times starring Taryn Southern; among many others. Shows exclusive to TalkTalk in the UK include:
-
Cover Versions – Fantastic interpretations of what could have been. YouTube creators create one-minute literary stories or “covers” based solely on the title and cover of a book they have never seen or heard of.
-
In A Galaxy – A collaboration with Warrior Poets and Lucasfilm, take a look inside the lives of 22 Star Wars super fans, from their personal to professional and everything in between lives, see how “the Force” is part of the lifeblood of those that live and breathe Star Wars every day.
-
Learn It or Burn It – Meet Jamie Burnish, a record producer who also happens to be a pyromaniac. He’s looking for the next new sound and has brought in some YouTube creators, such as Roman Kemp, to help. The creators will be given an instrument to learn—in just one week, and if they fail the audition, it’ll go up in flames.
-
Prank School with Rahat – Prankster, magician Rahat, whose YouTube channel Magic of Rahat boasts over 4.6 million subscribers, takes on apprentices…with a twist. Each episode features Rahat as he takes a protégé under his wing to teach them the magical art of pranking—from how to construct props to planning the perfect scenarios, he will then guide his apprentices as they try to trick an unsuspecting public. But will these pranksters become the pranked?
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Disney Media Distribution
Alexis Harding: +44 (0)7771 389586/ alexis.harding@disney.com
About Disney UK and Ireland:
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $52.5 billion in its last fiscal year, the highest in the Company’s history (FY15). The Walt Disney Company has been at the forefront of family entertainment in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for over 80 years and is dedicated to creating innovative, entertainment experiences for children and families. The Company has offices in 25 countries and employs more than 5,300 people (and 14,500 employees in Disneyland Paris) and London, UK is the regional headquarters. The Disney brand is experienced in a number of ways across the region including in cinemas, on TV screens with Disney-branded channels as well as non-branded content, through a wide range of consumer products that are sold at mass market retailers and in Disney Stores across the region. The Disney brand is also experienced at Europe’s #1 tourist destination, Disneyland Paris, which opened in 1992.
About Maker Studios:
Maker Studios is a global leader in online short-form video and one of the largest influencer networks worldwide. Maker Studios specializes in reaching millennial audiences across multiple programming genres with a network that includes independent creators from more than 100 countries, attracting over 11 billion views per month on YouTube alone. Maker Studios is home to many of the world’s leading online talent and award-winning original programs such as “Epic Rap Battles of History” and “Wonder Quest.” Maker Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and is headquartered in Los Angeles with operations in 12 markets across the globe. For more information visit www.makerstudios.com.
About TalkTalk
TalkTalk was founded in 2003 to give people more choice, better value for money and make telecoms accessible to everyone. It has always challenged the status quo by launching first of a kind products including: free broadband at a time when people were paying above the odds; the first network-level parent controls HomeSafe; and a flexible TV service that quickly became Britain’s fastest growing TV service.