CBS in Deal with lonelygirl15 Creators

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES, May
15: CBS has partnered with EQAL, founded by the creators of the hit online
series lonelygirl15 and KateModern, to create and produce multiplatform television,
online and mobile entertainment for existing and future CBS TV shows.

The partnership, while
non-exclusive, gives CBS a first look in terms of collaborating on new
multiplatform show concepts developed by EQAL, founded by Miles Beckett and
Greg Goodfried. In addition, EQAL will act as a consulting partner to CBS to
help create experiences that extend the narrative of its television shows to
online and mobile platforms. EQAL will work closely with CBS television writers
at the script and production level to write, produce and direct online
narratives that tie directly into the television series and promote the network
telecasts.

"This partnering
signals CBS's attention to the web as a new medium across both Interactive and
the Network," said Quincy Smith, the president of CBS Interactive.
"EQAL is at the forefront of developing and applying content online. CBS
is thrilled to add their talents and energy into the mix as we create CBS show
experiences for the web."

Miles Beckett, the CEO of
EQAL added, "Until now, online content associated with TV shows has had
virtually no real connection to the show's narrative experience. What CBS and
EQAL are coming together to create is groundbreaking and will be the first time
that television stories will be extended and amplified online in a way that
takes full advantage of the Internet's capabilities for interaction and
community. The extended narratives online will give fans and viewers the
opportunity for a whole new level of engagement both in between airings of the
TV episodes and as standalone plot lines."

"This agreement takes
us one step further into the multiplatform future with our television content
serving as a spring board to create storytelling experiences that are
entertaining and meaningful to the audience, valuable for the advertiser and
revenue generating for our company," noted Nancy Tellem, the president of CBS Paramount Television Network Television
Entertainment Group. "We think the innovators at EQAL combined with the
creators of our television content offers great entertainment potential for the
digital world and added promotional opportunity for our television
series."

—By Mansha Daswani