Endemol Preps Music Show for Bebo

HILVERSUM/LONDON: Endemol is joining forces with Samsung Mobile U.K. and AOL-owned social networking site Bebo for a new online music series called Beat.

Created and produced by Endemol, the magazine-style daily series is set for a June 19 rollout on Bebo for a 13-week run. It will focus on emerging talent, with details on new bands, exclusive performances, interviews, tour blogs, music news, mobile content, competitions and more. Users will be able to share their opinions and music news and upload reviews. The show will be presented by Ben Chancellor and will launch alongside a nationwide competition inviting Bebo users to audition for the role of co-presenter.

Bebo has been funding its original series via brand integration, and with Beat the company signed on a single partner: Samsung, whose music handset portfolio, The Beat Edition, launches this month with the Samsung BeatDJ handset, aimed at 16- to 25-year-old music fans. Samsung will be integrated throughout the series, including a number of competitions and content strands driven by products from the Samsung portfolio.

“This is the first of its kind—a pioneering social media music series that is shaped by its audience with a focus on the hottest emerging new acts," said Peter Cowley, the global head of original digital programming at Endemol. "Beat is set to be the definitive destination for Bebo’s music loving community."

Kate Burns, the VP and managing director for Europe at Bebo, added: “Beat is a great opportunity for us to feature incredible music content and offer our users an entertaining and engaging forum for them to connect and share their views. It also gives Bebo users a chance to see behind the scenes and feel connected to the music and artists that they know and love.”

Mikah Martin-Cruz, marketing director at Samsung UK, commented: “The scale of this partnership is a first for Samsung and is testament to how seriously we take social networking and the need to pioneer new ways of engaging our core audiences. We will work closely with Bebo, the music industry and our network partners to use these platforms to build closer artist fan relationships.”