Paramount Tests the Water with Web-Only Series

YouTube and user-generated content may have started it all, but these days online video is all about professional content. It's easy to understand why advertisers are a lot more comfortable with content coming from the companies they already trust and not some random guy with a webcam. However, professional content made especially for the web has been few and far between, with some notable exceptions like Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Now major studio Paramount is trying its luck at web-only content with Circle of Eight, a mini-series it hopes will set the standard for online video, or at least make enough money to cover the production costs, which, by web standards, look to be significant.

Circle of Eight is a mystery series with a paranormal twist, fitting maybe for the first try at a web-only show. The story starts with a young girl, fresh off the bus in Los Angeles, as she moves into a rundown apartment building filled with shady characters. Things get strange pretty fast but you'll have to wait for the whole series to “air” to see how it plays out. For now, three episodes are live on the MySpace page set up for the show.

The show seems interesting enough but the real question is whether it will be able to bring in the revenue the studio is expecting. While online video is a pretty established market, actually making money from it has been hard for even the largest players like YouTube and even Hulu. As a sidenote, the show is also a clear victory for MySpace as it tries to move more towards content and de-emphasize social networking.

The episodes are free to watch but Paramount has partnered with several companies to get some revenue out of the venture. Mountain Dew makes more than one appearance in the show and Adobe is also labeled as a sponsor with the “Powered by Adobe Flash” logo clearly displayed.

The partnership with Adobe is more than just for show though as the custom video player has several interactive elements allowing viewers to engage with the video in ways only possible online. It's more than just a gimmick though, many TV shows have added an interactive element in recent years with “alternative reality” games becoming quite popular. Two more episodes are coming next week and then one every week for a total of 10. It will be interesting to see how it fares, but Paramount is optimistic about it.