Verizon signs content deal with Machinima

Telco and communication companies are shoring up with major acquisitions all surrounding content, especially within the last few years. AT&T and DirecTV are doing a shit ton of press announcing that acquisition, Comcast has all but become a media conglomerate, and Verizon’s been right there, too, just probably not on the same level.

Over the last couple of years, the communications juggernaut has made acquisitions in the form of AOL and Redbox i.e. one advertising company and one content delivery. Now comes news that Verizon has signed a deal with Youtube’s most successful original content producer…Machinima. Post the content producer’s recent FTC troubles, Machinima has signed a deal that will see it produce 110 hours of original programming per year, and 40 hours of curated content for Verizon’s new mobile video services starting in 2016.

To help meet the demand, Machinima has spun off a production company called Machinima Studios, their purpose is to produce said original content for not only Verizon, but Machinima’s other partners which includes Vimeo, Vessel, DailyMotion and PlayStation Vue.

Machinima has been relatively quiet in the machinima/animated series departments as of late, with Machinima’s latest efforts being the prequel Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles from Warner Bros. Animation, but really no other original content to speak of. The different Machinima Youtube channels like Happy Hour are all but quiet, letting other internet video producers like Dorkly and College Humor basically take a lot of that business.