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A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of
scripted ''Scripted'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Icon for Hire. It was released on Tooth & Nail Records on August 23, 2011, and went on to break the label's new artist record for albums sold during the first week of release. Back ...
or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single instance of a web series program can be called an episode or a "
webisode A webisode (portmanteau of "web" and "episode") is an episode of a series that is distributed as part of a web series or on streaming television. It is available as either for download or in streaming, as opposed to first airing on broadcast or c ...
", however the term is not always used. In general, web series can be watched on a range of platforms and devices, including
desktop A desktop traditionally refers to: * The surface of a desk (often to distinguish office appliances that fit on a desk, such as photocopiers and printers, from larger equipment covering its own area on the floor) Desktop may refer to various compu ...
, laptop, tablets and
smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s. They are different from
streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...
, which can be watched on various streaming platforms. As of 2016, there were a number of awards that have been established to celebrate excellence in web series, like the Streamys, Webbys,
IAWTV The International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) was founded in 2008 and is devoted to the advancement of the arts and sciences of streaming television and web series production. Since 2011, the academy has hosted an annual awards ceremony cal ...
, and
Indie Series Awards The Indie Series Awards (formerly the Indie Soap Awards) is an annual event hosted by ''We Love Soaps'', based in Los Angeles, California, honoring the best in independently produced, scripted entertainment created for the Internet. The ceremony ...
, although the Streamys and IAWTV also cover programs on streaming platforms. There are also several web series
festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...
, most notably in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
. Most major award ceremonies have also created web series and digital media award categories, including the
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s and the
Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...
.


History


1990s

In April 1995, "Global Village Idiots", an episode of the
Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...
-based public access program '' Rox'', was uploaded to the Internet, making ''Rox'' the first series distributed via the web. The same year, Scott Zakarin created ''
The Spot The Spot, or thespot.com, was the first episodic online story (1995–1997), and covered bandwidth and production costs by offering paid advertising banners on the web pages and product placement within the journal entries. The site earned one o ...
'', an episodic online story which integrated photos, videos, and blogs into the storyline. Likened to '' Melrose Place-on-the-Web'', ''The Spot'' featured a rotating cast of characters playing trendy twenty-somethings who rented rooms in a fabled
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
beach house called "The Spot". ''The Spot'' earned the title of Infoseek's "Cool Site of the Year," an award which later became the Webby. In January 1999,
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
licensed the animated sci-fi web series ''
WhirlGirl ''WhirlGirl'' debuted in 1997 as an online sci-fi series about a reluctant superheroine battling an evil "mediatech" empire in 2077 Southern California. The title character—dubbed "a real revolutionary for a virtual age"—balanced freedom-fight ...
'', making it the first independently produced web series licensed by a national television network. In February 1999, the series premiered simultaneously on Showtime and online. The character occasionally appeared on Showtime, for example hosting a "Lethal Ladies" programming block, but spent most of her time online, appearing in 100 webisodes.


2000s

As broadband bandwidth began to increase in speed and availability, delivering high-quality video over the Internet became a reality. In the early 2000s, the Japanese
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
industry began broadcasting
original net animation An original net animation (ONA), known in Japan as , is an anime that is directly released onto the Internet. ONAs may also have been aired on television if they were first directly released on the Internet. The name mirrors original video animati ...
(ONA), a type of original video animation (OVA) series, on the Internet. Early examples of ONA series include '' Infinite Ryvius: Illusion'' (2000), ''Ajimu'' (2001), and '' Mahou Yuugi'' (2001). In 2003, The Spot executive producer and head writer Stewart St. John revived the brand for online audiences with a new cast, and created a separate mobile series to air on
Sprint PCS Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. The ...
Vision-enabled phones. St. John and partner Todd Fisher produced over 2,500 daily videos of the first American mobile phone soap, driving story lines across platforms to the web counterpart, The Spot (2.0). The same year,
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
launched MSN Video, which featured the original web series ''Weird TV 2000'', a spin-off of the syndicated television series '' Weird TV''. The web series featured dozens of shorts, comedy sketches, and mini-documentaries produced exclusively for MSN video. The
video-sharing An online video platform (OVP), provided by a video hosting service, enables users to upload, convert, store and play back video content on the Internet, often via a structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally u ...
site YouTube was launched in early 2005, allowing users to share television programs.Waterman, D., Sherman, R., & Ji, S. W. (2013). The economics of online television: Industry development, aggregation, and “TV Everywhere”. Telecommunications Policy, 37(9), 725–736. YouTube co-founder
Jawed Karim Jawed Karim (বাংলাঃ জাওয়াদ করিম) (born October 28, 1979) is an American software engineer and Internet entrepreneur of Bangladeshi and German descent. He is a co-founder of YouTube and the first person to up ...
said the inspiration for YouTube first came from
Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...
's role in the 2004 Super Bowl incident, when her breast was exposed during her performance, and later from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Karim could not easily find video clips of either event online, which led to the idea of a video sharing site. From 2003 to 2006, several independent web series began to achieve popularity, most notably
Rooster Teeth Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC is an American digital media company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman, Rooster Teeth is a subsidiary of W ...
's series '' Red vs. Blue''. The series was distributed independently using online portals YouTube and
Revver Revver (formerly ChangeTv) was an American video sharing website that hosted user-generated content. Until its shutdown in 2011,
, as well as the Rooster Teeth website, and acquired over 100 million views during its run. ''
Sam Has 7 Friends ''Sam Has 7 Friends'' was a 2006 series drama created, produced, and funded by the production company Big Fantastic and subsequently bought and distributed by the studio Vuguru. The series appeared on YouTube, Revver, iTunes and its own web site. ...
'', which ran in the summer and fall of 2006, was nominated for a
Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
, and was temporarily removed from the Internet when it was acquired by
Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...
. In 2004–2005, Spanish producer
Pedro Alonso Pablos Pedro Alonso Pablos (Madrid, January 11, 1979) is a film producer, known for his internet talk show, a pioneer in that medium, and for making his animated feature films almost entirely by himself. Interviews Mentioned interviews were recorded in ...
recorded a series of video interviews featuring actors and directors like
Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...
,
Santiago Segura Santiago Segura Silva (born 17 July 1965) is a Spanish filmmaker and actor. He also worked to a lesser extent as a television presenter, voice actor and comic book writer, as well as being a collector of original comic books. At 12, he began ...
,
Álex de la Iglesia Alejandro "Álex" de la Iglesia Mendoza (born 4 December 1965) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter, producer and former comic book artist. De la Iglesia's films combine grotesque and very dark elements such as death and murder: most of his ...
, and Keanu Reeves, which were distributed through his own website. ''
lonelygirl15 ''Lonelygirl15'' is an American science fiction thriller web series created by Miles Beckett, Mesh Flinders, Greg Goodfried, and Amanda Goodfried. It was independently released on YouTube from June 16, 2006 to August 1, 2008, and was also briefl ...
'', ''California Heaven'', " The Burg", and ''
SamHas7Friends ''Sam Has 7 Friends'' was a 2006 series drama created, produced, and funded by the production company Big Fantastic and subsequently bought and distributed by the studio Vuguru. The series appeared on YouTube, Revver, iTunes and its own web site. ...
'' also gained popularity during this time, acquiring audiences in the millions. ''Lonelygirl15'' was so successful that it secured a sponsorship deal with
Neutrogena Neutrogena Corporation, trading as Neutrogena, is an American company that markets skin care, hair care and cosmetics owned by parent company Johnson & Johnson and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
. In 2007, the creators of ''Lonelygirl15'' followed up the series' success with ''
KateModern ''KateModern'' was the sister series of ''lonelygirl15''. The series, which was announced on 16 July 2007, began filming on 9 July and the first video, ''Fight and Flight'', was released on 16 July. The show is produced by EQAL in partnership with ...
'', a series which debuted on
social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for ...
Bebo Bebo ( ) was an American social networking website that originally operated from 2005 until its bankruptcy in 2013 and relaunched in February 2021. The site relaunched several times after its bankruptcy with a number of short-lived offerings, ...
, and took place in the same fictional universe as their previous show.
Big Fantastic Big Fantastic, LLC is a filmmaking collective and production company located in Santa Monica, California which creates, develops and produces online video entertainment. The company is currently most known for their popular web series ''Sam Has 7 ...
created and produced ''
Prom Queen A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school ye ...
'', which was financed and distributed by
Vuguru Vuguru is an American independent multi-platform studio founded by Michael Eisner's The Tornante Company in March 2006. The company has produced content including the web series ''Prom Queen'', '' The Booth at the End'', ''Little Women Big Cars'', ...
, and debuted on MySpace. These web serials highlighted interactivity with the audience in addition to the narrative on relatively low budgets. In contrast, the web series ''
Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...
'', starring actor/producer
Amanda Tapping Amanda Tapping (born 28 August 1965) is a British-Canadian actress and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian–American military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1,'' ''Stargate Atlantis,'' an ...
, cost $4.3 Million to produce. Both ''
Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...
'' and ''
Prom Queen A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school ye ...
'' were nominated for a
Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
. Award-winning producer/director
Marshall Herskovitz Marshall Schreiber Herskovitz (born February 23, 1952) is an American film director, writer, and producer, and currently the President Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America. Among his productions are ''Traffic'', '' The Last Samurai'', '' ...
created ''
Quarterlife ''Quarterlife'' (stylized as ''quarterlife'') is an American web series, also briefly an NBC television series in 2008, created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the creators of '' Thirtysomething'' and ''Once and Again'', and producers of ...
'', which debuted on MySpace and was later distributed on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
. In 2009, the first web series festival was established, called the
Los Angeles Web Series Festival The Los Angeles Web Series Festival, more commonly known as the LA Web Fest, is a web series festival based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2009 by Michael Okwudili Ajakwe Jr and was one of the first web series-based events; ''Filmm ...
. In 2008, major television studios began releasing web series, such as the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
show "Squeegies", the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
show ''
Gemini Division ''Gemini Division'' is an American science fiction series of five- to seven-minute long episodes created by Electric Farm Entertainment which went into production in March 2008. Based on an original story by Brent Friedman the online series was de ...
'', and the
Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
show ''The Malan Show''.
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
relaunched
The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
as an online network beginning with their first original web series, " Sorority Forever", created and produced by
Big Fantastic Big Fantastic, LLC is a filmmaking collective and production company located in Santa Monica, California which creates, develops and produces online video entertainment. The company is currently most known for their popular web series ''Sam Has 7 ...
and executive produced by
McG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...
. Meanwhile,
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
announced a new original series created by
Craig Brewer Craig Brewer (born December 6, 1971) is an American filmmaker. His 2005 movie ''Hustle & Flow'' won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and achieved commercial success, along with an Academy Award for Best Original Song, "It's ...
that brought together the
indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...
music world and new media expansion.
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
created, produced and self-financed ''
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'' is a 2008 musical comedy-drama miniseries in three acts, produced exclusively for Internet distribution. Filmed and set in Los Angeles, the show tells the story of Dr. Horrible (played by Neil Patrick Harris) ...
'' starring
Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...
and
Felicia Day Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred ...
.
Big Fantastic Big Fantastic, LLC is a filmmaking collective and production company located in Santa Monica, California which creates, develops and produces online video entertainment. The company is currently most known for their popular web series ''Sam Has 7 ...
wrote and produced '' Foreign Body'', a mystery web series that served as a prequel to
Robin Cook Robert Finlayson "Robin" Cook (28 February 19466 August 2005) was a British Labour politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 until his death in 2005 and served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 until 2001 wh ...
's novel of the same name. Beckett and Goodfried founded a new Internet studio, EQAL, and produced a spin-off from ''"
lonelygirl15 ''Lonelygirl15'' is an American science fiction thriller web series created by Miles Beckett, Mesh Flinders, Greg Goodfried, and Amanda Goodfried. It was independently released on YouTube from June 16, 2006 to August 1, 2008, and was also briefl ...
"'' entitled " LG15: The Resistance". Dedicated media coverage of the web series debuted with organizations such as
GigaOm Gigaom is a technology focused analyst firm and media company. The company evolved from a blog which offered news, analysis, and opinions on startup companies, emerging technologies, and other technology related topics. It was started by Om Malik ...
's
NewTeeVee Gigaom is a technology focused analyst firm and media company. The company evolved from a blog which offered news, analysis, and opinions on startup companies, emerging technologies, and other technology related topics. It was started by Om Malik ...
and
Tubefilter News Tubefilter, Inc. is a privately held company based in Los Angeles, California that operates media businesses focusing on the online entertainment industry. Tubefilter is best known for Tubefilter News, a blog targeted at the fans, creators, pro ...
. Mainstream press also began to provide coverage. In the UK,
KateModern ''KateModern'' was the sister series of ''lonelygirl15''. The series, which was announced on 16 July 2007, began filming on 9 July and the first video, ''Fight and Flight'', was released on 16 July. The show is produced by EQAL in partnership with ...
ended its run on
Bebo Bebo ( ) was an American social networking website that originally operated from 2005 until its bankruptcy in 2013 and relaunched in February 2021. The site relaunched several times after its bankruptcy with a number of short-lived offerings, ...
. That site also hosted a six-month-long reality/travel show, ''The Gap Year'', produced by Endemol UK, who also made
Kirill Kirill is a male given name, deriving from the Greek name Κύριλλος (Kyrillos) which in turn derives from Greek κύριος (kyrios) "lord". There are many variant forms of the name: Cyril, Cyrill, Kyrill, Kiryl, Kirillos, Kyryl, Kiril, Ky ...
, a drama for
MSN MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95. The Microsoft Net ...
. During MipCom, in October 2008, MySpace announced plans for a second series and indicated that it was in talks with cable network
Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...
to distribute their first series on network television. Additionally MySpace spoke of their plans to produce versions of the MySpace Road Tour in other countries.FOXTEL HITCHES RIDE ON MYSPACE ROAD TOUR CO-PRODUCTION
, Digital Media Australia, Natalie Apostolou, Friday October 17, 2008.
The emerging potential for success in web video caught the attention of top entertainment executives in America, including former Disney executive and current head of the Tornante Company, Michael Eisner. Torante's Vuguru subdivision partnered with Canadian media conglomerate
Rogers Media Rogers Media Inc., operating as Rogers Sports & Media, is a Canadian subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties, such as the Citytv and Omni Television terrestrial television stations, Sportsnet, ...
on October 26, securing plans to produce upwards of 30 new web shows a year. Rogers Media agreed to help fund and distribute Vuguru's upcoming productions, thereby solidifying a connection between old and new media.


Production and distribution

The rise in the popularity of the Internet and improvements the accessibility and affordability of high speed broadband and streaming video technology meant that producing and distributing a web series became a feasible alternative to "traditional" series production, which was formerly mostly done for
broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
and cable TV. In comparison with traditional TV series production, web series are less expensive to produce. This has allowed a wider range of creators to develop web series. As well, since web series are made available online, instead of being aired at a single preset time to specific regions, they enable producers to reach a potentially global audience who can access the shows 24 hours a day and seven days a week, at the time of their choosing. Moreover, in the 2010s, the rising affordability of tablets and smartphones and the rising ownership rates of these devices in industrialized nations means that web series are available to a wider range of potential viewers, including commuters, travelers, and other people who are on the go. The emerging potential for success in web video has caught the eye of some of the top entertainment executives in America, including former
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
executive and current head of the
Tornante The Tornante Company, LLC is an American privately held investment firm founded in 2005 and owned by former Paramount Pictures and The Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner. Tornante invests in, acquires, and operates media and entertainment ...
Company,
Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...
. Eisner's
Vuguru Vuguru is an American independent multi-platform studio founded by Michael Eisner's The Tornante Company in March 2006. The company has produced content including the web series ''Prom Queen'', '' The Booth at the End'', ''Little Women Big Cars'', ...
subdivision of Tornante partnered with Canadian media conglomerate Rogers Media on October 26, 2009, securing plans to produce over 30 new web shows a year.
Rogers Media Rogers Media Inc., operating as Rogers Sports & Media, is a Canadian subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties, such as the Citytv and Omni Television terrestrial television stations, Sportsnet, ...
will help fund and distribute Vuguru's upcoming productions, solidifying a connection between traditional media and new media such as web series. Web series can be distributed directly from the producers' websites, through streaming services or via online video sharing websites .


Web 2.0

A number of web series incorporate interactive
Web 2.0 Web 2.0 (also known as participative (or participatory) web and social web) refers to websites that emphasize user-generated content, ease of use, participatory culture and interoperability (i.e., compatibility with other products, systems, and ...
features on their producer's websites, the show website, or other online fora. These Web 2.0 features enable viewers and fans to post comments online about episodes and link or "tag" favorite shows, episodes or video clips. These activities help to build viewer and fan engagement. Some producers use social media and social networking websites for the promotion of their web series and seek new viewers. As well, some producers monitor social media and networking comments as a way to obtain fan feedback on their shows. A web series is simply a series of web videos, usually in serial form, posted on the Internet, that first appeared in the late 1990s and gained popularity in the early to mid-2000s. In this new digital millennium, a web series can reach a wide international audience just by making a quick and cleverly produced video. A web series consists of an ensemble cast who create their own online characters to tell a story over the Internet. They use special computer-generated technology to create a virtual world filled with interactive interfaces and visual effects. While it was once the domain of a small group of Hollywood producers, web series are now being used by major corporations as a means of spreading corporate goodwill and promoting upcoming movies.


Awards

The
Webby Awards The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories include ...
, established in 1995, and the
Indie Series Awards The Indie Series Awards (formerly the Indie Soap Awards) is an annual event hosted by ''We Love Soaps'', based in Los Angeles, California, honoring the best in independently produced, scripted entertainment created for the Internet. The ceremony ...
, established in 2009, recognize top web series in the comedy, drama, and reality TV categories. In 2009, the
International Academy of Web Television The International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) was founded in 2008 and is devoted to the advancement of the arts and sciences of streaming television and web series production. Since 2011, the academy has hosted an annual awards ceremony cal ...
was founded with the mission to organize and support the community of
streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...
creators, actors, producers and executives. It administered the selection of winners for the
Streamy Awards The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The formal ...
, (which awards
streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...
and web series content,) in 2009 and 2010. Due to poor reception and execution from the 2010 Streamy Awards, the IAWTV decided to halt its production of the award ceremony. The IAWTV followed this decision by forming their own award presentation, the
IAWTV Awards The IAWTV Awards is an annual event hosted by the International Academy of Web Television, currently based in Los Angeles, that honors web series creators and talent in more than two dozen categories. History The IAWTV Awards are hosted annuall ...
.


See also

* List of web series *
Streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...
*
Channel 101 Channel 101 is a non-profit monthly short film festival in Los Angeles, which has a sister festival in New York City, Channel 101 NY. Channel 101 is a creation of Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab in which participants submit a short film in the format ...
*
NewTeeVee Gigaom is a technology focused analyst firm and media company. The company evolved from a blog which offered news, analysis, and opinions on startup companies, emerging technologies, and other technology related topics. It was started by Om Malik ...
*
Original net animation An original net animation (ONA), known in Japan as , is an anime that is directly released onto the Internet. ONAs may also have been aired on television if they were first directly released on the Internet. The name mirrors original video animati ...
*
Podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
*
Streamy Awards The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The formal ...
*
Tubefilter Tubefilter, Inc. is a privately held company based in Los Angeles, California that operates media businesses focusing on the online entertainment industry. Tubefilter is best known for Tubefilter News, a blog targeted at the fans, creators, pro ...
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LGBT representation in animated web series The term independent animation refers to animated shorts and feature films produced outside a major national animation industry. A good portion of the work is viewed in animation festivals and private screen rooms along with schools that produce ...


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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Web Series Computer-related introductions in 1995 New media Digital media Broadcasting