Time Warner Turns the Web Into Show Business With Launch Of Entertaindom

With the debut today of the new Time Warner vertical entertainment destination, Entertaindom(www.entertaindom.com), the company is poised to transform the Internet into a viable business for original branded entertainment programming.  More than ten new shows will debut at the first online entertainment network to launch from a major media company.
    
Entertaindom will offer a variety of online entertainment, news, information and services - all within a one-stop, personalized destination. Entertaindom will include entertainment news and information from Entertainment Weekly, CNN, Reuters, Variety and other sources, including music and TV stories, movie reviews, hit lists and critics' polls.  It will also feature online services, shopping opportunities and community functions such as e-mail, chat and entertainment home pages powered by AcmeCity, the joint venture between Warner Bros. Online and FortuneCity.com (Neuer Market: FCT). An October survey from research firm CyberDialogue indicates that 73 percent of new Internet users go online looking for entertainment. Entertaindom will help fill that need.
    
Short-form entertainment rules at Entertaindom, which includes three types of new Web programming: 1) new franchises born on the Web that have the opportunity to cross over to other media such as "The God and Devil Show" or the cult character "Dr. Science," following the studio model for discovering up-and-coming talent; 2) powerful brand extensions with new "webisodic" material developed for perennial favorites such as DC Comics' 3-D "Superman" adventures and Warner Bros. classic animation's "Marvin the Martian"; and 3) re-purposed programming of previously existing material, such as full-length classic Looney Tunes cartoons which will be presented as an exclusive online feature at Entertaindom.
    
"Entertaindom is an extension of our strategy to harness the consolidated strength of Time Warner's brands in the online world.  It is an exciting entertainment destination which brings together in one location a unique blend of content, commerce and community from both within and outside our company," said Gerald Levin, Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Inc.
    
"With Entertaindom, we are taking full advantage of what digital technology has to offer to create and enhance consumer experiences that are uniquely suited to the Internet.  Entertaindom features short programs which are as clever, creative and cutting-edge as many feature films and televisionshows," said Richard Bressler, Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Digital Media.

Jim Moloshok, President of Warner Bros. Online and the executive in charge of Entertaindom said, "The new age of the Internet will be dominated by mainstream users looking for familiar brands and well known personalities.  At Entertaindom, not only do we have the advantage of these popular properties, we also have the benefit of Time Warner's marketing support, allowing us tobuild new made-for-online franchises."

"We're giving birth of a whole new breed of entertainment," said Jim Banister, Executive Vice President of Warner Bros. Online and chief programmer of Entertaindom. "We're creating a new form of online programming combining native-to-the-web technology with established brands and new franchises to enable the development of 'networked entertainment.'  That's Entertaindom."
 
The following is a sampling of original short-form entertainment andservices to be found on Entertaindom:
 
     NEW TIME WARNER BRAND EXTENSIONS FROM TRADITIONAL TO NEW MEDIA
     --  "SUPERMAN: THE MENACE OF METALLO" (Brilliant Digital Entertainment,
         AMEX:   BDE) - A brand-new, weekly 3-D "Multipath Movie" series, with
         seven-minute episodes that recreate the thrill of cliff-hanging
         serials from the Golden Age of Hollywood, but with a thoroughly modern
         look, characters, and sensibility.
     --  "MARVIN THE MARTIAN"- (Dot Comix, using Pulse technology)- Only five
         Marvin cartoons were created in the 1950s by Warner Bros. Animation;
         now with modern technology, Marvin has been brought back to life in
         dozens of brand-new minute-long 3-D animated shorts, utilizing the
         famous Marvin voice and the original Carl Stalling "Looney Tunes"
         musical cues.
     --  "RHINO RETRO POP" - A weekly dose of nostalgia, fromic camp
         commercials (the first Frisbee ad) to musical montages from the
         Monkees (dubbed the "Fathers of the Music Video") to clips of weekly
         cult movie award winners picked by the online audience.
 
     NEW FRANCHISES BORN ON THE WEB
     --  "THE GOD AND DEVIL SHOW" (Mondo Media) - A weekly and edgy animated
         talk show featuring legendary celebrities (parodied by voice
         impersonators) who are interviewed by God and the Devil themselves.
         Online viewers can vote whether to send each week's featured guest to
         heaven or to hell.  Special interactive features allow users to ask
         the great questions in life (using a special online "Ask God"
         confessional), or to leave a message on "The Devil's Answering
         Machine."
     --  "DR. SCIENCE" (Dot Comix, using Pulse technology) - A weekly 3-D-
         animated program starring a smug, bearded know-it-all in a lab coat.
         Fans of the Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre will recognize the cult
         figure Dr. Science as the Master of "Mis-infotainment," as he responds
         to questions with utmost authority and questionable accuracy.  Online
         viewers may submit their own questions each week, such as one recent
         example: "Dear Dr. Science: what is the last thing to go through an
         insect's mind before it smashes into your car window?"
     --  "FLOOPS" - (Dot Comix, using Pulse technology) A weekly showcase for a
         hammy 3-D animated bug with a thick New York accent and a "talk-to-
         the-hand" opinion on everything, especially the simulated oasis that
         he calls home.
     --  "SPOOFS N' GOOFS" - Weekly parodies of favorite films and TV shows,
         courtesy of "Monkey Minutes" (chimpanzees lampooning Hollywood's
         hottest shows) highlight a museum of mistakes, featuring a forum for
         legendary  continuity errors and infamous bloopers.
 
     ORIGINAL ENTERTAINMENT RE-PROGRAMMED FOR THE WEB
     --  "LOONEY TUNES' CARTOON CINEMA" - Courtesy of Warner Bros. Classic
         Animation, Entertaindom will carry full-length Looney Tunes on the
         Web, representing the first time many of these classic animated shorts
         will be presented online.  Hosted in a unique Web environment, "Looney
         Tunes' Cartoon Cinema" will also reflect seasonal programming, such as
         Pepe Le Pew classics for Valentine's Day.
     --  "CINE MINIS" (AtomFilms) - Cine Minis presents the best short films
         from a variety of providers, including Seattle-based AtomFilms.
     --  "ENTERTAINDOM JUKEBOX" - The latest music videos from favorite artists
         and up-and-coming talent from four of the music industry's largest
         record labels:  Elektra, Atlantic, Warner Bros. Records and Maverick.
     --  "FUNNIES" - Classic and new comic strips ranging from Peanuts to
         Doonesbury updated daily.
     --  "HIP CLIPS" - Home of byte-sized entertainment clips from the
         world's best shows and the biggest stars (from the Time Warner
         entertainment library).
 
     ENTERTAINDOM SERVICES
     --  ENTERTAINDOM HOME PAGE COMMUNITY - powered by AcmeCity, the Web's
         fastest-growing community from Warner Bros. Online and FortuneCity.com
         (Neuer Market: FCT), and hosting home page communities for over 50
         celebrities and entertainment properties.
     --  LOONEY TUNES TEACH THE INTERNET - the official "Help" area for
         Entertaindom, featuring original material with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck,
         and Yosemite Sam, as they instruct the viewer on the intricacies of
         the Internet.
     --  TELEVISION LISTINGS - local and national listings for the best shows
         on television from Ultimate TV
     --  ENTERTAINDOM AUCTIONS - your personal entertainment trading
         community, hosted by eBay
 
A blue-chip line-up of advertisers has joined Entertaindom at launch, including CD Now, Doughnet, eBay, Intel, J.C. Penney, Kabang, Microsoft, Movietown, Procter & Gamble, RCA, Volkswagen and Web TV.

Entertaindom is positioned to become the preeminent new media entertainment venture, embracing short-form entertainment, along with entertainment news, information, services, fan pages, community, and shoppingrelating to branded entertainment. Entertaindom is produced by Time WarnerDigital Media and is accessible on the World Wide Web at http://www.entertaindom.com.

SOURCE: Time Warner