FMX eyes talent fund for branded websites

American Idol's website

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Fremantle Media's new media unit, FMX, could dip into the company's £28m talent fund to set up companies to exploit commercially branded online entertainment.

The Fremantle Media Talent Fund was set up last October to invest in a diverse range of talent-based partnerships, from label deals with new and established writers to the formation of jointly owned production companies.

Fremantle Media Creative Networks president Gary Carter, who is also chief creative of FMX, said that as online branded entertainment becomes more prevalent, the company would look to use the fund to bolster its new media credentials.

"We need people with different capabilities in terms of marketing and advertising experience as we see this area [online content production] taking off. American Idol has been the proof of the pudding for us and from an FMX point of view we are thinking about applying to the Talent Fund to move into this area." In the US, the American Idol website took $13m (£7m) in ad sales during its latest season.

Carter said that although there were limited numbers of specialist digital production companies in the UK, FMX could offer them a "definite opportunity to develop that relationship."

FMX has a three-tier strategy - Recycle, Expand, Create - which covers the distribution of TV content online (recycle), the creation of supporting new media content (expand) and the creation of new experiences not related to TV brands (create). It has already created 15 digital projects outside the distribution of TV content online, with five more slated for release by the end of the year.

New concepts include Parenthood, a 12-week interactive short-form comedy drama in conjunction with online women's portal iVillage.co.uk targeting the parenting generation; LoveRace, an interactive UGC-based competition in conjunction with the male-orientated Heavy.com portal; and UR Fantastic, which is being developed in conjunction with new media agency Warwick Worldwide and will be an online UGC music community.

All new direct-to-consumer initiatives are based on advertising and sponsorship rather than a paid-for model, which FMX has no faith in at present.

"We see no signs that this [paid-for content] is a commercially viable business for us at the moment. This is not about the transfer of the broadcasting paradigm online," he said.

Fremantle Media's new media capabilities are currently being driven by five companies: FMX (globally), Talkback Thames in the UK, Fremantle Australia, Fremantle North America and German outfit UFA.