Can two of Hollywood’s most innovative executives help MSN become a player in advertiser-supported entertainment on the Web? MSN, the Microsoft portal, is betting millions of dollars that the answer is yes.
MSN said Tuesday that it had signed an agreement with BermanBraun, a Los Angeles production company founded in March 2007 by Gail Berman, formerly a top executive at Paramount Pictures and Fox Broadcasting, and Lloyd Braun, who previously led divisions of the Walt Disney Company and Yahoo.
BermanBraun will develop and maintain an entertainment-focused Web site — the company calls it a “destination” site — within the MSN portal. The new site, as yet unnamed, is scheduled to make its debut in early 2009. It will blend advertising with entertainment news, games and original video programming.
Essentially, BermanBraun has been hired to help program and sell advertising for a television network — except that this network is a Web site.
Many companies are trying to figure out how to make entertainment for the Web that attracts both a sizable audience and significant advertising commitments via product placements. What makes this effort stand out is the executives involved.
Neither executive would comment for this article, but each has a history of breaking ground in advertiser-integrated entertainment. During Ms. Berman’s tenure at Fox the network developed “American Idol,” creating as much of a product placement phenomenon, with its integration of advertisers like Coca-Cola and Ford, as a pop culture one.
Mr. Braun oversaw the development of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” the hit ABC reality series that features prominent product plugs.
BermanBraun will sell ads for the site in partnership with MSN, according to an advertising executive who was briefed on the plans but who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
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