Vuguru properties are distributed internationally in over forty countries.[2] The company produces web television series for distribution on the Internet, portable media devices, television, and cellphones.[3] The name of the company was developed from the French word "vous" and the English word "guru", and combining the words creates a synthetic term that refers to "you are the guru viewing" according to company founder Michael Eisner.[4] Eisner also stated that the purpose of the firm was to produce "story-driven content for the Internet that up until now could only be found in movie theaters or on television". In October 2009, Vuguru was spun off as a separate LLC with funding from Rogers Communications, one of Canada's largest communications companies.[5][6]
In November 2010, Vuguru signed an agreement with AOL to produce a minimum of six scripted series over the next year, each a series of roughly 90-minute episodes, for distribution by AOL.[7] Vuguru also signed a distribution and first-look deal with Content Film in 2010 for regions outside of North America.[8] In 2012 Eisner signed a distribution deal with Universal Studios, which he stated is a step towards film development for both Vuguru produced projects and other properties.[9] Vuguru signed an additional content creation pact with Yahoo!, in addition to its deals with Hulu and YouTube.[10] In 2013 FremantleMedia will become the main international distributor for Vuguru, distributing its products outside of the US and Canada.[11]
Multi-platform content
Early Vuguru multi-platform series included SamHas7Friends (which Vuguru acquired in 2007)[12] and Foreign Body, a prequel to the novel by Robin Cook, shot primarily on location in New Delhi, India.[13] In 2010 Vuguru targeted the production of ten to fifteen new series for Internet distribution.[14] In 2011 Vuguru partnered with comic book guru Stan Lee's company POW! Entertainment to produce additional content.[15] New Vuguru web series have included Don't Ask, Don't Tell,[16]Little Women Big Cars,[17]The Millionaire Tour, Nuclear Family, Off Season, Fetching, Crawlspace,[18] and Pretty Tough.[19]
The studio's first project, Prom Queen, consisted of 90-second shorts in 80 episodes and was distributed online, beginning in April 2007.[20] The cost of each 90-second episode was approximately $3000.[4] The project was well reviewed online and attracted over twenty millions viewers.[21] The second season was entitled Prom Queen: Summer Heat, and the third season Prom Queen: Homecoming was released on the CW network platforms.[22]
The All-for-Nots
The Vuguru web series The All-for-Nots was distributed online by HDNet. The show has been described as modern version of The Monkees or Spinal Tap, as it features a made-for-the-web indie band with the same name as the title of the show. The web series follows the All-for-Nots, a band originating in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on a fictional national tour across the US. It was released in 24 seven-minute episodes, in addition to 30 shorter web clips that provide background on the band and its members.[23] The show was nominated for three Streamy Awards in 2009, including Best Cinematography in a Web Series, Best Original Music in a Web Series, and Best Ad Integration in a Web Series, which it lost to fellow Vuguru web series Back on Topps.[24]
Back on Topps
Back on Topps Season One logo
Vuguru produced two seasons of the sports comedy web series Back on Topps. The show was nominated for a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding New Approaches in Sports Programming: Short Format in 2009.[25] That year the show also won a 2009 Streamy Award for Best Ad Integration in a Web Series.[24] In 2010 it was the winner of the Streamy Award for Best Branded Entertainment Web Series and nominee for the 2010 Streamy Awards for Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series, Best Ensemble Cast in a Web Series, and Best Guest Star in a Web Series.[26] Eisner's investment company is the owner of the Topps merchandise company,[27] from which the series gets its name. The comedy was played on FoxSports.com, and was described in its first season as a seventeen episode mockumentary.[28]
The Booth at the End
The Booth at the End, a psychological thriller in 23-minute installments, made its debut in 2010 in Canada on the website of CityTV.[29] The content is also available in 62 separate two-minute online episodes, and on FX. The Guardian said of the quality of the series that, "There is more talent and effort poured into one 120-second nugget, demanding a corresponding surge in effort and engagement from the viewer, than there is in almost any hour of TV elsewhere that you care to name."[30] The show centers around individuals who encounter a man named Xander Berkeley. Berkeley sits in a diner booth silently looking out the window, waiting for a stranger to approach him with friendly banter. When they do, their journey begins. Tasks have included the robbing of a bank for exactly $101,043 in exchange for beauty or setting off a bomb in a cafe in order for a woman's husband to be cured of Alzheimer's.[31]
Executives
The Chairman and founder of Vuguru is Michael Eisner.[14] In 2009 Vuguru hired Larry Tanz as the company's first President,[32] after having previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of LivePlanet.[14] They also hired David Shall as their head of business operations, now COO, who was formerly a business affairs executive at Fox.[32] In 2010 the company hired Kristin Jones as its Chief Creative Officer, a former senior vice-president of production, international development, and acquisitions with Miramax. Jones left Vuguru in August, 2013.[33] Tanz was promoted to CEO in February 2012. Eisner stated of Tanz that, "Under his leadership, the company has expanded its production slate, created valuable partnerships and increased profitability."[15]
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