According to industry bible Variety, Katzenberg is shopping is idea around, looking for $2 billion in start-up funding. The service, to be dubbed Now TV, will be launched in conjunction with several media and technology partners, the outlet noted, and won’t be cheap to produce. The content will be a mix of genres, ranging from two-minute news broadcasts to TV series that are like other TV shows in every way, from star power to how they look, but for one thing: episodes will only be ten minutes long. Katzenberg is looking to spend as much as $125,000 per minute — compared to the average mobile content cost of $5,000-$10,000 per minute.
The business model seems murky at best: it could be launched free to consumers as part of an existing brand (even though ad inventory would be limited at best thanks to the length of the videos); or, it could launch as a subscription offering.
Possible partners include CBS and Walt Disney, Variety said. As a third option is teaming with Netflix or another streaming service, which could tap a new audience by moving into short-form.