Just a sign of the times or a true statement on the potential of original webisodic content? According to multiple sources, including PaidContent and the Hollywood Reporter, original online entertainment producer 60Frames has closed its doors.
What frightens me is that 60Frames was one of the better content producers out there, backed by United Talent Agency. They had developed and released 30 original webisodic series. With Hulu making huge strides in bringing big studio content online, I can’t help but wonder if there’s a fundamental shift in the nature of the online video marketplace. Where there was previously no barrier to entry and limitless distribution now stands a select few, big media backed operations dominating eyeballs and eating hours, not minutes, of users’ time.
As NewTeeVee reported on the topic,
“60Frames is just the latest casualty of the great web video shakeout of ‘09. Already this year ManiaTV shut down, HBO Labs was sold off to Break, and Disney’s Stage 9 laid off most of its staff.”