BuzzFeed’s announcement today of a $50m new funding from Andreesen Horowitz comes with a new strategy for the wildly popular publisher’s video ambitions.
The release puts it best, in its own words:
“BuzzFeed will expand its video division and become BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. Ze Frank will lead the division as President of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures and will expand to focus on all moving images from a GIF to feature film.
“BuzzFeed Video will exist under the new organization to focus on current short form video, while the BuzzFeed Live Development team will create mid-form serialized content, focused on building characters and genres.
“BuzzFeed Motion Pictures will launch a “Future of Fiction” team to explore the future of long-form, television and trans-media video. Hollywood producer Michael Shamberg and actor/comedian Jordan Peele will join BuzzFeed Motion Pictures as advisors.”
Speaking with Beet.TV for this video interview in April, Frank said BuzzFeed makes video content to test its assumptions about what makes content shareable.
