Dhar Mann details Creator City studio campus and monthly YouTube series at MIPCOM
At MIPCOM on Sunday, creator Dhar Mann described Creator City, a four-acre Los Angeles studio campus with brand-themed sets, due to open in Super Bowl week, and plans for a new YouTube series every month from December.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Creator Dhar Mann spoke at the MIPCOM market on Sunday 11 October in what Deadline called the market's first-ever pre-opening headline session, setting out plans for Creator City, a studio campus in Los Angeles. VarietyLC “At content showcase Mipcom on Sunday, creator Dhar Mann” Read at Variety ↗ DeadlineN “Dhar Mann took center stage at MIPCOM on Sunday for the market’s first-ever pre-opening headline session.” Read at Deadline ↗ Mixed · 2Mann said the four-acre campus will have about 175 sets and be able to host about 15 productions at once. Variety reports it has nine sound stages and says Mann has just purchased it; Deadline says multiple sound stages and that Mann recently announced the site. DeadlineN “a four-acre campus in L.A. with multiple sound stages and, he said, 175 sets able to house 15 productions concurrently” Read at Deadline ↗ VarietyLC “he has just purchased a four-acre campus with nine sound stages” Read at Variety ↗ Mixed · 2Mann said the sets at Creator City will be real brands, such as a Starbucks or a Target, rather than the unbranded sets used in the current studio, and that a handful of brands will be launch or founding partners. A grand opening is planned for Super Bowl week. DeadlineN “it’s not just a random coffee shop, it could be a Starbucks, it’s not just a random retail store, it could be a Target.” Read at Deadline ↗ VarietyLC “we’re working with a handful of brands that are going to be founding partners that are going to launch with us.” Read at Variety ↗
Mixed · 2Mann said Dhar Mann Studios will launch one new series a month on its YouTube channel starting in December, calling building IP the future. Mann described the low-cost, fast model as a way to try many shows and see which succeed. DeadlineN “Starting in December, every single month we are launching one new series on our YouTube.”” Read at Deadline ↗ VarietyLC “we’re able to just continue to throw as many darts on the wall and see which one sticks.” Read at Variety ↗ Mixed · 2Mann said the studio is expanding its relationship with Samsung, with a new scripted show, Unlikely Families, due in the next couple of months after the first scripted series, Unlikely Romances. Variety adds that Unlikely Romances launched on Samsung TV Plus in June. DeadlineN “There will be a new show called Unlikely Families.” Read at Deadline ↗ VarietyLC ““Unlikely Romances,” which was launched on Samsung TV Plus in June.” Read at Variety ↗ Mixed · 2Mann cited deals with Disney and Fox and said the future lies in bridging traditional media and the creator economy. Variety reports Mann saying the studio is doing 40 vertical dramas with Fox, reaches 135 million subscribers via Disney+ and is in over 100 million households through Samsung TV Plus. DeadlineN “DMS has struck deals with media giants Disney and Fox” Read at Deadline ↗ VarietyLC “where we’re doing 40 vertical dramas with them. And we are in partnership with Disney+, reaching 135 million subscribers.” Read at Variety ↗
Left · 1Variety also reports that Mann said production runs from script to screen in about seven days for an hour of digital content (up to 21 days for the longest episodes), and that income from YouTube and Facebook fell from 95% of revenue to under 40%, expected to reach about 30% next year. These figures are Mann's own statements. VarietyLC “So now, less than 40% of our income is coming from those two places, and next year it is expected to be around 30%.”“goes from script to screen in a matter of seven days for an hour of digital content” Read at Variety ↗ Mixed · 2Sean Atkins, the studio's CEO and a former MTV and Disney executive, joined Mann on stage. Atkins said it is a misnomer to say creators make cheap content, arguing it is sized to audience expectations and platform economics. DeadlineN “former MTV and Disney exec Sean Atkins, CEO of DMS” Read at Deadline ↗ VarietyLC “it’s a misnomer to say creators are making cheap content.” Read at Variety ↗ Mixed · 2Asked about anxiety among traditional-media staff amid consolidation and change, Mann urged them not to "get married to your job title" but to develop their skills, saying there are many opportunities despite the "doom and gloom". DeadlineN ““Don’t get married to your job title, get more married to the skills that you have, and develop those,” he said.” Read at Deadline ↗ VarietyLC “So while I understand there’s a lot of doom and gloom” Read at Variety ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- Variety presents a long, detailed account of Mann's session, framing Dhar Mann Studios as increasingly resembling the legacy studios that creators are unsettling.
- Emphasis
- Business model, speed of production, revenue diversification away from YouTube and Facebook, and partnerships with Disney, Fox and Samsung.
- Leaves out or plays down
- No outside comment or scepticism; Mann's figures are relayed as his statements.
- Charged language
- “rather grand”
- For example
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“Dhar Mann Studios is starting to resemble the legacy studios whose foundations are being shaken by creators like him.” — Variety
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- Deadline gives a shorter, event-report summary led by the Creator City vision of brands, creators and culture under one roof.
- Emphasis
- Branded sets, launch partners, Samsung series and the Super Bowl week opening, plus advice for traditional-media workers.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Leaves out the revenue-mix figures, production-speed figures and the sound-stage count that Variety reports.
- Charged language
- “characteristically upbeat”
- For example
-
“In a characteristically upbeat manner, he gave the Cannes crowd a pep talk.” — Deadline
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Mann spoke at MIPCOM on Sunday 11 October about Creator City.
- Creator City is a four-acre Los Angeles campus with about 175 sets and capacity for about 15 concurrent productions.
- Sets will feature real brands such as Starbucks and Target.
- The grand opening is planned for Super Bowl week.
- A new Samsung series, Unlikely Families, is due in the next couple of months.
- Starting in December the studio plans to launch one new YouTube series a month.
Where accounts differ
-
Status and size of the campus
- Left
- Variety says Mann has just purchased a campus with nine sound stages.
- Centre
- Deadline says Mann recently announced Creator City, with multiple sound stages.
Dhar Mann person
Presents Creator City as a place where creators, brands and culture meet, and presents the studio's low-cost, fast, digital-first model as complementary to traditional media.
“It’s basically where creators, brands, and culture [will] all come together in one place,”” — Deadline
“the people that win in the space are the ones that actually create the bridge between traditional and creator” — Variety
Left1 article
-
Sympathetic Extended, largely quote-driven account that portrays Mann's studio as a rising rival to legacy studios, with little challenge to the claims.
Centre1 article
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Dhar Mann Says Creator City In L.A. Will Bring Brands, Creators & Culture Under One Roof
Neutral Concise trade report of the MIPCOM session, mostly quoting Mann on Creator City, brand partners and upcoming shows.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 11 Oct 18:57 First DeadlineN Dhar Mann Says Creator City In L.A. Will Bring Brands, Creators & Culture Under One Roof
- 12 Oct 01:20 +6h 23m VarietyLC Creator Dhar Mann on Partnering With Hollywood Studios and His Vision for Creator City in Los Angeles
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.