Analysis: Why Would Eisner Take ‘Prom Queen’ to MySpace Before Veoh?

Authored by Scott Goldberg on March 29, 2007 - 11:58am.

Today MySpace announced a deal with Michael Eisner’s new online video studio, Vuguru, that will make the site the first outlet for his highly anticipated original series Prom Queen. The show, intended for Millennials, will launch on MySpace 12 hours before other outlets like YouTube and Veoh, an online video site Eisner also owns. Prom Queen premieres at 7pm EST on April 1.

Vuguru began with a mission to create high quality online content, a departure from the user-generated era that produces occasionally amusing ideas, but rarely anything of substance and depth. The show will run eighty 90-second episodes.

But the MySpace launch raises an interesting question: Why didn’t Eisner initiate the show on Veoh?

There are certainly advantages to a MySpace partnership, of course. The odds of the show becoming a hit are much greater on MySpace than Veoh, simply based on audience size. Perhaps he feels one will complement the other. The show will succeed on MySpace, in other words, which will increase traffic to Veoh for old episodes.

But Eisner is essentially handing MySpace another opportunity to increase its position as the premier showcase for online Millennial content. If Prom Queen is a hit, it will be a MySpace hit. People won’t identify Veoh as having any affiliation other than a re-run platform for the show. So wouldn’t it be smart to build Veoh’s brand by allowing it to become one of the leaders in high-quality, original online video entertainment?

Perhaps that’s still in the cards. After all, with such a large investment in Veoh, one would think Eisner has plans to make the site a viable source of first-run content.

Or, on the other hand, perhaps he’s conceding a larger idea, that being an online video space that will not accommodate more than a few competitors. We know about MySpace and YouTube, and Joost is garnering attention as an internet TV source, but is there room for smaller start-ups like Veoh? The answer depends on the content, which is ultimately where the eyes will go. If Veoh can secure compelling original content, it has a chance. But if it’s only in business to be MySpace’s second fiddle, the future doesn’t look too bright.

Scott Goldberg