EXCLUSIVE: Sam Raimi will be the architect of one of the early entertainment content shows for NewTV, the new short form venture that Jeffrey Katzenberg founded and Meg Whitman runs as CEO. Sources said that Raimi will be at the center of a new show called 50 States of Fear. Van Toffler and Gunpowder & Sky will produce alongside Tony DiSanto who developed the project through DiGa Studios, part of the newly announced Allyance Media Group Company. Tommy Coriale will executive produce for DiGa, while Sam Raimi’s producing partner Debbie Liebling also exec produces. No other details were forthcoming at the moment, but this is an intriguing new lane for the director of such films as the first Spider-Man trilogy, producer of Don’t Breathe and exec producer of such TV series as Hercules, Xena, Spartacus and Ash Vs. Evil Dead.
This comes as WndrCo’s NewTV announced that it brought aboard the mobile video startup the game changing trade editrix Janice Min to spearhead news programming. Katzenberg and Whitman confirmed over the summer they have raised $1 billion for the venture, which is aiming to launch by the end of 2019.
Investors from the studio realm include Disney, eOne, Fox, ITV, Lionsgate, MGM, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, Viacom, and WarnerMedia. Technology investors include e-commerce giant Alibaba. Strategic partner investors include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Liberty Global and Madrone Capital, the last of which led the round.
The service will be a two-tiered subscription model similar to that of Hulu. The lower-priced version, at $5 per month, will have select advertising, and an ad free version will cost $8 per month. CAA reps Raimi.
Source: DEADLINE