Machinima Announces Rebrand, Illustrates Company's Powerful Evolution as Part of Warner Bros. Under The Leadership of General Manager Russell Arons, Comprehensive Brand Repositioning Will Empower Talent, Elevate Brand Partners and Fuel Fan Engagement While Galvanizing Machinima's 140M Subscribers February 14, 2018
BURBANK, CA - Machinima, a division of Warner Bros. Digital Networks and the premier provider of digital gamer entertainment, announced today it is rolling out an all-new brand identity that will illustrate to its brand partners and talent the evolution of the company from a traditional MCN to a content powerhouse that defines the intersection of gamer culture and entertainment. The announcement was made by Machinima's General Manager Russell Arons.
Machinima, fully integrated across the Warner Bros. family since being acquired in November 2016, boasts one of the largest and most targeted millennial audiences in the entertainment industry. The company has become a truly massive, cross-platform gamer entertainment service that delivers content everywhere the gamer community consumes media.
It has been an amazing 12 months at Machinima. As we integrated into the Warner Bros. family, we were able to truly take the time to evaluate what Machinima is and what our true north' is, said Arons, who joined the company in March 2016. We have gone through an incredible transformation from a YouTube network to a cross-platform gamer entertainment service with substantial scale. Now, we want to truly define what that means and what we are. With our new brand identity, we are looking to evolve our brand presence to further excite our talent, fans and partners.
Machinima is building on a solid foundation that is resonating with its growing audience while celebrating the best fandoms and gamer content, said Craig Hunegs, President, Business and Strategy, Warner Bros. Television Group and President, Warner Bros. Digital Networks. This rebranding highlights Machinima as one of the most unique and successful platforms in the industry.
Armed with a new vibrant logo (attached) and supercharged by Warner Bros., Machinima is ready to champion the immense gamer community through a revamp of:
Cross-Platform Distribution - Over the past two years, Machinima has turned itself into a cross-platform gamer entertainment service delivering content everywhere its audience consumes media. Most recently, Machinima became one of a select group to launch a 24/7 channel on the streaming platform Twitch and launched its first original series for Facebook Watch, the reality gamer dating series Co-op Connection. The company will be launching its next two Facebook series, Gaming Rap Battles and Win, Mine or Die, this spring.
Led by hit series such as Chasing the Cup and Transformers: Titans Return, Machinima has also become a must-have programming launch partner for go90 (Verizon), Amazon Prime Direct, Xumo, VRV, Comcast Watchable and Playstation Vue. It delivers content through the most powerful partners in the world's biggest markets, including AMC Networks Iberia in Spain, Portugal and Mexico, Studio+ in multiple international markets and Sohu, which provides Machinima with a critical presence in the enormous Chinese market.
Of course, Machinima's own social presence engages fans daily across social platforms Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch and Snapchat.
Event Programming - Machinima is expanding its brand by creating new live event-based programming assets that enable influencers to engage with fans and games they love. This new slate of programming includes:
Machinima: Game On - features exclusive gamer fan programs and tournaments at events like PAX South, PAX East, E3, PAX West, and TwitchCon which will be streamed globally.
Body Count Fighting - Machinima brings the best fighting players on the scene to go toe-to-toe in top fighting games Injustice 2, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and Tekken. These live eSports tournaments, which occur at Machinima's studio and at select eSports/gamer tournaments, occur about every 6-8 weeks.
VR Power Hour - Machinima enables influencers and fans to get hands-on with the latest technology in VR, AR and Mixed Reality
Game Night - Machinima invites a few hundred of our closest pals for laughs and game-play across multiple titles in this next-gen online LAN party.
Talent Network - To better serve its talent and long-term creative vision, Machinima is realigning its talent network to develop and launch a new slate of content around four key content verticals: Action/First Person Shooters, Role Playing Games, Fighting/Sports games and Sandbox games. Machinima and its talent will co-develop a new suite of channels that provide a deep-dive into each vertical.
Expanded Long-Form Programming Slate - Machinima has enjoyed some of the most successful digital series of all-time based on gaming and entertainment IP, including Transformers: Combiner Wars and Titans Return, Mortal Kombat: Legacy, Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist and Resurrection, Chasing the Cup, and more. Machinima will continue expanding its long-form content output on the most critical premium digital platforms as it establishes stronger partnerships with games publishers to develop series around the iconic games that Machinima's global audience is obsessed with.
Warner Bros. Integration - As a digital powerhouse in the Warner Bros. family delivering the millennial gaming audience, Machinima has become a critical marketing partner for studio divisions, including WB Pictures, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE), DC Entertainment and The CW. Since the company was acquired a year ago:
Machinima has launched influencer-driven content initiatives for multiple Studio properties, including New Line Cinema's IT, Warner Bros. Pictures' Kong:
