Fierce 15 Online Video Movers and Shakers: EQAL

EQAL
Founded: 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Investors: Spark Capital, Conrad Riggs, Ron Conway, Marc Andreessen and Georges Harik.
www.eqal.com
 
LonelyGirl15 (LG15) established EQAL's claim to fame with it's fictional-posing-as-reality teenage girl named Bree hook bringing in viewers and building up to a complex, multi character universe that borrowed a page or two from Joss Whedon's book. After ax-murdering off poor Bree at the end of LG15, EQAL continued with the KateModern and LG15: The Resistance series.

EQAL, an online-only production company, doesn't simply want to create TV shows for the online space; it aims to forge a totally new type of content that is as compelling as a TV show, but as interactive as a chat room. Fans of the web series are urged to "immerse themselves in a shared entertainment experience." The EQAL team hopes to make viewing their shows a much more two-way experience than traditional TV or film viewing.

Episodes of KateModern and LG15: The Resistance cost only $5,000 to $10,000. With product placement and ads over the content, it's not hard to see how these shows can form a very profitable model. EQAL has cut distribution deals with Veoh, Hulu and imeem that should expand the audiences for its programming.

Next: Funny or Die