HitFix & Moviefone Co-Founder/Voice Partner to Launch Video Six-Second Reviews

By: May. 20, 2014
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

HitFix (www.hitfix.com), the fastest-growing entertainment news brand in the US, and Russ Leatherman, the iconic voice and co-founder of Moviefone, today announced their partnership and the launch of video Six-Second Reviews, a short-form movie review offering created and hosted by Leatherman and housed on HitFix.com, effective immediately (www.hitfix.com/sixsecondreviews). The bite-sized segments provide actual six-second movie reviews, each ending with a verdict of whether Leatherman is "in" or "out".

This is Leatherman's first venture after a 25-year stint at Moviefone and its subsequent parent company, AOL. Complementing the more in-depth movie reviews and coverage provided by HitFix's stable of top entertainment journalists, Six-Second Reviews are ideal for mobile and on-the-go consumers looking to get a quick summary and indication of whether a movie is worth seeing. The short-form reviews also provide a unique branding channel, as HitFix has exclusive rights to sell and place advertisements on Six-Second Reviews.

In addition to housing Six-Second Reviews throughout HitFix.com desktop and mobile properties, HitFix will distribute the segments through its vast multi-platform video network that includes away-from-home and online partners such as YouTube, Hulu, Campus Nation (providing video distribution across hundreds of college campuses) and others who extend HitFix's video network to thousands of retail outlets and airports nationwide.

"We are thrilled to partner with Russ Leatherman to launch video Six-Second Reviews, delivering innovative and super-short form content that plays especially well on both social media, such as Vine, and mobile," said Jen Sargent, HitFix CEO. "This is a great addition to the more extensive movie coverage HitFix has provided since our inception and aligns perfectly with our focus on providing multi-platform content for entertainment fans. At the same time, the reviews provide a compelling way to blend customized advertising within the content in each review."

"I've done TV and radio segments for years and it always comes down to, 'are you in or are you out?' Consumers want a quick read on everything, including movies," said Leatherman. "It's exciting to be working with a young, aggressive, smart company like HitFix that's growing rapidly and can move quickly. The company is becoming an entertainment powerhouse and is the perfect home for my Six-Second Reviews."

The launch of Six-Second Reviews on HitFix follows the successful run of radio Six-Second Reviews, now syndicated by Envision Networks to 600+ radio stations across the country. While Six-Second Reviews cover movies, On-Demand, and DVDs today, Leatherman and HitFix plan to expand the franchise to cover other entertainment categories, such as TV and music.

According to Sargent, Six-Second Reviews sponsorships can be especially fitting for brands which identify strongly with speed, such as mobile technology, Internet service, energy drink companies, and others.

About HitFix

HitFix is the fastest growing provider of authentic entertainment news and video on movies, music, TV and events, reaching one of the highest compositions of 18 to 34 year old consumers in entertainment. With its influential editorial voice and engaging journalistic and video content, HitFix's nationally recognized team drives consumer discovery, conversation and choices around what's next in entertainment. HitFix delivers the influential content consumers want, and advertisers need, across millions of screens daily. HitFix calls on the talents of renowned entertainment journalists such as Alan Sepinwall, Drew McWeeny, Daniel Fienberg, Melinda Newman and Kris Tapley to produce wide-ranging news, interviews, reviews and commentary on all aspects of entertainment. Delivering 90 million monthly videos streams and driving the entertainment choices of 300 Million monthly viewers both in their home and on the go, HitFix is rapidly becoming The Entertainment Authority. Everywhere.

About Russ Leatherman and Six-Second Reviews

Russ Leatherman is the co-founder and famous voice of Moviefone. Six-Second Reviews is Leatherman's first venture after a 25-year stint at Moviefone and its subsequent parent company, AOL. During that time, Leatherman established one of the largest viewing and listening audiences of any movie personality. Accompanying a rigorous schedule of media appearances, his inimitable "Hellooo and welcome to Moviefone!" greeting has been affectionately parodied in movies and on hundreds of programs including The Simpsons, Family Guy, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the Academy Awards, and was even the subject of a classic Seinfeld episode. Russ has appeared and been featured on almost any national talk show you can think of. Examples include Late Show with David Letterman, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Howard Stern Show, Conan O'Brien and many others. He has also been profiled in the pages of Time Magazine, Forbes, Entrepreneur, People, Entertainment Weekly, Life, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and many more.


Add Your Comment

To post a comment, you must register and login.


Videos