The makers of the new sports mockumentary series "The 5th Quarter" wanted to create a show tailored to the viewing habits of young mobile-phone viewers _ short episodes under 15 minutes, stand-alone plot lines that can be viewed in any order and plenty of famous faces like basketball stars Blake Griffin and Metta World Peace to fill the small screen.
In looking to team up with a youth-oriented distribution channel, the series is making an unusual bet on Verizon Communications, the broadband and wireless giant not known by millennials for being hip.
"My goal was to find a nontraditional platform," said Michael Ratner, the series creator. He was convinced that Verizon's Go90 mobile streaming app was the right fit because of its strength in sports programming. "We're targeting that fan."
With all eyes on AT&T's planned $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner, Verizon has been mounting its own far-more-modest media offensive, which has so far focused on ad-supported content. The company is betting that initiatives such as Go90, its acquisitions of Yahoo and AOL and investments in various start-ups including AwesomenessTV and Complex will create new growth as its core business slows.
But some industry analysts are skeptical that a wireless carrier with virtually no experience in entertainment will succeed. Much of the concern surrounds its $4.8 billion Yahoo buy, which has been clouded by a recent data breach and worries that it won't bring the new viewers Verizon craves.
Wireless carriers such as AT&T are confronting a slowdown in subscription growth, prompting them to find new ways to grow their business. Verizon's entertainment foray, however, is off to a shaky start. The flagship streaming service, Go90, has been struggling. "It's not working," said James Min, a founding partner at Santa Monica investment bank Telos Advisors. "It's not providing a meaningful audience."
Verizon executives argue that such skepticism is premature because the media play is so new.
"We're getting started, we're getting all the pieces in place," said Chip Canter, who was hired this year from NBCUniversal to head the company's digital entertainment division. He said mobile viewing remains a priority for Verizon.
"Go90 is a first position and we'll expand it," Canter said. "We'll look to explore other models _ like subscription. So hopefully we'll see a portfolio of products that service different audience segments."
When it launched last year, Go90 had early technical issues and other initiatives have so far had a muted impact, but "it's early days," said Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson. "Verizon has deep pockets."
Fran Shammo, Verizon's chief financial officer, has estimated that it would take at least two more years for the ad-supported Go90 to turn a profit. "Right now we're focused on viewership, not necessarily the profitability of the product," he said.
Verizon would not disclose results or financials for Go90, but a spokesman said the company is "very pleased" with the number of downloads and users, noting viewers spend an average of over 30 minutes on the app.
Some observers believe that Verizon might eventually buy CBS and Viacom to bulk up in a similar way that AT&T is trying to do with its acquisition of Time Warner.
But Verizon has said that the AT&T-Time Warner deal doesn't affect its focus on attracting millennials and teenagers to smartphone apps filled with articles and short shows.
"They are going after a market that exists today. We are going after where the market is headed," Marni Walden, Verizon's executive in charge of leading the new efforts, said at a conference Wednesday. "We're focused on short, episodic content _ seven, eight minutes. We're not going out to make 'Game of Thrones.'"
"There is no plausible reason for Verizon to follow suit," Moffett said. "Verizon's strategy in content seems to be overtly in support of their wireless business. AT&T's seems to be diversifying away from its wireless business."
Verizon's bid for Yahoo was driven by its desire to build its foothold in digital content and advertising.
Wall Street, however, has reacted coolly to the deal.
"Buying Yahoo doesn't get them millennials as much as they want," Min said.
