Magic Mike’ star Channing Tatum made a surprise appearance at the publisher’s NewFronts event.
Hearst knew how to get people’s attention Wednesday night at the beginning of its first NewFront event.
The publisher behind Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar kicked off its event with a performance by the cast of the newly announced Magic Mike Live show set to Ginuwine’s “Pony.” At the end of their routine, Magic Mike star Channing Tatum jumped onto the stage to announce that Cosmopolitan has an exclusive year-long content partnership with the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino live show that will include everything from video series to Facebook Live broadcasts to virtual reality. Upcoming features could include a show in which the cast helps turn two “ordinary Joes” into “Magic Mikes” and a series in which the Magic Mike crew surprises women with a day of pampering.
Tatum announced the Magic Mike Live show in a Facebook Live video posted from backstage at the Hearst NewFront event, held at Hearst Tower.
The presentation also included a taped message from Pitch Perfect 2 director Elizabeth Banks, whose new comedy site WhoHaha.com has partnered with Cosmo on a female-centric comedy series.
In all, Hearst presented new shows for its Cosmo, Elle, Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar brands. Shows include How to Be a Man With Frank Kobola for Esquire.com and Bazaar Unbridled for for HarpersBazaar.com.
“Our digital business is evolving at a staggering pace, and video is at the heart of it,” said Hearst Magazines digital media president Troy Young. “We’re creating content that cuts through the noise of the internet and drives enormous viewership across our properties and the most important social and mobile platforms.”
Cosmo has also made Snapchat a focus over the last year — the brand joined the Snapchat Discover platform and editor-in-chief Joanna Coles was named to the company’s board of directors — so it’s no surprise that the disappearing messaging platform made an appearance. Snapchat’s head of content, Nick Bell, took to the stage to discuss the popularity of the Cosmo Discover channel and tout Sweet, the first brand to launch on Snapchat Discover. The channel will feature a new show called The Sweet Guide to Living a Better Life.
7:11 PM PDT 5/4/2016 by Natalie Jarvey
