Gannett, Weinstein Co. Partner on First-Look Deal

Gannett and The Weinstein Company have forged a content partnership that gives the film and television studio first consideration for programming ideas stemming from Gannett's content. This first-look deal allows the production studio and distributor to develop multiplatform projects. 

"Our deal with Gannett gives us a unique opportunity to mine new content from the community level, where powerful and compelling stories often begin,” said Meryl Poster, president of television at Weinstein. “And, for advertisers, this brings unique content marketing and brand entertainment possibilities.”

Gannett announced the partnership, along with ones involving General Mills and the marketing firm Latitude, at an upfront presentation in Manhattan April 2. The arrangement with General Mills is focused on the food giant’s Outnumber Hunger campaign. The one with Latitude is designed “to extract local consumer insights from our vast portfolio of small to national businesses to help brands build more effective marketing campaigns,” said Gannett, involving a joint venture called the Local Business Index.

"At Gannett, our purpose is to serve our communities—and we do it better than anyone else, by working together," said Gracia Martore, president and CEO of Gannett. "When we find partners that are like-minded and share our purpose, we are able to create the most impact to solve business problems and generate results."

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.