LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sweety High, the leading digital media company for Gen Z girls, has partnered with musical.ly’s live streaming platform live.ly to develop and launch original, premium content as consumers increasingly turn to live programming as a primary source of entertainment. As part of the partnership, they have announced the official launch of their first new series, “After the Bell.” Debuting in beta at the end of February, the series has received the highest ratings and most audience engagement among all original series on live.ly TV to date.
Already reaching an audience of 300,000 to 400,000 viewers per week, “After the Bell” features Sweety High personalities Cassie DiLaura and Taylor Audette, who have reinvented the talk show into a live experience for a new generation of consumers. As live streaming has become a key growth area in engaging Sweety High’s audience, the series offers a new kind of relationship with the platform’s core fans, yielding mass interaction for almost an hour straight. Musical.ly has put its might behind the partnership by placing “After the Bell” as a recommended series on its main page, scheduling the show in the coveted after school time slot, and pushing notifications to all users when the show is live.
“‘After the Bell’ was envisioned as the ultimate variety show for this new generation,” said Sweety High co-founder Veronica Zelle. “While many are just discovering the capabilities of musical.ly and their live platform, we’ve started integrating viewers and brands in ways we never could have even a year ago. It serves both the consumer and the advertiser with real time feedback.”
Broadcasting live from Sweety High’s studio headquarters in Marina Del Rey, CA, the show features musical performances, interviews with celebrities and popular musical.ly 'musers,' as well as the latest trends in lifestyle, beauty, and fashion. “After the Bell” airs daily on live.ly TV and via @SweetyHigh on musical.ly weekdays from 3:00-4:00 p.m. PT, when the target audience has left school for the day.
“Live.ly TV became a one stop shop for our users to find out more about entertainment, music, pop culture, and the latest trends in social media,” said Inga Bereza, Head of Music and Entertainment Partnerships at musical.ly. “Sweety High’s ‘After the Bell’ on live.ly TV encompasses these trends and attracts tens of thousands of viewers everyday — making this partnership a perfect match. We’re excited to continue building on the show’s success and deepening its connection with live.ly’s audience.”
Sweety High is one of the first premium content partners for live.ly as the platform grows beyond featuring user generated content and develops new programs for its millions of users. Unlike other shows, live engagement is even higher because user interaction drives programming choices. “Because our audience demands authenticity, we must create genuine relationships with them through their favorite apps like live.ly,” said Sweety High Co-founder Frank Simonetti. “With live programming becoming the next major frontier for media, we’ve cracked the code on how to engage key audiences across platforms in real time. The musical.ly team is a great partner who understands the importance of producing premium content to connect with kids in ways that are truly special.”
“After the Bell” is the latest original program from Sweety High Entertainment. In 2015, Sweety High partnered with Radio Disney to co-produce shows such as “Sweet Beat TV” and develop audiences across platforms, reaching over 20 million consumers monthly.
About Sweety High
Sweety High is an empowered destination for Gen Z females. As a vertically integrated media company consisting of a lifestyle site, content studio, SH Music and SH Insights, they employ data, premium content, talent and audiences to create and distribute the cultural conversation. Working across entertainment, fashion, beauty, food, sports and DIY, they’ve enjoyed partnerships with Disney, NBCU, America’s Got Talent, Macy’s, Sony, Warner Brothers and Live Nation among many others. Approximately 80 million strong, Gen Z will soon become the largest generation on record, representing 40% of the US population by 2020. As the most tech-savvy, connected consumer group, they wield tremendous economic impact — influencing $600 billion in annual spending.
About musical.ly:
Founded in 2014, by creator Alex Zhu and longtime friend, Luyu Yang, musical.ly is an entertainment social network for creating, sharing and discovering short videos. Every day, millions of people use musical.ly as an outlet to express themselves through singing, dancing, comedy, and lip-syncing. The app celebrates creativity with videos that are shared across the musical.ly community. With over 200 million users, musical.ly has hit #1 in the iOS app store for free apps in 20 countries — including the United States. In June of 2016, musical.ly released its breakout livestreaming platform live.ly, which provides the musical.ly community with a broader canvas on which they can express themselves. Immediately following its official launch, live.ly began trending and hit the number one spot in 8 countries in the iOS app store. Musical.ly is available for download through the Apple App Store, Google play, or the Amazon Appstore.
