According to published reports, Yahoo! is teaming with Mark Burnett and Live Planet to bring a shelved ABC project, "The Runner," to life on the internet. If it happens, it could be one of the biggest entertainment events ever online.
Lloyd Braun, the ex-ABC chief who heads the Yahoo! Media Group, is spearheading the new project with Burnett and the original Live Planet production team of Ben Affleck, Sean Bailey, Matt Damon and company CEO Larry Tanz, Variety reports.
"The Runner" -- originally envisioned as a once- or twice-a-week TV reality show -- always meant to have a strong online component, but the new version is being touted as an internet-driven event for Yahoo! in what's probably the most ambitious production since Braun joined the company at the end of 2004.
The concept for the show is that a designated operative -- the "runner" -- has to elude capture as he or she travels across the country. The game will take place both in the real world and online, with audience members competing for a cash prize. Players speculatively will share information about the whereabouts of the runner.
Sources close to the production tell Variety that the video component of the game won't take the form of half-hour or hour-long episodes like the ones Burnett produces for television, but instead likely will be video clips of varying lengths added throughout the day or night, resulting in a show that's always "on."
It's also believed "The Runner" will try to incorporate Yahoo!'s other assets, such as enabling players to use Yahoo!Maps to find a location or Yahoo!'s travel tools to investigate a flight or hotel. Clues could be spread via Yahoo!'s instant messenger.
A spokesman for Yahoo! confirmed for Variety that the project "is in development, but it hasn't been given the greenlight." If it does move forward, "The Runner" could go live as soon as this summer and would likely unfold over the course of one to two months.
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Lloyd Braun talks about his move from ABC Entertainment Television Group to head of Yahoo! Media, and how he hopes to find the net's Big Hit.