Why Warner Bros. Is Giving $20K To Startups

Turner Broadcasting is going to expand its startup Media Camp with help from Warner Bros.

Last year, Turner held a 12-week accelerator program for six startups in San Francisco.

The event was completely run and funded by Turner. This year, Warner Bros. is partnering with Turner to expand the program into Los Angeles.

The original mentorship was created to better educate startups on what they're selling to a media company.

"It gives a pretty transparent view of the media and entertainment business for a lot of these startups," Darcy Antonellis, President and Chief Technology Officer for Warner Bros. Technical Operations tells Business Insider. "They can benefit from a deeper understanding of the commercial aspect of portions of our business that can help to inform what they're building."

Last year's program backed startups Chute, Matcha, Showbucks, Socialize, SocialSamba, and Switchcam.

This year, Antonellis says Warner Bros. plans to help another four to six companies.

Thomas Gewecke, President of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution tells Business Insider that Turner wants to continue tapping into emerging startups to keep up with the rapid pace at which technology is changing consumer's experiences of its content.

"Part of what we want to do is help new startup companies who are providing solutions for consumers in our categories create better products faster," says Gewecke. "[We also want] to work to help identify some of the areas where we think there are real and interesting consumer experience improvements that are possible."

Similar to last year, companies accepted into the program will receive a 12-week mentorship with insight from executives and a $20,000 investment from Warner Bros.

Last year, each company also had the potential to receive commercial agreements throughout the program. At the end of the 12 weeks, Media Camp hosted a Demo Day for industry leaders, media, and Venture Capitalists where each company presents.

"Ultimately, our objective is to try to accelerate innovation in some of these movie, and television, and game marketplaces where we're so active," Gewecke tells Business Insider.

The expanded program will take place in Los Angeles this spring while Turner will host a second Media Camp that will be in San Francisco come summer.

Startups interested in Media Camp can apply HERE.

*An earlier version incorrectly reported that Turner, not Warner Bros. was distributing the $20K.