When Axios executives launched a TV show in 2018 and wanted to spotlight Insider Y’s reporting and journalism chops, they turned to HBO. Now, the emerging news hub has new plans for video outreach and is solo.
“Axios Show” is the outlet’s five-episode video series known for providing big news with a concise description, and is scheduled to debut in late September and runs until the end of the year. The company is looking for Uber to sponsor the program, according to Axios editor Aja Whitaker-Moore in a recent interview. The series surfaces on Axios properties, YouTube, X, and at some point, the clips are distributed via other digital media and determines whether there is support to create more episodes.
The flashy, traditional media outlet series is still worth it. After all, “Axios on HBO” won Emmy and ended its 57 episode run in 2021, with Warner Bros Discovery Outlet not focusing much on news programming. But “it’s been different for years since the show ended,” says Whitaker More. “And not only as new producers, but as news consumers, people are consuming information and news in a very different way than they used to.
Not too far away, new outlets of new media, including Vice and BuzzFeed, teamed up with traditional media companies to find additional cutchets. Like Axios, Vice had a news series about HBO, but BuzzFeed counted NBCuniversal as one of the more important investors. Currently, such alliances may not be immediately essential due to barriers to entry into information that have been eradicated by social media and technology.
Axios is not the only journalistic entity learning lessons. A horde of former mainstream editors jumped out of outlets such as CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post and other venues, running their own newsletters, digital video programs and other creator-driven projects. In some cases, these ventures are scalable and easily monetized. Still, not everyone can create instant hits.
Axios views the video series as another part of its portfolio, including company signature newsletters, live events and other revenue generators. The executive hopes the series will bring new eyeballs to its products, according to Whitaker-Moore, and the company is expanding its engagement with current customers. “We’re always trying to diverge and find new audiences because the way we bridge the gap between the divisions we have in this country is to bring clinical factual information wherever they need it,” she says.
She didn’t immediately provide words about the episode’s subjects or guests, but said the program would embody Axios’s “Smart Brevity” format. The episode probably lasts 20-30 minutes instead of an hour. They may feature Axios founders Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei, she says, but it also includes providing many of the company’s journalists with “fresh and timely conversations that will take you beyond the headlines of the day.” Newsmakers from the world of politics, business, technology, media and culture could appear in the series.
Axios’ HBO program added beat visibility to staff as the company launched in 2016 was built on early business momentum. Former Axios reporter, Washington correspondent Jonathan Swann, gained viral recognition in an interview with President Donald Trump in his first term as the coronavirus pandemic swirled around the world.
“If someone makes an amazing breakthrough interview and becomes a meme, we’ll support it,” says Whitaker More. “We always welcome a big Hello for reporters.”
