AT&T Hello Lab Returns for Second Year with Broader Distribution via DIRECTV NOW

AT&T* launches the second year of AT&T Hello Lab. It’s a groundbreaking collection of original entertainment created by, for and with Millennial and Gen Z audiences on social media. Fans not only engage directly with their favorite creators; they also participate in driving stories forward.

AT&T Hello Lab advances the art of storytelling through social media platforms. The program continues to redefine the narrative process through fan collaboration. This year will feature 2 new projects as well as 2 returning series.

To reach a broader audience, we will make the shows available on demand on DIRECTV NOW, AT&T’s new rules free way to stream live TV, in addition to social and online video platforms.

The highly successful first year of AT&T Hello Lab featured 10 series across social media, all fueled by fans and 2-way interaction. The program garnered 117 million views, 832 million impressions and 30 million fan engagements.

In collaboration with Fullscreen Media’s Strategic Content Group, year 2 of AT&T Hello Lab focuses on 4 large-scale projects. These projects will be produced and distributed later this year:

•Rooster Teeth’s “Schooled” returns for a second season on March 15. The video game competition puts kids up against professional gamers. Look for a twist this year on the Achievement Hunter YouTube page.

•”@SummerBreak” also returns this year for a fifth season, now officially part of the AT&T Hello Lab program. The show follows a group of California teens throughout the summer. It has built a community of more than 700,000 followers, contributing to the franchise’s 492 million lifetime views.

•”Lost Letters,” debuting fall 2017, is a fan-driven scripted narrative. It plays out across several popular YouTube channels, like last year’s successful interactive YA series “The Disappearing Girl” with Collins Key, which garnered 31.1 million views.

•AT&T Hello Lab will also debut a mentorship program. It pairs emerging talent of underrepresented communities with entertainment industry veterans. The mentor teams create films that we will release on DIRECTV NOW and other platforms.

“AT&T Hello Lab engages younger audiences who expect a personal relationship with their media, and who are typically not reached through traditional TV or online advertising,” says Valerie Vargas, vice president of Advertising & Marketing Communications at AT&T. “AT&T Hello Lab lets the audience connect with their favorite creators, drive story lines forward and access content through multiple touch points.”

AT&T Hello Lab focuses on new forms of entertainment that give fans a stake in co-creation. This co-creation emphasizes audience listening, cultural trends, and fan behavior insights, as well as more traditional social tactics for engaging the audience. All Hello Lab programming aims to bring the audience closer to the content, and the content closer to youth audiences.

“By making a longer-term strategic commitment to original entertainment, AT&T drives greater collaboration with the creator community and enables us to stay at the forefront of audience trends,” said Bryan Thoensen, senior vice president, Fullscreen Media’s Strategic Content Group. “This year we’ll put a new spin on fan favorites like Schooled and @SummerBreak, while also welcoming in a new class of creators to connect with audiences by breaking new ground in storytelling.”

Learn more at @ATTHelloLab.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.