Verizon’s Go90 Orders ‘FailArmy’ Original Series With 50 Weekly Episodes

Todd Spangler

Dudes falling off bikes — and other failed stunts and awkward situations — are coming to Verizon’s Go90 free mobile-video service.

The telco has commissioned 50 episodes of a new FailArmy-branded short-form series from Jukin Media. The “FailFive” show on Go90 will be released weekly, with each roughly three-minute episode aggregating five user-generated videos grouped on a specific theme.

FailArmy is in the vein of ABC’s long-running “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” except limited to UGC clips of supposedly funny accidents. On YouTube, FailArmy has 8.6 million subscribers and has generated more than 2 billion video views.

But “FailFive” won’t be coming to YouTube. The show’s segments will be exclusively available on Verizon Go90 for a 48-hour window, after which Jukin will post them to the FailArmy Facebook page. The show was created specifically with Go90’s social sharing features in mind, according to a spokesman, and the company believes they’ll work well on Facebook as well. The rep added that Jukin is not contractually prohibited from distributing the show on YouTube.

Verizon launched the ad-supported Go90 service last week, aiming the mix of full TV episodes and short-form content at millennials on the theory that they’re watching less traditional television and lots more mobile video. The telco has licensing pacts for TV programming from Viacom, Discovery, Scripps, Univision, ESPN, CBS Sports and others, and has ordered original content from partners including AwesomenessTV, Vice Media, New Form Digital and Endemol Beyond USA.

“FailFive” on Go90 is hosted by Chris Powers and Courtney Pauroso, of Jukin’s current web series “Top Fails Breakdown.” The show, which debuted last Thursday, includes listicle-style themes such as “5 Girls You Meet In Your Twenties,” “5 Reasons You Didn’t Make It to the Club” and “5 Signs Your Cat is Illuminati.”

In addition to “FailFive,” Go90 also will carry FailArmy’s regular programming including the popular “Fails of the Week” series.

FailArmy content also is distributed as an international half-hour TV series, produced by Jukin and Dick Clark Prods., that airs in 221 territories worldwide.

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