Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) has signed on to show a fly-on-the-wall original web video series following Cat Deeley as she gets made up to host each episode of the So You Think You Can Dance TV show in the States.
In The Dressing Room With Cat Deeley runs from Thursday on Yahoo’s OMG celebrity site, twice a week for 10 weeks, and shows Deeley deciding what to wear from backstage at the Fox show.
For Yahoo, this is another push in to both original video content, for which it claimed 28.6 million U.S. uniques in May, and celebrity partnerships, of which its previous instances have included David Beckham.
Demand Media (NYSE: DMD) recently launched lifestyle sites anchored by model Tyra Banks and chef Rachael Ray.
Yahoo’s video programming head Erin McPherson (via release): “Video is a top priority for Yahoo, and this new web series … is an important part of enhancing the video experience across the Yahoo network and will add to our premium portfolio of original programming.”
Pre-roll ads are run on the videos.
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In its announcement, Yahoo calls Deeley a “global fashion icon”: “She is often asked by fans to provide style advice, and also writes a blog for InStyle.com about her look.” Deeley has come a long way since CD:UK, hosting several U.S. shows as well as returning to host the UK’s So You Think You Can Dance in 2010.
“In The Dressing Room” is produced by The Collective management firm and could clearly be a franchise, should Deeley’s own run at it ever close. Deeley gets a producer credit. Yahoo is also due to launch a UK version of OMG.