Indie Alaska, the new Alaska Public Media web series, profiles ice divers in one of its episodes. (Photo: Alaska Public Media)
Alaska Public Media has introduced a new weekly web-first series in what promises to be its “larger video renaissance.”
Indie Alaska, a weekly YouTube series profiling unique Alaskans, is co-produced with PBS Digital Studios and partially funded with a $10,000 Digital Entrepreneurs Grant from PBS. The show launched May 6 with an episode about a ski train polka band. Producers will deliver 52 episodes in total, with new ones debuting each Monday.
Patrick Yack, chief content officer at Alaska Public Media, said the dual licensee plans to eventually repackage the episodes in a magazine-like format for TV broadcast and may adapt some for radio as well. The network broadcast promo spots for the series in addition to promoting it through social media.
The promotional campaign and multiplatform distribution plans distinguish Indie Alaska from other PBS Digital Studios series, which have primarily been kept off the air.
“We just think it makes sense, at least for us, to try to have as broad of a distribution as possible,” Yack said, adding that the network wants to “transcend platforms.” Other multiplatform series will follow.
Alaska Public Media added a new member to its production team as it prepared to launch Indie Alaska. Yack expects APM to largely self-fund its upcoming video projects.