Jukin brings in Lifetime’s Samet

Online video company Jukin Media has appointed former Lifetime reality executive Jessica Samet as its new head of production.

Samet will lead the US company’s efforts to develop TV formats around its viral video content as it looks to expand into original programme development and production.

She previously held roles as VP of reality programming at Lifetime and senior VP of development and original programming at MTV, where she oversaw series including Jackass and WildBoyz.

Jukin packages viral web videos, mostly bloopers, for use in television shows, and operates a YouTube network devoted to such videos that draws more than 450 million monthly views.

The firm recently made inroads into TV as it announced plans  in April to bring its YouTube channel FailArmy to television, via a partnership with US prodco Dick Clark Productions.

The same month, YouTube multi-channel network Maker Studios entered  into a strategic agreement with Jukin to manage and monetise its YouTube networks and videos.

In May, Jukin completed its first round of independent funding, raising close to US$1m.