Yahoo! votes for Silverman’s Electus

Ben Silverman’s production company Electus has struck a deal with Yahoo! to develop and produce content for the web portal.

Silverman set up Electus as a joint venture with InterActive Corp topper Barry Diller last autumn, after stepping down as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment. The venture with Yahoo! will see Electus focusing on producing branded content for the website.

Talking to The New York Times, Silverman said he saw “opportunities for episodic storytelling” that included “more direct relationships” with advertisers.

“We are always getting requests from advertisers for exclusive opportunities,” said Joanne Bradford, Yahoo!’s senior VP for North America revenue and market development. “We really feel Ben has proven that he can come up with great content.”

No projects have have been unveiled but Diller said in its most recent financial results that InterActive Corp’s commitment to Electus was “real.”

Announcing the venture last summer Diller said it would “take full advantage of all areas of Ben Silverman’s extensive media expertise – as an agent, producer and advertising innovator – to create a truly integrated and truly interactive new media production entity, a next generation enterprise that bridges the gap between traditional television and the internet.”

InterActive Corp at the same time invested in another cross-media start-up, Notional, which is working together with Electus and unveiled its first productions in November, including a new dating show called Love Taxi, to which FremantleMedia has picked up international rights.