Family Guy and American Dad creator Seth McFarlane has inked a deal to create exclusive animated content for Google Inc. and Media Rights Capital, according to The Hollywood Reporter. McFarlane’s new characters and cartoons will be seen across a variety of sites in the AdSense network, which matches ads to content on partner web pages and aims to create a singular destination for content in the fragmented venue that is the Internet.
Surfers visiting AdSense affiliates will be able to view MacFarlane’s streaming programs in a video player that allows for in-stream video advertising. The content will also be supported by ad revenue from banners placed on the sites.
Financial terms of the agreement have not been revealed, but a statement implies that new animated properties from McFarlane could be worth millions of dollars to Google, which is heavily invested in the online video content business. The company recently shelled out a whopping $1.6 billion to acquire leading viral video site YouTube.
Production of new content from McFarlane and other talent will be financed by Media Rights Capital, which put up money for the Oscar-winning feature Babel and the upcoming Bruno movie from Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen.
