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Web to Watch: AOL gets 'Connected' to long-form series

Daniel Hurwitz
special for USA TODAY
The season 5 cast of the Israeli reality series "Connected."

AOL is going long on original content.

The online media giant announced today that it is making its first foray into long-form video with a U.S. adaptation of the popular Israeli docu-series Connected. The reality show will follow five seemingly disconnected New Yorkers as each records his or her own daily life with a personal hand-held video camera.

Last year, AOL made a significant investment in original content with a 2013 slate of 15 original series, including Sarah Jessica Parker's City.Ballet and Nicole Richie's #Candidly Nicole, which will soon be a TV series on VH1. An episode of these short-form series rarely ran longer than 10 minutes. With the half-hour Connected, AOL joins Hulu, Amazon and Netflix as a producer of digital-first, TV-like content.

"Our original content offerings are constantly evolving and long-form was the natural next step," said Ran Harnevo, President of AOL Video, in a statement.

Connected first debuted in Israel in 2009 and now airs in 11 international markets. The show, currently in its fifth season, is one of Israel's highest-rated cable TV series ever. AOL is currently casting for the U.S. version, which will will be highlighted April 29 at AOL's Digital Content Newfronts as part of the 2014 slate. The half-hour series will make its AOL On online network premiere in January.

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