Final 12 months, studio and manufacturing home OBB Media teamed up with iHeart to provide the annual Jingle Ball TV Particular, the annual vacation occasion that airs on ABC annually as a two-hour broadcast. That includes performances from a few of the high artists within the enterprise, the particular is culled from the 2 stay Jingle Ball vacation concert events held in New York and Los Angeles. Final 12 months’s particular, which aired Dec. 21, 2023, on ABC, landed because the No. 1 TV program amongst adults aged 18-49 and No. 2 general on the night time that it aired, with 9.5 million folks tuning in — a 500% enhance over the 12 months prior. That marked the very best complete viewers for the particular since 2013.
This 12 months, OBB and iHeart teamed up as soon as once more for Jingle Ball, which aired Wednesday (Dec. 18) on ABC and is now obtainable to stream on Hulu. That includes performances by the likes of Shaboozey, Benson Boone and Gracie Abrams, the particular aimed to not solely be a showcase for performances however a fascinating presentation that went past only a filmed live performance into “an expertise and a present,” OBB Media founder/CEO Michael D. Ratner tells Billboard.
Jingle Ball isn’t OBB’s solely foray into the music world. This 12 months alone, the OBB’s stay division (the corporate additionally homes TV, movie, music video, studio and branded content material wings) produced a live performance movie for The Child LAROI, the Hulu stay particular on the iHeart Music Competition, and, most lately, Sabrina Carpenter’s A Nonsense Christmas Netflix particular, which highlighted the breakout star’s vacation fruitcake EP (which subsequently landed within the high 10 of the Billboard 200) in addition to performances by Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Tyla, Shania Twain and extra. And all that helps make Ratner Billboard’s Government of the Week.
Right here, Ratner discusses OBB’s work on Jingle Ball, the Carpenter particular and what movie and TV content material can do for an artist’s profession. “There’s lots of litter out there,” Ratner says, “and content material might be an extremely highly effective differentiator in serving to artists pop, particularly because the creation of content material has change into fully democratized.”
This week, OBB and iHeart labored to provide the annual Jingle Ball TV particular, which aired Dec. 18 and is now streaming. What key resolution did you make to assist make that occur?
Audiences don’t simply desire a live performance, they need an expertise and a present. OBB partnered with iHeartRadio to ensure that the two-hour particular is dynamic, humorous, tells a narrative, brings you nearer to the artist and, most significantly, delivers nice music.
What stood out to you essentially the most about engaged on this 12 months’s occasion?
I actually assume this 12 months’s present represented the following wave of unimaginable expertise moving into the highlight — from Gracie Abrams to Tate McRae, Shaboozey, The Child LAROI and Benson Boone, it was a extremely thrilling group. Additionally, filming stay in arenas is at all times invigorating, and it was thrilling to movie the L.A. present within the brand-new Intuit Dome.
You guys additionally labored on Jingle Ball final 12 months, which was the No. 1 rated TV program amongst adults (18-49) and No. 2 general on the night time when it aired. What did you study from engaged on it final 12 months that you just have been capable of apply to this 12 months, and the way did you do issues in a different way?
Final 12 months we noticed social media engagement for the present spike about 10 instances greater than the prior 12 months, so we leaned into that even additional this 12 months, specializing in chopping extra social clips to interact particular person fanbases and assist construct a community-watching expertise. Additionally with the Thanksgiving break falling every week later this 12 months, our turnaround time to ship the particular after the L.A. and New York exhibits was shrunk to 4 days — and it’s already a fast turnaround — so we have been much more environment friendly and streamlined on the backend to navigate editorial, artist approvals and supply.
You guys additionally produced Sabrina Carpenter’s A Nonsense Christmas particular on Netflix. How did that come collectively, and what was that like behind the scenes?
We’re continually attempting to push the boundaries and take into consideration revolutionary methods to collaborate with distinctive expertise. We — and particularly Simone Spira, who’s a manufacturing and improvement govt right here — had the thought internally at OBB to do a vacation selection music particular with Sabrina, as all of us cherished the fruitcake EP and knew she might carry her personal, given her genuine love of the vacations and that she might dance, sing, act and do all of it. This all proved to be true because the present is in all places — it’s dominating the web, Sabrina shocked followers on the NYC premiere which was superior, she was on Colbert, and it even made the SNL Weekend Replace, which was a private favourite second for me, as I grew up watching SNL on a regular basis.
How essential can a TV particular be for an artist’s profession?
Extremely essential. Nevertheless it’s not simply the TV particular — content material that brings you nearer to your followers and your group is a necessary companion piece to the music. Whether or not it’s a TV particular, considerate social content material, or something in between, content material goes to proceed to be a bigger piece of an artist’s technique. There’s lots of litter out there and content material might be an extremely highly effective differentiator in serving to artists pop, particularly because the creation of content material has change into fully democratized.
How essential is music to what OBB Media does?
OBB is a storytelling firm and we love making tasks which might be culturally related. Musicians have at all times been and proceed to be key tastemakers and tradition creators, so music is a key fixture in the whole lot we do.
What’s subsequent for you guys?
We have now a VR particular popping out on Meta Quest on Dec. 27 starring Charli XCX and Troye Sivan, which we filmed on the Discussion board throughout the SWEAT Tour. We love engaged on music tasks in all of those totally different codecs and mediums, and I feel it’s a testomony to how music is the throughline regardless of how know-how, viewing patterns and viewers behaviors evolve. We’re additionally filming extra of our Billions Membership collection with Spotify, and we’re excited for some main episodes with unimaginable artists which might be coming quickly. Looking forward to 2025, now we have some actually massive stuff coming that we will’t speak about fairly but, however keep tuned.
