Michael Eisner

His investment firm, The Tornante Co., will announce Monday the formation of a studio, Vuguru, that will acquire and develop slickly written, produced and acted Web video.

Vuguru also today will unveil its first show: a serialized mystery called Prom Queen that will roll out over 80 days beginning April 2 with daily installments lasting 90 seconds. It's co-produced with production company Big Fantastic, in a deal brokered by United Talent Agency.

"There's a new distribution platform that's going to be ubiquitous, and that's clearly broadband," Eisner says. While sites that feature user-generated video, such as YouTube, "won the short-term sprint" to reach audiences, he says, "Winning the marathon will be professionally produced, emotionally driven story content."

People will have several options to keep up with Prom Queen, billed as "a blend of love, gossip and betrayal" in the two months leading up to a high school prom.

Episodes will run on the studio's Vuguru.com and on a show site, promqueen.tv. Other content on that site will include forums and blogs.

The series also will be on Ellegirl.com, which is a Prom Queen sponsor. In addition, it will be on YouTube and Veoh, a sharing site with DVD-like quality in which Eisner has a interest.

The company is working out arrangements to put it on wireless and handheld video devices.

Ads will run before and after each segment, which also will include product placements. Initial sponsors include Fiji Water, Pom Wonderful juices and Teleflora florists.

But it remains tough to find friends for Web productions on Madison Avenue.

"It's very frightening for a large advertiser to say, 'Where are the (viewer) numbers?' And there aren't any numbers yet because it's brand new," says writer-director Chris McCaleb of Big Fantastic. "This is the Wild West."

Some advertisers also fear a backlash if their brands appear with video that may offend some of their customers.

Eisner says that's good news for his studio.

"Vuguru will have certain standards," he says. "Promqueen.tv will be PG-13 or less aggressive. Advertisers will know that this is not a place where they will be embarrassed."

Prom Queen has cost far less than a TV show or movie, but Eisner would say only, "It's not inexpensive. Also, we're making up our own rules as we go along."

Big Fantastic spent about $50,000 for 80 episodes of a previous show, Sam Has 7 Friends, which Vuguru has bought.

"We pulled so many favors. People were working at incredible 'friend' rates," McCaleb says. "We made no money at all, which stops being fun when you can't eat or pay rent. Prom Queen is substantially more than (Sam's cost) — definitely more than double."

He says viewers won't find 90 seconds too short to become engaged in each episode.

"When you're sitting there (at the PC), it's like dog years," McCaleb says. "There are so many options. So everyone really has 90 seconds."

Eisner also expects the series to open a lot of people's eyes to the business potential of professional Internet entertainment.

"When this show goes on, we'll be inundated with ideas," he says. "We won't have to look for them. They'll be looking for us."

Enlarge By Douglas Cheney When viewers go to promqueen.tv, they'll find this as the opening shot for the 90-second episodes of "Prom Queen," produced by Michael Eisner's Vuguru and Big Fantastic. Eighty episodes are planned of the show billed as "a blend of love, gossip and betrayal."