MGM puts its faith in husband-wife team

Christian couple helps create studio’s streaming service of short, inspirational videos

LOS ANGELES— Metro- GoldwynMayer Studios is known for releasing such Hollywood classics as Ben-Hur, Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.

Now the storied, nearly century-old studio is taking a big step into the future of bite-size entertainment. MGM this week launched a digital content business, with 25 original online video series on a platform called LightWorkers.com, created by husband-and-wife team Mark Burnett and Roma Downey.

The Christian couple, who made the TV miniseries The Bible and the movie Son of God, hope to attract viewers with one- to five-minute inspirational videos, appealing mainly to young-adult women who watch content on mobile devices.

The free ad-supported service will include tutorials on thoughtful giftgiving, documentaries on people who have overcome tragedy and shows for cooking and spiritual advice.

“We see this as such an underserved market,” said Downey, president of MGM’s faith and family subsidiary LightWorkers Media.

“There’s a great hunger and need and a community for this . . . We need to be a respite and be a reminder of what’s possible.”

It’s the latest attempt by Downey and Burnett to expand their faithbased brand under MGM. The company last year launched television network Light TV, which airs familyfriendly material culled from MGM’s library.

The executives also plan to launch a faith-based subscription streaming channel that was first announced in 2014.

Like other free online video outlets, LightWorkers aims to make money through advertising and sponsored content, betting that people will want to share their material with friends and family on social media.

The site could also serve as a home for new material, based on films and shows from MGM’s library, and provide a testing ground for new ideas.

Burnett, known for producing popular shows such as The Voice, The Apprentice and Shark Tank, has led MGM Television since 2016, after the company bought full control of his and Downey’s joint venture with the studio, United Artists Media Group.

Faith-based material has not always worked for MGM, as evidenced by last year’s remake of Ben-Hur that flopped at the box office. Still, there’s an opportunity to serve audiences looking for uplift online during divisive news cycles, said veteran marketer Matthew Faraci.

Downey said she came up with the idea for LightWorkers.com after being overwhelmed by negative stories while watching the news.

The former Touched by an Angel star wanted to create a site to highlight people who were doing good in the world, she said.