M2M

Early in September word broke that Apple was working with WME/IMG to launch an exclusive fashion oriented network on the Apple TV. The style-focused network is called Made 2 Measure (M2M) and finally went live today, a week before the launch of the new Apple TV. Good news though for owners of Apple’s previous generation over-the-top box, M2M is not exclusive to the new device; fire up your Apple TV and the new network should be there waiting for you (along with new additions NBC and CBS).

As we previously reported, Made 2 Measure features a mix of new content and licensed. There are currently 37 designers represented; you can view 2 to 3 minute cut-downs of 2015 AW and 2016 SS runway shows sorted either by designer or by the city where they were shown. There are also a handful of interviews with designers, such as a 7 minute segment where Karlie Kloss interviews Diane von Furstenberg. On the series side, there are a few new shows, such as In And Out Of Fashion With Lauren Brown and Tea At The Beatrice With Glenn O’Brien. Similar to the runway shows, most of the original content is only a few minutes long with the exception being Glenn O’Brien’s show, which seems to clock in around 20 minutes per episode. Finally, there is a selection of licensed fashion-related documentaries available to watch.

For day 1 of a new network, there is a surprisingly decent amount of content waiting to be explored. Offering both new and licensed material was a smart way to boost the size of Made 2 Measure’s catalog. Our biggest complaint in the limited time we have had with M2M is that most of the original content is so short. At this point there is little new that couldn’t have existed as a YouTube clip. Additionally, we hope that the network posts longer form versions of the runway shows; reducing a show to 2 minutes makes it feel overly compressed. All in all though we walked away very impressed. Made to Measure represents a daring concept of a content provider that is neither ad nor subscription supported. We will be curious to see how invested WME/IMG is moving forward to creating new content or if they let it just wilt away. Also, it will also be interesting to see how the company utilizes the network for Spring’s 2016 AW fashion weeks.