OMGPOP, the New York-based gaming company that has made a huge comeback over the last month thanks to its Pictionary-like game Draw Something, is eying a TV show based on the game, according to a source familiar with the matter. The game has surpassed 25 million registered users, with more than 10 million daily active users.
If the company made such a move, it would highlight OMGPOP’s ambitions beyond games. It’s also a sign of changing times as unique brands are starting to emerge on smartphones and then cross over into other mediums. The trend is usually in the reverse direction with game shows like Family Feud coming onto Android and iOS. But now we’re seeing developers like Angry Birds-maker Rovio work on a concept for a feature firm and Outfit7, which is known for its talking character apps, work on merchandise like toys and T-shirts.
OMGPOP’s chief executive Dan Porter couldn’t comment on the show. But he did share some new statistics on the games.
He says the game is up to 1 billion paid ad impressions per day. That excludes house ads and promotions that upsell users to the paid version of the Draw Something. When I last talked to the company, they hinted that they were under six figures per day in advertising revenue. But I hear that a casual mobile game like Draw Something would have an eCPM, or effective cost per thousand impressions, of around 20 to 30 cents. (Yes, it’s low because there’s that much inventory, which is really hard to fill.) On that, you can back out a rate of around $200,000 per day. He does say that the company is getting better at filling inventory as they partner with more mobile advertising networks though.
Porter also added that Android now makes up just over one-third of daily downloads, thanks to performance enhancements. Many Android apps have issues working properly on the platform’s many devices, so developers that go out of their way with quality assurance testing can see a big bump from having their apps actually function.
Like I reported last week, the overnight success of the game has drawn interest from a number of investors and prospective buyers. Last I heard, there was a definite term sheet for $25 million from Institutional Venture Partners, but it’s not clear if OMGPOP is going to move forward with investors. Porter had said at the time that he was in a position where the company didn’t really need to raise funding.
