'Lonelygirl15' studio gets $5M shot in arm

LOS ANGELES, April 18 (UPI) -- The studio behind the U.S. Internet hit "lonelygirl15" has received funding from a who's who of U.S. investors, including Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen.

LG15-Telegraph Ave. Productions, currently being rebranded as EQAL, will receive $5 million in financing led by Spark Capital, Hollywood Reporter reported. Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, Conrad Riggs of Mark Burnett Productions, Silicon Valley venture investor Ron Conway and former Google director Georges Harik also are investing in the production studio based in Los Angeles.

"Lonelygirl15" debuted in June 2006 and became a viral hit on YouTube. In 2007, the company unveiled "KateModern," on Bebo, a social network popular in Britain.

Studio officials said the money would be tied to the company's infrastructure, not new projects.

"Prior to raising the money, we really could've continued producing the shows," company Chief Executive Miles Beckett said. "But there's lots of opportunities out there, and we wanted to have that money to hire those extra programmers and sales people so we can grow."