Defy Media is rapidly expanding its original content offerings, and has hired two new executives to help lead the charge. The digital media company has brought on Christopher Willey and Alex Lin to work on Defy’s slate of originals, including three new series for Verizon’s go90 mobile video service.
Willey, a former MTV executive, comes to Defy Media from Condé Nast Entertainment and will serve as VP of Development. Lin hails from NBC Entertainment’s comedy division, and will work as Defy’s Director of Development. The digital media company’s Chief Content Officer Barry Blumberg told Variety Willey and Lin, who will work under him, were necessary because Defy was “barely keeping up and not necessarily innovating enough” with its content demands.
“Chris and Alex are instrumental hires as we ramp up development and production to meet the increasing demand for our content as we expand our distribution with new partners in SVOD, OTT, and other streaming platforms,” Blumberg said.
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Defy’s original programming is set to increase with three new series of over 90 total episodes for distribution on Verizon’s go90 platform in 2016. The first show is Super Fan Builds, where Hollywood prop masters recreate an iconic piece from fans’ favorite franchises. The next Defy title for go90 is 100 Things, starring Australian traveller Sebastian Terry as a sort of global Good Samaritan as he helps people knock off items from their “100 things” bucket lists. Defy’s final go90 series, Clevver Weekly Hollywood Rundown, will summarize the week’s celebrity and entertainment news.
Additionally, Defy Media has a new series starring Smosh’s Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox. The unnamed comedy series will debut on YouTube some time in 2016. Padilla and Hecox, who have their own movie thanks to Defy, are also the subjects of other Defy series such as Every [Blank] Ever and Smosh Games Animated.
Defy Media currently works on 35 weekly shows and web series, with 29 of these pulling in at least 500,000 video views per episode. As of July 2015, Defy reached 125 million viewers per month across all its digital platforms.
