Welcome to YouTube Millionaires, where we profile channels that have recently crossed the one million subscriber mark. There are channels crossing this threshold every week, and each has a story to tell about YouTube success. Read previous installments of YouTube Millionaires here.
For the past two-and-a-half years, Geek & Sundry has taken a very inclusive approach to content, debuting everything from narrative web series to unscripted videos to an entire network of specialty vloggers. This strategy has paid off. Felicia Day‘s YouTube home has seen impressive growth, reaching a million subscribers and more than 100 million views. In addition, Geek & Sundry just announced a major deal that will see it become a part of Legendary’s digital division (editor’s note: that deal went to press after this interview was conducted.) We spoke to founding partner Sheri Bryant about the multi-faceted Geek & Sundry channel:
Tubefilter: How does it feel to have one million subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?
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Sheri Bryant: We are so proud and happy to have just surpassed one million subscribers! Our fans are always at the heart and soul of what we here at G&S do. We want to make content that our fans will love and come back for more. To our amazing G&S community: thank you for all that you are!
TF: How does the typical Geek & Sundry series get made?
SB: We have an internal development team who chooses which series get made on the Geek & Sundry network. As we decide, the fans are at the heart of what we choose. We also like to choose material that is original, innovative, and something that can’t be found on television.
TF: Specifically, do you go looking for talented, creative people who you want to work with, or do they come to you?
SB: We use both means of getting great material and talent into the company.
TF: Some Geek & Sundry series have been distributed on Hulu. What do you find appealing about the Hulu platform?
SB: Some of our content is formatted as 22 or 44 minute shows,so we thought those would work well on a platform like Hulu. Additionally, Hulu has a different profile and audience than YouTube, and we’d like to share our content with as many different kinds of audiences as possible.
TF: With all the TV-length series G&S has distributed lately, do you have any plans to create content for traditional media platforms?
SB: G&S is currently developing a large slate of material for both traditional and non-traditional platforms. We strive to find great stories and then think about what platform suits it best. We look forward to bringing our stories to traditional media so that the brand can continue to grow.
TF: When searching for brand partners for G&S web series, what qualities make for an ideal partnership?
SB: Brands that organically make sense for us and seamlessly fit into our content storytelling.
TF: What did you learn from the rousing success of the ‘TableTop’ crowdfunding campaign?
SB: That our community is amazing and awesome!
TF: How would you describe the first year of Geek & Sundry vlogs? Are there plans to add new faces to that channel?
SB: G&S loved initiating our vlogging network and had a lot of fun finding new voices in the geek world. We most definitely have plans to add new faces to the channel in the coming months. Stay tuned for more details!
TF: What’s on deck for Geek & Sundry? Any new web series in the works?
SB: Hard question to answer because we could go on and on about future plans! We have many digital series in the works and will be premiering new shows in the fall. We also have a lot of projects on our development slate that we’ll be able to announce in the near future as well. As a sneak spoiler, we are premiering a very special week of content in October that involves a new show and lots of collabs and content from other geeky sources as well. So much to talk about, so follow us on Twitter @GeekandSundry to get the news as it breaks!
On Deck (channels that will soon reach one million subscribers): Nerdist, Vintage Beef, Sesame Street
Photo credit: Alison Korth
