Ex-Endemol Beyond President Will Keenan Joins Live Streaming Startup

When Will Keenan left his position at Endemol Beyond last month, we were curious to see where he would end up. Now, we have our answer. Keenan, a veteran of both Endemol’s multi-channel network (MCN) and Maker Studios, has landed at Streamup, a startup that is looking to compete in the up-and-coming world of live streaming video. His job title is President and Chief Content Officer.

Streamup, which is still in beta, sells itself on the fact that it is a producer of original live streaming content and a curator of live streaming talent, not just a platform on which those creators can share their streams. Keenan describes it as the first “live MCN,” suggesting a network of partners who will work with Streamup and share revenue earned from pay-to-view events and branded content.

With this approach, Streamup will be able to differentiate itself from the many other companies that have already carved out their own niches in the live streaming space. The most successful of these companies is Twitch

, which has built a thriving empire based around live streams of video games. YouTube, in building its own gaming hub, has also put an emphasis on live streams. Other companies such as Periscope and Meerkat offer more social takes on live streaming; both of those platforms have secured high-profile users in order to build up their respective audiences.

The “MCN-style” approach of Streamup will pair well with Keenan’s skills. In his previous role, he helped build the Endemol Beyond network, whose partners include beauty star Michelle Phan and Viner Brittany Furlan. “I’ve been saying the past few years Virtual Reality(VR)/360-Video & Real-Time/Live-Streaming were the next big digital frontiers, and now methinks I’m about to prove it with Streamup,” Keenan told Tubefilter.

According to Variety, Streamup has accrued 20 million monthly users in less than a year of activity. Its current plan is to emerge out of beta in January 2016.