Kickstarter, once a trailblazer in the crowdfunding industry, now offers little to distinguish itself from a host of similar services. To combat that issue, the Brooklyn-based company is launching Drip, a platform whose moneymaking model resembles that of Patreon.
Drip, like Patreon, allows individual users to solicit recurring monetary contributions from their supporters while offering various perks in return. Backers who contribute to Drip campaigns shortly after they open up are also eligible for “founding member” status, which opens up additional benefits. Users can set the period of time during which founding members can join. On most pages, backers have one month post-launch to add their names to that elite group.
Kickstarter has also designed Drip to afford users as much flexibility as possible. “Creators will be able to export their data and content, and we’ll even help creators securely transfer subscription and payments information to other subscription platforms,” reads a blog post introducing the service. “We believe creator independence means not being locked into a platform by design.”
Drip shares its name with a company that Kickstarter acquired last year. With the debut of the new platform, the old Drip homepage will be shut down.
Right now, creators are being added to Drip on an invite-only basis, though it will eventually be opened up more widely. The first crop of fundraisers to join the platform includes a few familiar names, such as RiffTrax and Mike Rugnetta.
The launch of Drip comes at a time when Kickstarter’s business appears to be hitting a bit of a bumpy patch. The Verge noted that 2016 was the first year in which Kickstarter generated less funding for creators than the year prior. It has also lost several notable executives, including CEO Yancey Strickler, who announced his departure from his post back in July. Meanwhile, sites like Patreon and GoFundMe continue to gain users, roll out new initiatives, and raise capital.
While Kickstarter could use a big win, it is moderating its expectations for Drip. “We’re not basing our success or failure primarily on growth. It’s about, are we succeeding in our mission? Are we helping creator projects come to life?” Kickstarter founder Perry Chen told The Verge. “Hey, we’re generally helping similar numbers of creator projects come to life over the last few years. So that’s pretty amazing.”
Filed under: Articles, Featured, Kickstarter, News by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on Kickstarter Looks To Compete With Patreon, Launches New Platform Called Drip
High-flying trampoline stuntman and popular vlogger Tanner Braungardt, who counts upwards of 3.5 million subscribers on his flagship YouTube channel, just landed a major brick and mortar distribution deal for his nascent streetwear line, Dibs.
Dibs Clothing, which was co-founded three months ago by 17-year-old Braungardt and the designer Zech Francis, will launch at Buckle stores nationwide on Dec. 8. While Dibs is currently available online, it will be sold alongside top brands like Nike, Obey, Hurley, and Puma at Buckle — an American fashion retailer for young men and women that boasts 467 stores across 44 states. In this sense, Dibs is less a merchandise venture in the vein of those launched by countless other influencers and instead arrives as more of a conceptual venture with bonafide retail cred.
“Dibs was designed to inspire people to live life to the fullest and always have good vibes,” Braungardt says. “We have all sorts of unique styles from colorful tanks to casual wear — all super comfy.” Some of the line’s bestsellers include a $37 raglan shirt — made with eco-friendly inks and premium fabrics — and a $15 pop socket.
Adds Francis: “We couldn’t be in a better position to come to market for the holidays. Dibs is quickly expanding and is on track to be the next Young And Reckless, Neff, or Obey.” Prior to joining Dibs, Francis served as the owner and designer of Society — a men’s and women’s fashion brand sold in 1,200 stores across the U.S. and Canada. He has also designed clothing for other brands that have been vended at national retailers like Nordstrom, PacSun, Bloomingdale’s, Tilly’s, Dillard’s, and Macy’s.
In addition to the physical retail push, Braungardt has tapped several of his influencer friends to help spread the word. Popular creators like Tanner Fox, Chandler Riggs, Elijah Daniel, and Hunter Rowland have all been seen sporting Dibs on social media in recent weeks.
Filed under: FASHION by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on Tanner Braungardt’s ‘Dibs’ Streetwear Label To Launch At Buckle Stores Nationwide
Hulu‘s original programming efforts seem to be in as strong a position as they’ve ever been, but despite that perceived prominence, the company’s execs keep leaving. The latest employee to depart the online video platform is CTO Tian Lim, who will become the VP of Google Play.
Variety notes that Lim, who worked at Sony before arriving at Hulu, has experience working on several streaming services. He had a hand in building both Playstation Now and the live TV offering Hulu launched earlier this year, which suggests that his work at Google Play could trend toward the streaming industry as well. Officially, he will be in charge of the platform’s product and user experience divisions.
Lim was one of the first hires Mike Hopkins made after assuming Hulu’s CEO position in 2013. Hopkins recently left his own Hulu post to take a job at Lim’s former company, Sony. Sony and Google Play, it should be noted, have forged the occasional partnership in the past.
When he arrived at Hulu, Lim replaced Rich Tom, the company’s founding CTO. Tom, alongside original Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, went on to serve as a co-founder of Vessel. That platform has since been acquired by Verizon and its team has been absorbed into that of the video platform Go90.
With Lim out at Hulu, the platform will need to find a replacement. For now, Variety says, Hulu SVP of engineering Barry Steinglass will serve as the company’s interim CTO.
Filed under: Articles, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on Hulu CTO Departs To Lead Product Team At Google Play
Machinima‘s latest exploration of theTransformers universe is all fueled up and ready to roll. Transformers: Titans Return, which continues the animated saga that began with 2016’s Combiner Wars, has now launched on Go90.
Titans Return features some of the most iconic Transformers characters from the franchise, with Peter Cullen leading the way as the voice of the legendary Autobot leader Optimus Prime. Cullen anchors a strong cast that includes several actors who will reprise voice roles from earlier installments of the Transformers canon, including Judd Hirsch and Wil Wheaton. Several YouTube stars, including MatPatand Tay Zonday, are featured in the new series as well.
Like Combiner Wars, which according to Machinima has received more than 125 million global views since its premiere, Titans Return is available in most countries via Go90, which is run by Verizon. In China, the series will be released in partnership with local media company Sohu thanks to a 2016 deal.
Machinima first announced its plans to link up with Hasbro for an animated series back in 2015. Now that the first two chapters of that partnership have hit the internet, only one more is needed to complete the so-called “Prime Wars Trilogy.” When that third section arrives at an as-of-yet unknown point in the future, it too is expected to be distributed through Go90.
In the mean time, fans of the robots in disguise can enjoy the Transformers content currently available for theme. Titans Return will consist of 10 episodes, each of which run for approximately 12 minutes.
Filed under: Uncategorized by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on Machinima’s Latest ‘Transformers’ Series, Bolstered By Well-Known Voices, Arrives On Go90
A study conducted by Netflix has found that subscribers are harboring less and less shame about binge-viewing in public spaces.
Among roughly 37,000 users across the globe queried by the streaming giant earlier this year, 67% of respondents said that they don’t mind risking embarrassment, awkwardness, or even spoilers if it means that they can consume their favorite shows and films on mobile devices on-the-go. Furthermore, public bingers consider being able to access programming a higher priority than food or water while travelling or during their daily commutes.
Other findings from the Netflix study include the fact that 45% of respondents have experienced passersby looking over their shoulders in an attempt to glimpse their screens — though a whopping 77% say they continued watching undeterred. Meanwhile, 27% said they have had to press pause in order to engage in conversation about the show or movie in question.
Finally, Netflix says that binge-watchers aren’t shy about showing emotions in public — with a majority claiming that they have laughed out loud, and 20% conceding that they have even shed a tear. These expressions of emotion tend to vary from country to country, however, with Mexico, Colombia, and Chile seeing the most, and Germany seeing the least.
For additional findings, check out Netflix’s report in full right here.
Filed under: Netflix by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on Netflix Study Finds Stigmas Surrounding Public Binge-Viewing Have Dwindled
YouNow was far ahead of the curve with its foray into the buzzy livestreaming medium – as well as the development of unique monetization opportunities for broadcasters – all the way back in 2011. Today the New York-based company counts upwards of 40 million registered users who conduct roughly 60,000 financial transactions every day using virtual gifts called Bars. That all makes for a grand total of over $50 million in revenue on YouNow in just the past three years, a figure that would be enough if not for the breakneck speed of technological innovations (and with it competition) in the livestreaming industry.
And in order to maintain its edge and attract an even larger audience, YouNow has embarked on an ambitious project. The company’s aiming to tread new ground by incorporating cryptocurrency into a next-level livestreaming experience.
YouNow announced PROPS in September. It’s a standalone cryptocurrency-based live streaming platform. The first app on the platform, Rize, is the world’s first many-to-many social media video app and is already being tested by a core group of content creators and their fans. On PROPS, contributors of all kinds (e.g. content creators, developers, fans, and more) will be able to earn money on the app in the form of new digital tokens called PROPS. For example, a broadcaster might earn PROPS from viewers by hosting a lively group chat, a developer might pocket some units of the cryptocurrency by designing new features for the platform, or a viewer may get some PROPS from creators and other viewers by being a beloved fan or a particularly noteworthy participant of a stream.
PROPS is an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency. That means that the platform’s contributors can have a stake in the long-term health of the network for the first time. It’s a concept that’s perplexing to the uninitiated, but makes total sense to a growing number of cryptocurrency investors and enthusiasts. And if you’re at all confused or have more questions than answers, 1) you’re not alone, and 2) here’s a solid primer on the (don’t call it a) phenomenon from SciShow:
Rize—the first app on the platform—is an ambitious new application (both in terms of its technical capabilities and its financial model) that’s set to launch in beta before 2018, but it’s been in development for the greater part of the last 12 months. During that time, YouNow CEO Adi Sideman and his team have worked incredibly closely with a small group of the platform’s top broadcasters to ensure the new app provides them with new revenue-generating opportunities while redefining the normal capabilities of a livestreaming application. According to a few members of that small group of YouNow’s top broadcasters, the new initiative easily accomplishes both.
It’s not every day one of the biggest online video platforms in the world announces a product that could redefine the medium, so we took the opportunity to talk about it with a set of some of the most popular performers in the YouNow community. Emma McGann, Brent Morgan, and Kenneth Braley (aka The Dapper Rapper) are three of the top earners on the platform. All have built up sizable followings in the millions of viewers and all rely on their broadcasts as their main source of income. They’re also all part of that aforementioned group working closely with the company on its latest product offering (and all are receiving some potentially valuable incentives as a result).
We talked about Rize, PROPS, cryptocurriences, livestreaming, their bank accounts, and what the future of an application they rely on to make a living means for their lives and the livestreaming medium at large. Here’s what they had to say:
Tubefilter: How’d you get started on YouNow?
Brent Morgan: I had minor success on YouTube about six years ago. Some people commented on my channel and said I should try livestreaming. I’ve been on YouNow ever since. I grew it from zero to 14 million views. And it’s been been huge for me. I was a music teacher with 60 students, but now I do this full time. I’ve traveled the world – gone to China and all over the US streaming on YouNow.
The Dapper Rapper: I started on YouNow about three-and-a-half years ago. Prior to YouNow, I was taking the more traditional route as a musician. I was doing three open mics a week in and around Miami for a couple years. And then one day a friend of mine was in Seattle and he gave me a call and he asked me if I ever heard about YouNow. He said he started livestreaming on his front porch, smoked a cigarette, and 40 people were watching. Naturally, being someone who’s constantly searching for new fans and traction, I check it out immediately. I had eight people watching me. Which was pretty cool because I had those eight people to express myself to show my music. I’ve grown that since and now my channel has over eight million views.
Emma McGann: Initially I started on YouNow three years ago to build an audience online for my music and to try to reach new people. And then it exploded into something way more. I started earning money and it all seemed like a really sustainable way to make a living and a way to share my music.
I try to stream twice or three times a day and that’s usually from a little home studio that’s dedicated for live broad for broadcasts. They’re quite casual. They’re not structured. The audience really enjoys having that kind of casual environment to interact with someone who they enjoy watching.
TF: YouNow’s a huge part of all your lives. It provides with your main source of income and provides you with a vehicle to realize your professional passions. Given all that, how scared and/or excited are you about this new Rize app?
BM:I’ve been working with YouNow on Rize for a while now. Probably close to a year. It was a little scary when they first told me about it. I mean, I’ve put my whole life into YouNow. But at the same time, I trust [CEO of YouNow] Adi. At the first I honestly didn’t understand it because I had no idea how to wrap my head around cryoptocurrency part. But once I saw it and the app come to life all my fears went away and emotions changed to pure excitement. It’s amazing what you can do with the technology.
TDR: Uncertainty was the first feeling I was met with when I heard there was a new app coming out. I didn’t know hot it would affect me, because YouNow is my primary source of income. But YouNow is one of the most interactive and fun livestreaming sites to use. I’ve dabbled with everything out there, but I’ve stayed on YouNow because I enjoy the features and the community moreso than others.
So with Rize, they’re coming at it from a solid infrastructure. They’re proven within the community. And the tech behind this app is something that’s never been seen before. I think the world may take a minute to understand. But once people see how intuitive this is and how close to a real life experience this is – hanging out with your favorite content creator – people are going to be into it and want to know more.
The Dapper Rapper (left) and Brent Morgan (right) looking very cool, probably right after or before a live broadcast.
TF: What’s so different about the the tech?
BM: It’s instantaneous. You really do feel like you’re in the room with your fans. I was just on a broadcast on the beta version with six other people. As soon as I want to talk to anyone, they’re there. I just touch their face. You’re always live on Rize. If you chose to watch me I can talk to you. It’s a little different feeling. Viewers have to realize they’re always live. But that’s a good thing. Broadcasters and fans have no choice but to interact.
TDR: It’s the most interactive FaceTime call you’ll ever have. Like FaceTime on steroids. The interface makes for a very personal, intimate connection. And you can split the screen with up to four people. That’s going to make it extremely exciting for viewers because it’s giving them opportunities they’ve never had in a live broadcast setting before.
EM: What I’m really enjoying at the moment is thinking about ways to harnessthe new technology, this may-to-many kind of broadcast, where I can drag two or three people into the broadcast and we chat and interact with one another. I’ve spoken at TEDx about livestreaming and my life, how the medium breaks down the walls between me and my audience and they have an imprint on the broadcast itself. Rize is way beyond that. It feels like social media just got more social.
We’re not just there staring at screen names not really know who’s behind them. We’re talking with people and getting to meet and interact with our audience in a more human and natural way. The fact that you can click on someone’s profile and see them instantly and live. While I’m still getting used to the new platform, you can tell the excitement is there. Everybody’s buzzing about what they’re going to do with it in the future.
I’m really excited about hosting songwriting tutorials on Rize. I wrote a book about the topic and post videos about it on YouTube, where the audience is really engaged. But that’s just in the comments. There’s been no great way to offer individual or group tutorials where the audience can actually interact. My idea is to host subscription content on Rize where viewers can jump into the broadcast and we can go through weekly tasks. I can have them jump in and do exercises live on the stream. There are a lot of things we could do, but the overarching idea is to bring the enthusiastic beginner songwriter audience to Rize to interact, ask me questions, and collaborate with me and other members of the group. There’s nothing that’s been able to really accommodate that until now.
TF: So what’s your take on PROPS and the cryptocurrency component of all this?
TDR: It’s all something that entrepreneurs have been a little hush hush about. It’s been their little secret because once it gets into the open and people understand it more, everyone’s going to be all over it.
When it comes to Rize and PROPS, the content creator can help drive the health of the network. Viewers can put in US dollars and tip in US dollars, but we’ll be paid in PROPS … In order to get your hands on some, you don’t need to be a computer genius and mine the cryptocurrency, you just need to be a content creator. To mine PROPS you just need to create really good content. You’re essentially a cryptocreator.
I’m bullish on all of this because I do see the value in it. I think that the early comers into Rize and PROPS – if they play their cards right – I think this can be an amazing opportunity for the future.
BM: It’s all very forward thinking for me. We get an opportunity to start from the ground up. I went to a cryptocurrency event in LA two weeks ago, and when I saw the couple thousand people show up I felt this rush of excitement. I don’t have any fears right now when it comes to continue to do what I love and make a living. Just like YouNow, Rize is going to be a huge part of our lives and reading up cryptocurrencies has only gotten me more excited to be on the project.
EM: I heard about PROPS, read the white paper, and am very excited. I think the revenue opportunities can be the same or greater to what I’m seeing now. The fact that YouNow now already has a platform, audience, and virtual currency in place is fantastic. People have been buying and gifting Bars on YouNow for years, so the transition to crypto shouldn’t be as hard. The crypto is also going to attract more people, both inside and outside the community.
TF: So do you think the fans will adopt and/or adapt to all of this?
TDR: Being the first people to figure out the app, it’s up to us to educate everyone on the opportunities. And the opportunities aren’t there just for us, but for viewers, too.
YouNow has 40 million users right now, but only 4,000 or 5,000 of those users are Partners who can get paid. That’s a big gap. But now with Rize, everyone is essentially partnered from Day 1. Viewers can give PROPS to me, I can give PROPS to viewers, viewers can give PROPS to each other, and developers can create products for the app and get PROPS, too. It creates a sense of community. It’s one enormous blended community and everyone is equal with the ability to earn. I think it’s’ going to catch on tremendously.
BM: We have fans on YouNow who are not Partnered, but they bring life to our channels. They bring life to our broadcasts. But now with Rize, we can reward them. During a broadcast, anyone can throw PROPS towards someone else. If someone is supporting me, I can give them a gift right back. Everyone is going to feel like they have a stake in the company.
If you want to learn more about PROPS and Rize, visit the website. You can also talk about both directly with the team. Just join the PROPS Telegram group.
Filed under: YouNow by Joshua Cohen Comments Off on Creators Are Excited About Rize, YouNow’s New Cryptocurrency-Based Live Streaming App (And They Say Their Fans Should Be, Too)
Following the successful debut in August of Jenn Im’s ‘Eggie‘ clothing line — during which many pieces from the initial rollout sold out within minutes — the famed fashion vlogger is dropping a second installment this Thursday.
Set to go live exclusively on the official Eggie website, the drop — dubbed Season II — will maintain the first collection’s gender-fluid origins with a total of 19 pieces. Inspired by the early 2000s — meaning oversized cropped hoodies, twill pants with hardware, long sleeve embroidered tees, and sateen benchwarmer pants — the line will range in price from $19 to $72. With bold silhouettes and chain and lace accents, Im says one of favorite pieces is a romper that seemingly looks like an oversized T-shirt (pictured above).
Im partnered with global fashion company Instaco to create the brand.
“The graphic on the romper is an image of two love letters I received from my first boyfriend when I was thirteen and from a crush at summer camp,” she explains. “We added layers and omitted some, overall distorting the pieces in post-production.” Check out some photos of Im modelling items from Season II below.
Im, who created her ClothesEncountersYouTube channel in 2010, has today amassed a social footprint of 4.1 million followers across all platforms, as well as 200 million lifetime views on YouTube.
Filed under: FASHION by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on Jenn Im To Drop Second Season Of ‘Eggie’ Fashion Range On Thursday
Jake Paul‘s beleaguered West Hollywood neighbors can rejoice: The YouTube star is moving out. Paul, whose pranks, personality, and terrible rapping skills have made him into a lightning rod for controversy, has purchased a new home in Calabasas, California for a reported price of $6.925 million.
Paul’s new home, the Los Angeles Times reports, is situated on 3.5 acres of land, and features amenities like a theater, a gym, and an office. Outside, Paul will be able to enjoy a pool, a spa, and two waterfalls.
Calabasas, located next to the Santa Monica Mountains, is about 40 minutes from the West Hollywood neighborhood where Paul’s antics have become infamous. Back in July, the former Vine standout made headlines after KTLA sent a reporter to shed light on his loud, over-the-top parties and the constant gaggle of girls who lingered by his home, hoping to catch sight of him. These activities annoyed his neighbors, who considered filing a class-action lawsuit.
At his new pad, Paul will be far from his closest neighbors, giving him plenty of space to throw parties. He will continue to serve as the ringleader of Team 10, a group of like-minded social media creators.
Paul’s new location won’t just separate him from his enemies in West Hollywood — it will also bring him closer to his brother Logan, who recently made a multi-million dollar real estate purchase of his own. Bolster by his own stash of social media wealth, he scooped up a $6.55 million mansion in Encino, which is just a short drive from Jake’s new digs.
Filed under: Articles, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on YouTube Star Jake Paul Will Move Into $6.9 Million Mansion
Though the music industry continues to tussle with YouTube for allegedly underpaying musicians and enabling copyright infringement to proliferate, the video giant announced today a new feature that seeks to boost artist revenues.
YouTube is partnering with Ticketmaster to feature links to purchase tickets for artists’ upcoming U.S. tour dates below their official music videos. Right now, links to tickets for “hundreds” of artists are available, and fans are able to purchase seats directly via Ticketmaster. “With live concerts becoming a bigger driver of revenue for artists, we want to help artists reach those fans, keep them updated about upcoming shows, and sell more tickets,” YouTube wrote in a blog post.
The video giant added that it will soon roll out the feature to all artists who have Ticketmaster shows in North America — and eventually plans to expand the ticket listings globally.
Filed under: Music, YouTube by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on YouTube Pacts With Ticketmaster To Help Musicians Boost Concert Sales
YouTube is continuing its zealous efforts to quash terrorist content on its platform. As reported by Reuters, the video site working with the American and British governments to pinpoint extremist clips that are not overtly violent or inflammatory. Once identified, these videos will be removed.
One of the extremists who is particularly targeted by YouTube’s latest action is Anwar Al-Alwaki (pictured above), a Yemeni cleric who was killed by an American drone strike in 2011. Six years after his death, Al-Alwaki continues to influence jihadists, many of whom referred to his teachings via YouTube. Now, with the platform’s new policy in place, videos of Al-Alwaki have been removed, the New York Timesreported earlier this week.
The latest change to YouTube’s terrorism policy comes on the heels of a June 2017 update that announced several hate-fighting weapons for the platform’s arsenal. One of the tactics it has deployed is the “redirect method,” which sends users who search for terrorist content to videos that debunk extremist rhetoric.
Now, YouTube is taking an even harder stance. Its new policy is significant in that it doesn’t only target videos that preach violent viewpoints, but also looks to remove nonviolent videos from channels associated with extremist groups. In order to figure out which channels fit those criteria, YouTube is working off government lists.
Several government organizations have asked YouTube, as well as several other digital media companies, to take big strides in the fight against terrorist content on the internet. The latest chapter in the partnership between Mountain View and the global establishment is an aggressive one, but it stands to root out a larger number of dangerous videos. It is now in effect.
Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, YouTube by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on YouTube Will Remove More Extremist Videos With The Aid Of Government Lists
In yet another move that could bring it more squarely into competition with YouTube, Amazon is reportedly developing an ad-supported video service that would function as a free complement to its Prime Video subscription offering. Amazon Prime is currently priced at $99 annually, though a Prime Video subscription can be purchased for $8.99 per month.
Amazon is currently in talks with TV networks, movie studios, and other production outfits about their back catalogs for the forthcoming service, reports AdAge, and is particularly interested in kid-friendly content as well as lifestyle, travel, and cooking shows that could theoretically inspire shopping on its massive e-tail site.
The venture could potentially see Amazon giving publishers their own channels of sorts. And, in order to kickstart the initiative, Amazon may share both audience metrics as well as ad revenues with content creators. Payment could correspond with the number of hours of content consumed on a particular channel on a weekly basis, according to AdAge.
At the same time, Amazon has continued to hone its ad offer, including letting brands pay for videos on their product pages and serving ads outside the confines of Amazon.com. Last month, reports surfaced that Amazon was developing a program that would pair video creators and marketers to create sponsored content, and also seeking to implement new tech to prevent ads from running against inappropriate content — presumably in hopes of avoiding an ‘Adpocalypse‘-like scenario.
Amazon’s video division, which lost several top execs on the heels of sexual harassment allegations against Studio head Roy Price last month, is expected to spend $5 billion on content this year — including a just-announced Lord Of The Rings series adaptation. The company, which is also retooling its programming strategy toward shows with big names and a broader appeal, is currently moving its video headquarters to the iconic Culver Studios in Los Angeles.
Filed under: Amazon by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on Amazon Has Free, Ad-Supported Version Of Prime Video In The Works (Report)
Fullscreen will shutter its eponymous subscription video service, CEO George Strompolos wrote in an email to staffers yesterday afternoon, in order to more actively invest in its creator network, brand-building, and Rooster Teeth divisions. As a result, the company is letting go of roughly 25 employees, a spokesperson said.
Strompolos — who founded Fullscreen in 2011 — called the decision tough, and said that he’s “extremely proud” of the service, which launched in April 2016 and has subsequently served as a launchpad for shows like Jack And Dean Of All Trades; Bret Easton Ellis’ directorial debut, The Deleted(pictured above); Brandon Rogers’ Magic Funhouse; video podcasts by Tyler Oakley and Grace Helbig; and, most recently, the Hazel Hayes thriller PrankMe.
The service, which was priced at $6 per month, will stream its last show on Friday, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and all of the series that have not yet aired will be shelved or sold.
“Millions downloaded our app and hundreds of thousands became paying subscribers,” Strompolos wrote in the email, which he also shared on Medium. “Despite our momentum, we’ve made the difficult decision to shut down the Fullscreen SVOD service in January 2018.” He added that, going forward, Fullscreen will continue to work to “empower creators and bring brands closer to fans,” and that new projects and content offerings are in the works. Strompolos said he will share more details with his team at a December all-hands meeting.
The fact that Fullscreen is closing up shop on the service isn’t a total shock given that the digital media company laid off 3% of its workforce in September to reframe its SVOD strategy around original programming as opposed to licensed shows.
Filed under: Fullscreen by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on Fullscreen To Shutter SVOD Service In January, Will Lay Off Roughly 25 Staffers
BM: It’s instantaneous. You really do feel like you’re in the room with your fans. I was just on a broadcast on the beta version with six other people. As soon as I want to talk to anyone, they’re there. I just touch their face. You’re always live on Rize. If you chose to watch me I can talk to you. It’s a little different feeling. Viewers have to realize they’re always live. But that’s a good thing. Broadcasters and fans have no choice but to interact.
