Jellysmack acquires Rick Lax’s creator development community Network Media LLC (Exclusive)

Creator company Jellysmack is entering a “busy season” of business expansion with the acquisition of creator/content development company Network Media LLC.

Jellysmack works with digital creators like MrBeast, Bailey Sarian, The Try Guys, Brad Mondo, and KallMeKris by taking the content they make for YouTube and re-optimizing it for distribution across other platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat.

Network Media LLC describes itself as a “multi-platform, high-growth creator content company with a proven, data-driven creator development system and support community that accelerates new creators looking to build out their careers across social video platforms.”

It was founded in 2018 by professional magician Rick Lax, who you may know as the orchestrator behind the megaviral gross food videos that began taking over Facebook feeds in 2021.

Lauren Schnipper, Jellysmack’s VP of corporate development, tells Tubefilter that Lax has shown a “unique” ability to “develop creator careers from scratch,” and that Network Media now works with over 200 creators.

“He’s built this thriving community,” she says. “They collaborate together. They exchange ideas. They deeply obsess over the minutiae of every video, what worked and what didn’t. It’s a really unique community that has also become incredibly profitable, and they have found amazing amounts of success doing different types of content.”

Jellysmack co-CEO Robin Sabban adds that acquiring Network Media will allow Jellysmack to “bring our technology and data-driven creator expertise to accelerate Network Media’s strong creator development program and community culture into new genres and across even more platforms.”

“Creating successful, profitable videos is a skill that can be learned and mastered,” Lax said in a statement. “Network Media has demonstrated that by accruing half a trillion video views since 2018. We know how to grow and empower creators from the very start of their journey. With Jellysmack’s data and ability to maximize earnings across multiple platforms, I’m excited to see the program elevated to help new creators reach their full potential.”

Financial details of the acquisition are not being disclosed. This is Jellysmack’s fourth acquisition. It bought video editing startup Kamua in 2021, then picked up two more companies in 2022: YouTube analytics startup AMA Digital; and OKA Media, a project management service for YouTubers.