CollegeHumor is dropping out of school, so to speak.
As the comedy brand shifts its distribution strategy under current CEO Sam Reich, it is giving up its original handle to rebrand as Dropout. That name, which previously applied to the company’s subscription service, will now become its official moniker.
Reich announced the rebrand in a video on the channel formerly known as CollegeHumor (which counts 14.7 million subscribers). Reich said that his company’s new name will represent its people-driven approach, “without any corporations, networks, or advertisers to muck it up.”
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Dropout’s history dates back to 1999, when it was launched by Josh Abramson and Ricky Van Veen. YouTube arrived in 2005, and the company then known as CollegeHumor saw its stock go up. It pulled in billions of views, attracted guest stars like Michelle Obama, and even got its own television show with the TruTV original Adam Ruins Everything.
The brand hit a roadblock in 2017. It began allocating more resources to Facebook after the social platform pivoted to video, but it didn’t get the results it expected and ended up losing money as a result. In 2020, InterActiveCorp (IAC) ended its run as Dropout’s parent company. After a round of layoffs, Reich — a longtime CollegeHumor staffer — took over as the comedy brand’s CEO.
Reich seemed to allude to the meddling that influenced Dropout’s past when he revealed the brand’s new name. As the entertainment industry debates the role of generative AI, Reich is making sure that his staff members stay in the spotlight. “Art isn’t made by AI for algorithms,” he said. “It’s made by people for people.”
To support that business model, Dropout will lean into its titular subscription service, which launched under the CollegeHumor banner in 2018. Subscribers can pay $5.99 per month to access more than 75 shows, including popular Dropout originals like the roleplaying series Dimension 20 and the comedy competition Game Changer.
Reich said that he reached out to CollegeHumor founders Abramson and Van Veen to receive their blessing for the rebranding effort. “Five years ago, we ‘dropped out’ of traditional media and went direct to our fans. We could never have imagined how meaningfully it would transform our business,” Reich said in a statement. “It has resulted in the healthiest, most creative, and most exciting version of the company to date. I stand shoulder to shoulder with our extraordinary talent, crew, and staff as we leave ‘college’ behind and continue to forge our own path. Turns out, this isn’t just a gap year.”
Dropout may not be enrolled in college anymore, but its producers are still studying hard. According to a press release, Reich and co. have “several more new programs” on the way.
