Wikipedia

Defy Media

Defy Mediawas an American digital media company that produced original online content for the 12–34 age group. Originally founded in 1996 asAlloy Online(laterAlloy Digital), the final company was formed in 2013 by its merger withBreak Media.

Defy Media, LLC
FormerlyAlloy Digital
Company typePrivate
IndustryDigital media
PredecessorsBreak Media
Alloy Digital
FoundedOctober 2013;11 years ago(2013-10)
DefunctNovember 6, 2018;6 years ago(2018-11-06)
FateDissolved
Headquarters
New York City,New York
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Matt Diamond[1]
ProductsDigital media, merchandise, broadcasting, advertising media networks, apps
OwnersABS Capital Partners(36%)
Lionsgate(19%)
Viacom(7%)
Wellington Management Company(38%)[2][3][4][5]
Number of employees
400[6][7]
SubsidiariesThe Escapist
Smosh
Break
Shockwave
Clevver Entertainment

On November 6, 2018, the company ceased operations after its assets were frozen by creditors, leaving channels likeSmoshwithout a company. Several former employees blamed poor financial management, while high overhead fromYouTube,legal troubles, overly aggressive expansion, and a shrinking advertising market were also described as contributing factors.[8][9]

History

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1996–2009: Alloy, Inc.

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Alloy, Inc.(also known asAlloy Online) was founded in 1996 by James K. Johnson and Matthew Diamond as aholding companyforAlloy,a teen-oriented magazine and website. By the time the company went public in May 1999 (itsNASDAQsymbol was ALOY), the website earned $15.5 million in monthly revenue and 1.3 million registered users. In January 2000, they purchased book publisher 17th Street Productions, renaming itAlloy Entertainment.[10]

Alloy's additional early assets includedDelia's(acquired 2003, spun-off in 2005), CCS (acquired 2000, sold toFoot Lockerin 2008), andChannel One News(acquired 2007, sold toHoughton Mifflin Harcourtin 2014).[11]

2009–2013: Alloy Digital

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In 2009, Alloy created a division calledAlloy Digital Networksto hold its online properties.

Alloy was then made private through acquisition by an investment group led by ZMC in 2010 and was re-incorporated asAlloy Digitalin 2011. Within the next two years, Alloy Digital acquiredSmosh,[12]Themis Media (parent company ofThe EscapistandWarCry Network),[13]Generate LA-NY,and Clevver Media.[14]ZMC sold the Alloy Entertainment division toWarner Bros. Televisionin 2012.

2013–2017: Merger and investment

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In October 2013, Alloy Digital and Break Media merged to become Defy Media. The deal was brokered byRBC Capital Markets,and the resulting entity was owned in part by ZMC,ABS Capital Partners,andLionsgate.[15]

Viacompurchased a stake of Defy Media in 2014, in exchange for ownership ofGameTrailers,Addicting Games, andShockwave.[16]In 2016, Defy settled a $70 million investment byWellington Management Company,and ZMC exited from investment in 2017.

2018: Decline and dissolution

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In March 2018, Defy Media laid off 8% of its headcount, exiting itsprogrammatic advertisingand video licensing and syndication businesses. Joe Bereta, creative director ofSmosh,left his position and was replaced by a former comedy partner, Luke Barats.[17][18]In June, multiple publishers claimed that Defy had not paid them for advertising. One of those publishers,Topix,filed a lawsuit for $300,000.[19]

In July, Defy soldThe EscapisttoEnthusiast Gaming,andScreen JunkiestoFandom.[9]

In fall 2018, former CEO Matt Diamond, along with other employees, made multiple offers to the company's senior creditor,Ally Bank,to purchase the company. The bank ultimately rejected those offers, and on November 6, 2018, Defy Media announced that it was shutting down operations effective immediately and laying off all employees at itsBeverly Hillsproduction office.[20]Less than a day after this announcement, the company's assets were frozen by creditors.[9]

Former employees and executives blamed poor financial practices and unrealistic investments. An over-reliance on major social media platforms and changes in market space fornew mediawere also described as contributing factors.[8][9]

Smosh CEO Ian Hecox stated that he was looking to find a new outlet for the Smosh brand.[18]On February 22, 2019,Mythical Entertainmentacquired Smosh.[21]

Defy Media's former head of audience development,Matthew "MatPat" Patrick,stated that the company stole 1.7 million dollars from him and otherYouTubers.He claimed that the company was aPonzi schemeand was using YouTube creators' money in order to look more attractive to outside investors.[22]

Content

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Defy Media owned and operated online brands includingSmosh,[23]Shut Up! Cartoons,Smosh Games, Clevver Media,Break,The Escapist,[24]AddictingGames,Gurl,[25]MadeMan,CagePotato,The Warp Zone, and Chickipedia, with some brands being inherited from Break Media. Each of these brands operated a dedicated website andYouTubechannel in or about comedy, filmed entertainment, news, video games, viral content, girl culture, men culture, orMMA.Defy Media's online program offerings includedThe Single Life,The Confession,Fashion on the Fly,[26]Dating Rules,[23]Chasing,[27][28]Style Rules,[29]Wendy,[30]Style Setters,[31][32]andThe Sub.[33]

According toComscore,in 2012, Defy counted more than 38 million followers among its owned brands, reaching 221 million unique visitors each month.[34]Together, its channels reached over 80 million video viewers monthly.[35]

Brands

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Defy Media owned various brands including viral video siteBreak,MadeMan (a site for young men), flash game sites AddictingGames,Shockwave,DIY prop, cosplay channel Awe.Me, and Prank It FWD (Forward).

Former sites and channels

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Over the years, Defy Media shuttered numerous websites and channels, mostly underperforming ones left over from the Alloy Digital and Break Media merger that formed the company. Among these former sites include MMA websiteCagePotato,Chickipedia, HolyTaco, AllLeftTuns, and TuVez. Defy Media also sold off some brands to other companies.

Game Theory / Film / GT live

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Main article:MatPat

Game Theory was launched in August 22, 2009. Its founders are Matthew Patrick and Stephanie Patrick.

Film Theory was launched in May 12, 2014. Its founders are Matthew Patrick and Stephanie Patrick.

GT live was launched in August 26, 2015. Its founders are Matthew Patrick and Stephanie Patrick.

Shut Up! Cartoons

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Main article:Shut Up! Cartoons

Shut Up! Cartoons was launched as a spin-off ofSmoshin April 2012.[36]It featured original cartoons and animated videos. The channel consistently ranked in the top 25 for weekly views.[37]Original animated series featured on the channel includedZombies vs. Ninjas,Pubertina,Krogzilla,Oishi High School Battle,Smosh Babies,andPaper Cuts.The channel ceased operations on June 23, 2017.

Screen Junkies

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Main article:Screen Junkies

The site focuses on film and television related topics. The group also includesScreen Junkies News,formerly ClevverMovies.

Screen Junkies is home for shows likeHonest Trailerswhich is a series of parodytrailersof films,The Screen Junkies Showwhich covers a variety of topics in film and television, andMovie FightsandTV Fightswhere cast debates various films or television shows.

On October 6, 2017, Andy Signore, the creator ofThe Screen Junkies Show,Honest Trailers,Movie FightsandTV Fightswas suspended by Defy Media after accusations of sexual assault and sexual harassment made by female fans and coworkers became public.[38]Several of the women also claimed that complaints made to Defy Media'sHR department and managementabout the incidents had been suppressed or ignored by the company for several months until the women involved made the allegations public. Two days later, Screen Junkies announced on theirTwitterpage that Signore's employment was terminated effective immediately as "there is no justification for this egregious and intolerable behavior."[39]

On July 2, 2018, it was announced that Defy Media sold Screen Junkies toFandom.[40]

The Escapist

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Main article:The Escapist(magazine)

The Escapistwas acquired by Alloy Digital in November 2012.[24]It targets video-game enthusiasts. In 2008, the site won aWebby Award[41]and a People's Voice Award.[42]The website generates 28 million page views each month.[43]In 2012,The Escapistlaunched the Escapist Expo inDurham, North Carolina.The second annual took place in October 2013.[44]

The website was part of the AddictingGames Network alongsideflash gamesite AddictingGames until July 2018 whenThe Escapistwas sold to Enthusiast Gaming, the owner ofDestructoidin 2018.[45]

Clevver Media

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Clevver Media was founded in 2006 by Michael Palmer and Jorge Maldonado and acquired by Alloy Digital in June 2012.[46]The millennial target platform operates six entertainment and celebrity-focused YouTube channels, includingClevverTV,ClevverMusic,ClevverNews,ClevverMovies,ClevverStyle,andClevverTeVe.[47]In 2012, Clevver Media ranked in the top 10YouTubenetworks, according toComscore.[48]Joslyn Davisserved as the executive producer.[49]Hosts and producers have includedDeidre Behar,Tatiana Carrier, Lily Marston, Erin Robinson, Katie Krause, Miriam Isa, Dana Ward, Misty Kingma, Drew Dorsey, and Sinead De Vries among others. The Clevver brand was the second-largest YouTube channel group for sponsor content in the Defy Media group of brands. Marston was the main editor in the beginning, and soon enough the company was hiring more employees to do various "behind the scenes" jobs. Employees Erin and Joslyn also appeared on the28th seasonofThe Amazing Race.[50]The website also included channelsCrushable,The Gloss,The Grindstone,Mommyish,andBlisstree,and was also part of the Clevver Network.

On February 15, 2019,Hearst Magazinesannounced that it has purchased Clevver Media.[51]

Smosh

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Main article:Smosh

Smoshwas founded in 2005 by Ian Hecox andAnthony Padillaand acquired by Alloy Digital in July 2011.[52][53]The channel's core demographic is people ages 12–24. The Smosh website measures 1.5 million visitors monthly.[54]With shows like Every [Blank] Ever, The Big What If, and its sketches, Smosh was calledthe Saturday Night Live of YouTubebyTimein 2006.[52]Smosh spin-off channels includeSmosh Games,Smosh Pit,El Smosh,and the now defunctShut Up! Cartoons.

Smosh Games was launched as a spin-off of Smosh and relaunch of ClevverGames in September 2012. Hecox and Padilla teamed up with various online gamers to play games, provide reviews and updates, and share commentary. The channel contains gameplay videos and a gaming variation ofScreen Junkies' Honest Trailers called Honest Game Trailers. The YouTube channel achieved 1 million subscribers within three months of launching.[citation needed]It has gained more than 350 million video views.[35]

On November 12, 2018, the Smosh cast released a video announcing that production of Smosh, Smosh Pit, and Smosh Games content was still ongoing, and that existing videos would be finished and other content would be continued to be released independently by Smosh on their YouTube channels.[55]They subsequently joinedMythical Entertainmentafter their company was purchased byRhett & Link.[21]

Gurl

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Main article:Gurl

Gurlwas created and launched in 1996 byRebecca Odes,Esther Drill, and Heather McDonald as an onlinezinefeaturingalternative mediathat included advice onbody positivity,female sexuality,and other concerns from female teenagers.[56]In 2009, Alloy acquired Gurl,[57][58]and they relaunched it in 2011 with a new logo.[59]The website ceased activity after 2018 with the closure of Defy Media.[60][61]In 2020, Jamie Petitto, who had been a video editor for Gurl from 2012 until its closure, alleged in a video post on her social media accounts that she had offered to buy Gurl from Defy Media but could not meet their demand of $3 million.[62]

CagePotato

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Main article:CagePotato

CagePotatowas an news/entertainment focus about MMA. The site officially closed.

Break

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Main article:Break

Breakis an entertainment and humor focused website aimed at the 18–35 aged male demographic. The website originally launched in 1998 and was acquired by Defy Media in 2013. It was shut down in 2018 following Defy Media's closure. Rights to the website were bought by Yeah1 Network and the website was relaunched in 2019.

References

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