DEFY Media Closes $70MM Series B Investment
Top Programmer Focused on 13-34 Audience To Further Accelerate Original Programming and Multi-Platform Growth
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DEFY Media, the top digital producer and programmer focused on the influential 13-34 demographic, today announced the close of a Series B funding with a $70MM investment led by Wellington Management Company LLP.
DEFY will continue to aggressively expand programming for its leading portfolio of consumer brands across comedy, lifestyle, and gaming, as well as expand their presence on both emerging and traditional content platforms. DEFY currently produces over 72 original weekly series across its top ranking brands that include SMOSH, Clevver, Screen Junkies, AWEme, Break, and Made Man - twenty of which average over 1MM views per episode. Combined, programs created by those brands generate over 800 million video views monthly, reach 125 million viewers across 65 million YouTube subscribers, and have earned the brands 100 million overall social followers.
DEFY has seen significant and rising demand for its original programming over the past year from both new media companies and traditional cable/telecom operators entering the market with SVOD, OTT, and streaming services. DEFY content can currently be found on more than twenty video platforms including Comcast Watchable, SKY TV, Verizon’s go90, Amazon Prime, PlutoTV and Spotify, among others.
Matt Diamond, CEO of DEFY Media commented, “Our brands and programming are currently being embraced by over 100 million people monthly and are poised to be included in the next iteration of paid cable and OTT bundled packages. These investments will further allow us to accelerate our original programming to capitalize on the changes that are happening within the media landscape.”
Prior to these investments, DEFY had already significantly expanded its internal production infrastructure. In addition to the 72 weekly shows DEFY produces weekly, the company released SMOSH: The Movie in the summer of 2015 (went to #1 on iTunes comedy and later distributed via Netflix), produced the serialized comedy series Part Timers created in partnership with YouTube, and launched an SVOD subscription service ScreenJunkies Plus, which delivers a full schedule of original shows from the leading digital channel for fans of movies and Television.
Existing DEFY investors include ABS Capital, Lionsgate, Viacom and ZMC (Zelnick Media Capital).
Guggenheim Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor to DEFY Media and Lowenstein Sandler acted as legal counsel to DEFY Media.
About DEFY Media
DEFY Media is the top digital producer and programmer for 13-34 year olds, and the largest owner of YouTube channels and leading media brands across the comedy, lifestyle and gaming verticals. Each month, DEFY-produced content generates 800 million video views and reaches 125 million viewers across our 65 million YouTube subscribers, 80 million unique web visitors and consumers of our apps, which have been downloaded over 25 million times. DEFY Media brands include Smosh, recently named by Variety as the top brand for 13-17 year olds, Break, known for its top program “Prank It Forward”™, and Screen Junkies, home to the highly influential digital series “Honest Trailers”. The world’s top brands partner with DEFY to build immersive advertising solutions that deliver unparalleled access to this influential audience. With uniquely integrated capabilities in content development, studio production, distribution and promotion, DEFY Media is built for content delivery in the digital age. Please visit us at www.DEFYMedia.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160913005615/en/
DEFY Media
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Source: DEFY Media
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