Blip.tv

Blip (formerly blip.tv) was an American media platform for web series content and also offered a dashboard for producers of original web series to distribute and monetize their productions. The company was founded on May 5, 2005, and it was located in New York City (where the headquarters was located) and Los Angeles. It was financed by Bain Capital Ventures, Canaan Partners, and Ambient Sound Investments. Blip's mission statement was "to deliver the best original web series to audiences across multiple platforms." The site showcased a wide variety of dramas, comedies, arts, sports and other shows. Blip was acquired by Maker Studios in 2013 and shut down by them on August 20, 2015.

History

Founded on May 5, 2005, by Mike Hudack, Dina Kaplan, Justin Day, Jared Klett, and Charles Hope, blip.tv was bootstrap funded by its founders for the first year of its operation. The partners created blip.tv shortly after they joined Yahoo's video blogging group, and saw an opportunity to create a video-hosting site that focused on being "a best–in-class video hosting, distribution and monetization platform for independent producers of quality video content."[2] The group acquired the blip.tv domain, created the site's original interface in a week's time then began attracting producers and viewers who were interested in niche video content, such as the web series, for which the site has since become known. The founders hired their first employee, Eric Mortensen, in 2006 to head up content and programming, making their first explicit move toward becoming a media company.

In 2007, blip.tv secured funding from Ambient Sound Investments and in 2008 received additional support from Bain Capital.

Notable content

RedLetterMedia

Independent film and media production company RedLetterMedia hosted much of its early long-form content on Blip, including the first seasons of its review series Half in the Bag. The platform allowed the group to release feature-length video essays such as the 70-minute Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace review at a time when YouTube imposed strict length limits. Episodes often premiered on Blip before later appearing on YouTube.[17][18]

Channel Awesome

Online media production company Channel Awesome began distributing its content on Blip in 2008. Over the years, notable Channel Awesome review-series have included The Nostalgia Critic, The Cinema Snob, and Atop the Fourth Wall. The Nostalgia Critic videos themselves average over 100,000 to 200,000 views a week.[19] In October 2012, Blip announced a partnership with Channel Awesome and the creation of a new review channel on YouTube, The League of Super Critics. The channel consists of well known web personalities including Nostalgia Critic, Nostalgia Chick, The Cinema Snob and Todd in the Shadows. The shows cover a variety of topics including television, books, films and music.

Rooster Teeth

Blip also had a partnership with Rooster Teeth, the producers of The Gauntlet, Red vs. Blue, Immersion, and Achievement Hunter. Red vs. Blue has received much critical acclaim and won the award "Best Animated Web Series" from the International Academy of Web Television.[20]

Kipkay

Blip used to have KipKay's DIY channel on the site. KipKay still makes content and uploads it to YouTube.

type	Subsidiary
fate	Shut down
foundation	May 5, 2005
defunct	August 20, 2015‡R1R‡
location city	New York City, New York
location country	U.S.
area served	Worldwide
parent	Maker Studios (2013–2015)
former name	blip.tv (2005–2011)

History

Market and business model

Popularity

Notable content

RedLetterMedia

Channel Awesome

Rooster Teeth

Kipkay

Other content

Video features

See also

External links

References