Viacom to announce it’s buying AwesomenessTV

FAN Editor

Viacom will announce its deal to acquire AwesomenessTV on Friday for a price well under $300 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

That’s significantly lower than the $650 million valuation that the company reportedly commanded when Verizon invested in 2016.

News of the deal was first reported by Bloomberg.

AwesomenessTV — which is currently a joint venture of NBCUniversal‘s DreamWorks Animation, Hearst and Verizon — had its start as a YouTube channel focused on content for millennials and teens. Co-founder Brain Robbins has since left the company and joined Viacom family as an executive at Paramount, while Kelly Day, a former senior exec at Awesomeness, heads digital for Viacom.

AwesomenessTV expanded to becoming a multi-channel network, managing tens of thousands of channels before expanding into more traditional media. After DreamWorks acquired AwesomenessTV in 2013, it launched several co-initiatives including YouTube children’s channel DreamWorksTV, as well as a music label and publishing unit.

Verizon and Hearst each acquired around a quarter of the company in 2016. Sources familiar with the matter said the joint ownership structure of the company was not working because of conflicting priorities.

Viacom declined to comment.

–Additional reporting by Michelle Castillo.

Disclosure: Comcast owns CNBC parent company NBCUniversal.

Free America Network Articles

Leave a Reply

Next Post

Is sleeping with a fan on actually bad for you?

Scorching summer heat can be tough, especially without air conditioning. You might find yourself searching for ways to stay cool, including using a fan at night.  But is it healthy to sleep with a fan on? Some recent headlines have made it sound downright dangerous. “Why Sleeping with Your Fan on […]