AMC Networks and Plus Capital led a $4 million investment round in DanceOn, a YouTube multichannel network centered on dance entertainment that is looking to expand its reach beyond the Google-owned video site.
Other investors in the L.A.-based company include Nigel Lythgoe, exec producer of 'So You Think You Can Dance'; Machinima CEO Allen DeBevoise; Guy Oseary, Madonna's manager; Roku chief marketing officer Matthew Anderson; Globespan Capital Partners' Daniel Leff; MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan; former News Corp. digital exec Jon Miller; and Zefr co-founder Rich Raddon.
With the funding, DanceOn CEO Amanda Taylor expects to grow the company from 15 employees to 25 over the next 12 months to expand distribution to multiple platforms beyond YouTube.
'YouTube is a really important part of what we do, and we'll always be fostering a community and audience on YouTube,' she said. But, she added, 'we're really looking at growing beyond this definition of being a multichannel network... To the extent we are generating premium content, we want to be on all devices' like Roku set-tops and Xbox consoles.
DanceOn was among the 100 channels in YouTube's original channels funding initiative in 2011. YouTube contributed additional funding to DanceOn in early 2013; however, Taylor said Google is a partner not an equity investor.
Across all its properties, DanceOn has about 7 million YouTube subscribers and its content has generated 1.2 billion views to date. The MCN has cut deals with marketing partners including Unilever, Ubisoft and Diageo for content partnerships. In addition, DanceOn has a deal with Shine America to jointly develop projects.
DanceOn series include 'Dance Showdown,' which pairs YouTube stars with professional dancers to compete for cash prizes, and 'The Edge,' which profiles musical artists and dancers who perform with them including Madonna, David Guetta and wil.i.am.
Taylor, who previously managed choreographers and dancers, founded DanceOn in her New York apartment in 2010. She moved the company to L.A. in January 2012 to offices at Sunset and Vine.
Tidak ada komentar :
Posting Komentar