CollegeHumor Wants to Be on TV and Bring Native Ads Along
Newly formed Electus production group focuses on multiplatform
CollegeHumor is aiming for the TV set. And it wants to bring more brands with it.
As announced earlier today, IAC’s Electus has essentially merged with CollegeHumor Media to form a new entity, Electus Digital. As part of that deal, the company has built out a new production unit, Big Breakfast, with the mission of bringing College Humor styled Web content to more screens, including TV and films.
“It’s a drastic shift,” said Electus founder and CEO Ben Silverman. “We’ve now got a dedicated production unit, and we’ll be able to work across all media. We’ll be able to tap into our leadership position and extend it into TV.”
That’s already in the works, as CollegeHumor’s long-running and popular Web series Jake and Amir is headed to TBS (the pair have already experimented with some long-form content). Expect more deals, possibly with the “Amazons and Netflixes,” said Silverman.
Besides getting CollegeHumor and other Electus-produced Web content in front of more eyeballs, the new structure could have major ad implications.CollegeHumor has made branded content a priority in recent years, reeling off several viral successes.
Under the new Electus umbrella, might such “native video ads” get pushed to TV and other platforms? “Absolutely,” said Silverman. “We want to up our game there and bring the full suite of services to sell to brands.”
That means bigger reach potential—i.e. Web video ads coming to TV—and more access to brand dollars, as Electus plans to sell to both TV and digital media buyers.
“We have a captive distribution platform, and we can bring these projects to a much larger ad team,” said Electus COO Drew Buckley, who now oversees the new division. “Expect more from us on the ad front.”
