Uproxx

Uproxx is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audience is men aged 18–34. It was acquired by Warner Music Group in August 2018, with Myer and CEO Benjamin Blank remaining in control of the company's operations.[1]

Uproxx
Type of site
News and entertainment
Available inEnglish
Founded2008 (2008)
Headquarters
Culver City, California
,
United States
OwnerWarner Music Group
Key people
  • Benjamin Blank, CEO
  • Jarret Myer, Co-Founder, Publisher
  • Brett Michael Dykes, Editor-in-Chief
  • Kristopher Maske, Head of Publishing
  • Kurt Campbell-Anderson, Head of Studio
URLuproxx.com
Current statusActive

History

Uproxx was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The two also founded hip hop label Rawkus Records in 1996[2] and YouTube media company Big Frame in 2011.[3] Uproxx was initially a network of blogs and formed when the founders partnered with the owners of other blogs, including acquiring With Leather and FilmDrunk[4] from Fat Penguin Media founder Ryan Perry, who later signed on as creative director.

Uproxx was acquired by Woven Digital in April 2014.[5] Myer joined Woven as general manager of publishing.[6]

In December 2014, Woven raised US$18 million in Series A funding. A portion of the capital was allocated to growing Uproxx through staff hires and video development, including new web series.[7][8] Uproxx acquired Dime Magazine in January 2015 to expand the sports division of the site.[9]

Content

Uproxx is a news and discussion website that is geared toward millennials, specifically males aged 18–34.[5][8] The site covers viral news stories related to entertainment and culture, with an emphasis on sports, film, TV, and music.[10][11][9] Uproxx is divided into verticals including Entertainment,[11] Sports,[9] and Life,[12] each of which comprises multiple blogs. These blogs include "With Spandex", about pro wrestling;[13] and Dime Magazine, which focuses on basketball.[9] In addition, Uproxx offers a platform for live Q&As with celebrities and creators to promote upcoming projects.[5]

Video

Video makes up a significant portion of the site's content and Uproxx produces both original and sponsored video.[5][14]

In 2013, Uproxx partnered with 5-Second Films to produce longer content for Uproxx Video on YouTube.[15] Since its acquisition by Woven, Uproxx has placed more emphasis on video content and released several web series.[8][16]

The site launched "Luminaries", its first original series in January 2015.[7] The show profiles young inventors and the first two episodes generated 18.5 million views within the first four months.[6][17] The series was nominated for a Webby Award in 2015.[18]

The site's second series, a parodic news series called The Desk, debuted in March 2015.[16] The next month, in April 2015, Uproxx began a documentary series centered on pop culture called Uproxx Docs. It commenced with a three-part piece about rock band Guns N’ Roses.[6]

Also in 2015, Uproxx launched several sponsored video series. Among these were "Uncharted: Power of Dreams", a show that profiles rising musicians, with Honda,[19] and "Human", a video series about artisans and others who preserve traditional work, sponsored by Coors Banquet.[20] Human won an OMMA award in 2015.[21]

Staff and operations

Uproxx is headquartered in Culver City, California.[16]

The editorial staff is led by editor-in-chief Brett Michael Dykes,[22] head of publishing Kris Maske, and Head of Studio Kurt Campbell-Anderson.[23] The company's video production is overseen by chief creative officer Benjamin Blank.[24][16]

Other staff members include Steve Bramucci, managing editor of the site's Life section,[12] Brandon Stroud, pro wrestling editor, Brian Grubb, senior TV editor, Mike Ryan, senior entertainment writer,[22] and Vince Mancini, senior film writer.[4]

Uproxx Media Group

Uproxx Media Group, originally named Woven Digital, was the owner of Uproxx and its related properties until their acquisition by Warner Music Group in August 2018.[25]

History

The company was founded as Woven Digital in 2010 by Scott Grimes[26] and Michael Laur[27] as an ad network with Grimes serving as the CEO.[28][29] The network's intended audience was young men, 18 - 34 year old. Woven's mission was to bring the passion points of guys together in one place via a platform agnostic network of websites, videos, and branded content.[28][29]

The company grew through purchases of websites with large followings.[8] Its first acquisition was lifestyle site[30] BroBible in 2012.[31] Following this were the acquisitions in 2013 of Animal New York, Guyism, and Brotips Media.[31] As Woven's CEO, Grimes drove the 2014 acquisition of Uproxx more than doubling Woven's viewership.[31][32] In that same year, Woven's reach, including its affiliated sites, exceeded that of Vox Media or Vice Media.[8] Woven was included in the top ten of Fast Company's list of "Most Innovative Companies in Hollywood" in early 2015 for "helping brands speak a young man's language".[33] In 2015, Woven Studios was built in Culver City to produce original digital content. The company expanded Uproxx's coverage of sports with the 2015 acquisition of Dime Magazine, diversifying in film and TV by acquiring HitFix in 2016.[31]

The company changed its name in 2017 to Uproxx Media Group, to consolidate under its most public-facing brand and to focus on Uproxx's original, long-form content.[26]

On August 2, 2018, Warner Music Group announced that it had acquired Uproxx and its properties (except for BroBible, which will continue to publish independently) for an undisclosed sum, although Uproxx has raised around $43m (£33m) from previous investment, which provides some sense of the firm's valuation.[34] With this acquisition, Uproxx Media Group is no longer active, with its remaining properties existing under Warner Music Group.

Operations

Uproxx Media Group was a digital media company that owned multiple entertainment sites and created branded content focused on a male millennial audience.[26] As of 2017, it had six main brands: Uproxx, HitFix, Dime, Real Talk, With Spandex, and BroBible.[35] The company's sites reached more than 90 million unique viewers per month.[30] Uproxx was the company's largest brand, with a viewership of 40 million per month.[36] Headquartered in Culver City,[31] the company also had production facilities in New York[27] and Chicago.[37] The Culver City offices housed a full production studio staffed by writers, illustrators, presenters and video editing staff; the company produced all of its own sponsored videos.[38]

Benjamin Blank was the company's chief executive officer and chief creative officer, and Colin Digiaro served as executive chairman for mergers and acquisitions and fundraising.[30] Other key personnel included Scott Grimes, executive chairman overseeing revenue,[30] Jen Sargent as president, and Uproxx co-creator Jarret Myer, who served as publisher.[5][39]

Original programming

Uproxx Media Group developed web originals, long- and short-form series and films through Uproxx Studios.[40] Specializing in documentary-style productions, the studio created a piece of branded content for fast food chain Checkers in 2017 featuring rapper Rick Ross.[41][42] The short documentary-style video received a positive critical reception[41] and was a featured entry in PR Week and Campaign's 2017 Brand Film Festival.[43] Uproxx Media Group also created a short documentary on Guns N' Roses in 2015, and as of 2017 it has released several original series.[31] The Uproxx series “Uncharted” was created in partnership with Honda Stage, and has won numerous awards, most notably a Gold Clio Award in 2016.[26] Uproxx worked with MillerCoors on "Human" and "Human Limits", a series of short documentary videos that profiled "inspirational" people, entrepreneurs, and artists that was nominated for several awards.[28] It was a MERIT winner for 2017 The One Show and a winner at the 2017 D&AD Awards.[28] Uproxx has also partnered with the United States Marine Corps to create sponsored content.[38]

References
  1. "WMG Acquires UPROXX". RAMP - Radio and Music Pros. 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  2. "Bring Da Rawkus". Vibe: 64–65. July 1998. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
  3. Joshua Cohen (June 27, 2012). "Big Frame Gets $3 Million to Make a Bigger, Better YouTube Network". Tubefilter. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  4. Jordan Hoffman (June 18, 2013). "Popping a Cork With Filmdrunk's Vince Mancini". Indiewire. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  5. Todd Spangler (April 17, 2014). "Showbiz Site Uproxx Acquired by Guy-Focused Digital Media Firm Woven". Variety. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  6. Bree Brouwer (April 22, 2015). "UPROXX Launches Documentary Series With Three-Part Piece On Guns N' Roses". Tubefilter. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  7. Sam Gutelle (January 16, 2015). "Uproxx Debuts 'Luminaries', Its First Original Web Series". Tubefilter. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  8. Anthony Ha (December 11, 2014). "Advertising Tech Woven Digital, Owner Of Uproxx And Brobible, Raises $18M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  9. Andrew Bucholtz (January 24, 2015). "Uproxx Aacquires Dime, Hires Chris Mottram From SB Nation To Run Uproxx Sports". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  10. Julianne Tveten (December 11, 2014). "Woven, the company behind UPROXX & BroBible, raises $18M Series A round". Built in LA. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  11. Sam Adams (August 27, 2015). "The Dissolve's Keith Phipps Will Be Uproxx's Film/TV Editor". Indiewire. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  12. Kierran Petersen (July 23, 2015). "Should you visit Cuba before Americans 'ruin' it?". Public Radio International. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  13. Matt Yoder (Apr 24, 2015). "AA Podcast #116 – Brandon Stroud, Uproxx". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  14. Mike Shields (April 17, 2014). "The Edgy Male-Targeted Digital Media Company Woven Acquires Uproxx". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  15. Sam Gutelle (February 12, 2013). "UPROXX and 5SF: YouTube Channel Was Years In The Making". Tubefilter. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
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  17. Mike Shields (April 17, 2015). "Here's How Fast a Web Series Can Take Off on Facebook". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  18. "This Teen Created The World's Safest Gun: Luminaries". NepHub. May 21, 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  19. Tim Baysinger (September 24, 2015). "This Uproxx Series Will Spot Emerging Stars for Honda: 10 episodes bring new music to Honda Stage". AdWeek. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  20. Tim Baysinger (August 4, 2015). "How a Web Series About Tradition Helped a Beer Brand Reach Millennials". AdWeek. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  21. "Omma Awards Winners". MediaPost Communications. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
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  23. "About Uproxx". uproxx.com. Uproxx. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  24. Melita Kuburas (June 24, 2014). "Woven hires Ben Blank to oversee production arm". StreamDaily.tv. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  25. "Warner Music Group Acquires Youth Culture Powerhouse, UPROXX - Warner Music Group Official Blog". Warner Music Group Official Website.
  26. Spangler, Todd (March 3, 2017). "Woven Digital Changes Name to Uproxx Media". Variety. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  27. Jarvey, Natalie (August 18, 2015). "Uproxx-Owner Woven Digital Sees CEO Shakeup (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  28. Shields, Mike (June 30, 2016). "Male-Oriented Web Publisher Woven Digital Raises $18.5 Million". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  29. Kozlowski, Lori. "Woven: Creating A Digital Network For Young Men". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  30. Abbruzzese, Jason (December 11, 2014). "Woven Digital, a quiet giant in online media, raises a cool $18 million". Mashable. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  31. Spangler, Todd (April 19, 2016). "Woven Digital Acquires HitFix". Variety. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  32. "Digital Publisher Woven Acquires News Site Uproxx | Los Angeles Business Journal". labusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  33. "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 In Hollywood". Fast Company. 9 February 2015.
  34. Maytom, Tim (August 3, 2018). "Uproxx Media Group Acquired by Warner Music Group". Mobile Marketing Magazine. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  35. Main, Sami (May 11, 2017). "Uproxx Showcases 'Young Thinkers, Doers and Creators' at Its NewFront Event". Adweek. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
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  38. Ethan Varian (July 11, 2017). "Uproxx Media works with brands to make ads millennials actually want to watch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  39. Barr, Jeremy (September 30, 2016). "Is There Such Thing as a 'Men's Media Company' Anymore?". Advertising Age. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  40. Guaglione, Sara (March 2, 2017). "Woven Digital Rebrands, Pushes Uproxx's Longer Content". MediaPost Communications. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  41. Natividad, Angela (January 12, 2017). "This Documentary About Rick Ross Is Actually a Pretty Impressive Ad for Checkers". Adweek. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  42. Schonbrun, Zach (January 8, 2017). "Rick Ross Documentary Video Doubles as Ad for Checkers". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
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