Uproxx Media Group

Uproxx Media Group Inc.
Formerly
 Woven Digital (2010—2017)
Private
Industry
Founded 2010 (2010) in Los Angeles, California, United States
Founders
  • Scott Grimes
  • Michael Laur
Headquarters Culver City, California, United States
Key people
  • Ben Blank (CEO)
  • Jen Sargent (President)
  • Jarret Myer (Publisher)
Brands
Parent Warner Music Group
(2018—present)
Divisions Uproxx Studios
Website uproxxmediagroup.com

Uproxx Media Group Inc. (formerly Woven Digital) is an American video-focused media company and digital publisher. It was founded in 2010 by Scott Grimes and Michael Laur. The company is headquartered in Culver City, California, with offices and production facilities in New York and Chicago. As of 2018, its main brands are Uproxx, HitFix, Dime, Real Talk, and With Spandex, which are all aimed at a millennial male audience.

On August 2, 2018, Warner Music Group announced that it had acquired Uproxx.[1]

History

The company was founded as Woven Digital in 2010 by Scott Grimes[2] and Michael Laur[3] as an ad network.[4] The network's intended audience was young men.[4]

Woven grew through purchases of websites with large followings.[5] Its first acquisition was lifestyle site[6] BroBible in 2012.[7] Following this were the acquisitions in 2013 of Animal New York, Guyism, and Brotips Media.[7] The 2014 acquisition of Uproxx more than doubled Woven's viewership.[7] In that same year, Woven's reach, including its affiliated sites, exceeded that of Vox Media or Vice Media.[5] 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".[8] 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 into film and TV by acquiring HitFix in 2016.[7]

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.[2]

On August 2, 2018, Warner Music Group announced that it has acquire 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.[9]

Operations

Uproxx Media Group is a digital media company that owns multiple entertainment sites and creates branded content focused on a male millennial audience.[2] As of 2017, it has six main brands: Uproxx, HitFix, Dime, Real Talk, With Spandex, and BroBible.[10] The company's sites reach more than 90 million unique viewers per month.[6] Uproxx is the company's largest brand, with a viewership of 40 million per month.[11] Headquartered in Culver City,[7] the company also has production facilities in New York[3] and Chicago.[12] The Culver City offices house a full production studio staffed by writers, illustrators, presenters and video editing staff; the company produces all of its own sponsored videos.[13]

Benjamin Blank is the company's chief executive officer and chief creative officer, and Colin Digiaro serves as executive chairman for mergers and acquisitions and fundraising.[6] Other key personnel include Scott Grimes, executive chairman overseeing revenue,[6] Jen Sargent as president, and Uproxx co-creator Jarret Myer, who serves as publisher.[14][15] As of 2017, the company has 110 employees.[2]

Funding

In 2014, the company raised $18 million in series A funding. This was its first institutional funding, having previously secured $5.5 million from angel investors. The funding was intended to help the business scale and expand its operations.[5] The company raised another $18.5 million in series B funding to invest in expanding video production and increasing content verticals in 2016.[4] Investors included WPP Ventures with participation from IVP and Shari Redstone's Advancit Capital.[2]

Original programming

Uproxx Media Group develops web originals, long- and short-form series and films through Uproxx Studios.[16] Specializing in documentary-style productions, the studio created a piece of branded content for fast food chain Checkers in 2017 featuring rapper Rick Ross.[17][18] The short documentary-style video received a positive critical reception[17] and was a featured entry in PR Week and Campaign's 2017 Brand Film Festival.[19] Uproxx Media Group also created a short documentary on Guns N' Roses in 2015, and as of 2017 it has released several original series.[7] The Uproxx series “Uncharted” was created in partnership with Honda Stage, and has won numerous awards, most notably a Gold Clio Award in 2016.[2] 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.[4] It was a MERIT winner for 2017 The One Show and a winner at the 2017 D&AD Awards.[4] Uproxx has also partnered with the United States Marine Corps to create sponsored content.[13]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.wmg.com/news/warner-music-group-acquires-youth-culture-powerhouse-uproxx-33736
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Spangler, Todd (March 3, 2017). "Woven Digital Changes Name to Uproxx Media". Variety. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Jarvey, Natalie (August 18, 2015). "Uproxx-Owner Woven Digital Sees CEO Shakeup (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Shields, Mike (June 30, 2016). "Male-Oriented Web Publisher Woven Digital Raises $18.5 Million". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Ha, Anthony (December 11, 2014). "Woven Digital, Owner of Uproxx and Brobible, Raises $18M". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Abbruzzese, Jason (December 11, 2014). "Woven Digital, a quiet giant in online media, raises a cool $18 million". Mashable. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Spangler, Todd (April 19, 2016). "Woven Digital Acquires HitFix". Variety. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  8. ↑ "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 In Hollywood". Fast Company. 9 February 2015.
  9. ↑ Maytom, Tim (August 3, 2018). "Uproxx Media Group Acquired by Warner Music Group". Mobile Marketing Magazine. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  10. ↑ Main, Sami (May 11, 2017). "Uproxx Showcases 'Young Thinkers, Doers and Creators' at Its NewFront Event". Adweek. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  11. ↑ Gutelle, Sam (March 6, 2017). "Woven Digital Rebrands as Uproxx Media to Emphasize Original Content". Tubefilter. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Company Overview of Woven Digital, Inc". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  13. 1 2 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.
  14. ↑ Spangler, Todd (April 17, 2014). "Showbiz Site Uproxx Acquired by Guy-Focused Digital Media Firm Woven". Variety. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  15. ↑ Barr, Jeremy (September 30, 2016). "Is There Such Thing as a 'Men's Media Company' Anymore?". Advertising Age. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  16. ↑ Guaglione, Sara (March 2, 2017). "Woven Digital Rebrands, Pushes Uproxx's Longer Content". MediaPost Communications. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  17. 1 2 Natividad, Angela (January 12, 2017). "This Documentary About Rick Ross Is Actually a Pretty Impressive Ad for Checkers". Adweek. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  18. ↑ Schonbrun, Zach (January 8, 2017). "Rick Ross Documentary Video Doubles as Ad for Checkers". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Slate of films for Brand Film Festival New York announced". Campaign Live. March 29, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
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