IAC sells CollegeHumor to executive Sam Reich, resulting in 100+ layoffs
IAC has sold off a majority stake in CH Media, the parent organization behind CollegeHumor . The new owner? CH Media's chief creative officer Sam Reich.
Reich announced the move on Twitter, saying that digital media holding company IAC "made the difficult decision to no longer finance us," but that it would allow him to "run with the company."
He continued, "Of course, I can't keep it going like you're used to. While we were on the way to becoming profitable, we were nonetheless losing money - and I myself have no money to be able to lose."
In fact, Reich said that more than 100 people are losing their jobs as a result.
Bloomberg reports that the company will be left with a team of between five and 10 people. It also reports that IAC will maintain a minority stake in the company.
So, bad news - with a twist.
aIAC, our parent company, has made the difficult decision to no longer finance us. Today, 100+ brilliant people lost their jobs, some of whom are my dear, dear friends. Hire them. (thread)
- Sam Reich (@samreich) January 8, 2020
In a statement, IAC said, "Sam was the best choice to acquire CH Media and define its next chapter. The decision places CH Media with an owner who is beloved by fans, passionate about the business and sees a future we believe in."
CollegeHumor launched its own subscription streaming service called Dropout in 2018, and Reich said, "The #1 way you can support me is to stay subscribed to Dropout." He claimed the service still has six months of additional content ready to go, and that it will be launching version 2.0 at the end of this month.
After noting that many Dropout shows may need to take "bold new creative directions in order to survive," Reich added, "I will, however, do my very best to stay true to the talent, shows, fans, and principles that got us where we are today. We dropped out once before; we can do it again. Independent comedy lives on - just now more independent (gulp) than ever before."