CollegeHumor's parent company pulled its funding, laying off more than 100 employees and leaving a longtime executive to run the company on his own
- Influential comedy website CollegeHumor has lost its financial backing from its parent company IAC, CollegeHumor COO Sam Reich tweeted on Wednesday.
- Reich bought it from IAC to avoid shuttering the company and will now manage the newly-formed CH Media.
- But the company has still gone through a massive restructuring, and more than 100 employees have lost their jobs in the process.
- IAC confirmed the acquisition in a statement to Business Insider, and said "Sam was the best choice to acquire CH Media and define its next chapter."
- Reich appealed to Twitter users to help him save the 20-year-old comedy website: "Long story short, I need your support now more than ever."
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Influential comedy website CollegeHumor has lost its financial backing from its parent company IAC, CollegeHumor COO Sam Reich tweeted Wednesday. More than 100 employees have lost their jobs amid the company's massive restructuring.
But the company will avoid shuttering entirely. Reich has bought CollegeHumor and its other comedy and culture sites, and plans to keep the new CH Media afloat.
IAC's sale may continue to herald drastic changes to CollegeHumor and its sister sites, Dorkly, Drawfee, and Dropout, in the future. Turning a profit will be a greater concern to the company than ever, Reich said on social media.
"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," Reich tweeted, hinting that "bold new creative directions" may be on the horizon for parts of the company.
CollegeHumor isn't alone in its fight to turn a profit. A fast-changing media landscape has left video-streaming sites struggling to compete. To help keep the company afloat, Reich called for Twitter users to stay subscribed to Dropout, CH Media's streaming service for comedy videos from CollegeHumor.
"I need your support now more than ever," he wrote, adding, "Independent comedy lives on -- just now more independent (gulp) than ever before."
IAC confirmed the sale in a statement to Business Insider.
"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," an IAC spokesperson said.
The 20-year-old comedy website created over-the-top sketches and pranks, and helped launch the careers of innumerable internet stars. It was acquired by IAC in 2006.
IAC has been looking to sell the company since October, Bloomberg reported. The media and internet company owns more than 150 brands and products, including dating site conglomerate the Match Group, video-sharing platform Vimeo and new site, The Daily Beast. IAC will continue to remain a minority shareholder in CH Media, the company confirmed Wednesday.
