Break.com (formerly Big-boys.com) was an entertainment and humor website founded in 1998 that featured comedy videos, flash games, and pictures among other material. The website's target audience was men aged 18–35. After shutting down on November 6, 2018 when

Defy Media Defy Media was an American digital media company that produced original online content for the 12–34 age group. Originally founded in 1996 as Alloy Online (later Alloy Digital), the final company was formed in 2013 by its merger with Break M ...

announced that it was ceasing operations, the site reopened several months later in April 2019 under ownership of the Vietnam-based Yeah1 network. It is currently shut down and the domain is for sale with an asking price of $679,800 USD.

History

Break.com was founded in 1998 as Big-boys.com, a humor website featuring comedy videos, flash games, and other material. At one time, visitors were able to rank site material on a scale of 1 to 5, but Break replaced that feature with a thumbs up or thumbs down system. Negative scores were not allowed on videos – a "thumb down" simply counteracted the vote of a "thumb up". Users could also comment on most of the individual entries. At the time of shutdown, all forms of visitor feedback and comments had been removed. In January 2006, Break.com had introduced a new file hosting system for its users to share their files. Shared files were able to be promoted to the homepage to be featured. Users that hosted original files promoted to the homepage were paid, but the user relinquished all rights to their material under

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

.Break.com Terms Of Use
Retrieved April 9, 2007 Break.com paid users for content ($400 for

user-generated content User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), is any form of content, such as images, videos, text, testimonials, and audio, that has been posted by users on online platforms such as social media, discussion f ...

and up to $2,000 for animated shorts) if the content yielded significant views. In August 2006, Break.com and Showtime partnered to promote '' Weeds'' by encouraging Break.com users to upload original videos matching the themes of the show, with winners eligible for airing on the channel. Since then, advertising from various television shows and movies had appeared around the site, with similar video competitions occurring occasionally. In March 2007, Break.com signed a contract with NBCU Digital Studios to develop a streaming broadband series to be featured on Break.com, tentatively titled ''Breakers''. The show planned to involve attractive women finding different ways to break objects. Breaker's advertising revenue was planned to come from businesses paying to have their product smashed on the show, with Break.com's young-male demographic expected to attract the advertisers. Break.com CEO Keith Richman stated at the time, "We have a male audience that likes attractive women and demolition." In April 2007, Break.com announced a deal with ''

Fear Factor ''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled ''Now ...

'' and '' Big Brother'' producer Endemol USA to create a new show called ''Record Breakers''. That show was planned to center around contestants attempting to break obscure world records. Endemol had chosen Break.com for its ability to reach the young-male

demographic Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...

. According to MediaWeek, the show was likely to carry pre-roll video

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

s and banner ads. In July 2009, Break.com partnered up with G4's '' Web Soup'' for their "This Week In FAIL" segment. In February 2010, Break.com purchased the PC game mod hosting network FileFront.com, which was previously owned by Ziff Davis Media. In March 2018, Break.com inexplicably disabled all comments, user uploads and user pages on their site, putting an end to any kind of user interaction or participation. Viewership plunged, and on November 6 of that year, parent company

announced that it was ceasing all operations. The website had been owned by TMFT Enterprises, LLC., was sold to Yeah1 media group soon after, but is now offline and the domain up for sale.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Break.Com American gaming websites Internet properties established in 1998 Browser-based game websites

History

See also

References

External links