Dropout (streaming Service)

Dropout is an American comedy subscription streaming service run by the production company of the same name (formerly CollegeHumor), founded in September 2018. Its ad-free original shows are mainly composed of live play, such as ''Dimension 20'' hosted by Brennan Lee Mulligan, and improv comedy and panel shows like '' Game Changer'', '' Make Some Noise'' (both hosted by Dropout owner and CEO Sam Reich), and '' Very Important People''. Dropout's series often feature a rotating cast of regular comedians and performers.

History

CollegeHumor

Originally founded in 1999 by Josh Abramson and Ricky Van Veen, then-independent website CollegeHumor was acquired by holding media and entertainment company IAC. CollegeHumor's work originally only included editorial articles, but eventually expanded to include online video and development and production of TV shows. In 2013, the video production CollegeHumor team moved to Los Angeles to continue to create online and traditional video consisting of shows like ''Adam Ruins Everything'' and ''Hot Date'' as well as sketch and short-form comedy on its YouTube channel. However, ad revenue became increasingly scarce, with YouTube's unfavorable ad rates and an ongoing risk of CollegeHumor's content being demonetized on the platform, as well as Facebook's inflated viewership numbers not bringing in anticipated ad sales.

After starting production in 2017, CollegeHumor launched its Dropout TV video platform on September26, 2018. CollegeHumor's then-CEO, Rich Cusick, announced the service as a "TV-MA version of CollegeHumor" that would "allow us to double down our investment into premium original content, resulting in a bigger, better, badder CollegeHumor." Dropout was also pitched as a way to allow fans to dive deeper into pre-established popular characters and shows from CollegeHumor's YouTube channel. CollegeHumor's Chief Creative Officer, Sam Reich, also claimed that the founding of Dropout was in response to difficulty in receiving advertising dollars on traditional media platforms for mature content. At launch, Dropout announced a mix of scripted and unscripted content, as well as digital comics and chat-story content and a subscriber-only Discord.

Dropout utilized CollegeHumor spinoff Vimeo as its hosting service. Dropout officially launched native iOS and Android apps for its service in December 2018, allowing users to watch shows and also cast to smart TVs. Comics and chat stories were also integrated into the app.

Independent ownership

After launch, Dropout saw that the unscripted and less expensive content both acquired and retained viewers, while more expensive and scripted shows neither acquired nor retained viewers, with the limited exception of ''WTF 101''. ''Dimension 20'' became the most popular show on the platform, followed by ''Um, Actually'' and ''Cartoon Hell''. '' Game Changer'', hosted by Reich, would also become a success upon launch in 2019. A year after Dropout's launch, the service had between 75,000 and 100,000 subscribers. Dropout planned to release a new original title per month in 2019, according to Sam Reich. However, the programming slate did not allow Dropout to pivot quickly enough away from scripted content and it was still not profitable by the end of 2019; Reich later noted that "we had a writer's room full of scripted comedy writers. All of us were sort of having to pivot to think about something that wasn't our primary skill set." Because Dropout was in the middle of a $30million subscription investment, the streamer was on track to "lose" another $10million by the end of 2019 before it would be profitable.

In January of 2020, IAC announced it had ceased financing CollegeHumor, leading to the layoff of 105 employees. IAC unsuccessfully attempted to sell CollegeHumor to numerous studios and entertainment companies at this time, reportedly seeking up to $100million for the company; Viacom offered to buy CollegeHumor and its back catalog for $3million. However, IAC ultimately sold CollegeHumor to then-Chief Creative Officer Reich in 2020, who transitioned to CEO. IAC kept a minority stake in Dropout, having been convinced by Reich it had the potential to become worth more than Viacom's offer. The deal was finalized in March 2020. Dropout ended production on scripted shows and focused on unscripted shows such as ''Um, Actually'', '' Dimension20'', and '' Game Changer'', briefly producing these series through online conference during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the July-November 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, Dropout series such as ''Dimension20'', ''Game Changer'' and ''Um, Actually'' were initially shut down. Reich stated:

In August 2023, Reich announced that all Dropout shows resumed production as it was determined that their "New Media Agreement for Non-Dramatic Programming" was actually a non-struck SAG-AFTRA contract.

Also in August 2023, NPR stated that "Dropout has not shared their official subscriber count, but Reich says it's in the mid-hundreds of thousands. He's very aware that doesn't come close to the hundreds of millions of subscribers that large media companies have, but, to him, that's not necessarily a problem.... Though they're not required to by unions, he said Dropout is working to become one of the first streamers to pay residuals to their writers, actors, and crew members". Dropout also pays performers to audition. Dropout's overall subscriber count almost doubled during 2023; by mid-2025, Dropout had nearly a million subscribers.

Dropout officially retired all CollegeHumor branding in September 2023. Later that year, Dropout shared its profit with its employees and other workers, giving them between a tenth and a fourth of their total earnings. This practice continued in 2024 for a second year. Additionally, Dropout offers higher-than-average pay to performers: due to its heavy use of prosthetics, actors on '' Very Important People'' are paid between $5,000 and $10,000 per episode, and main cast members of ''Dimension 20'' are paid approximately $7,000 per episode. Stand-up comedian Gianmarco Soresi made more money filming one episode of '' Game Changer'' than he did for his role on the Paramount+ show ''Crutch''. Reich himself earned almost nothing during the first two years of Dropout ownership; in 2022 he earned over $1million.

Service and availability

Dropout is available worldwide; around 60% of subscribers were in the United States.

Subscription model

The company has justified the pricing model as allowing them to create content without being dependent on, or beholden to, requests from advertisers. In December 2018, visitors to the service spent on average 31 minutes per visit, and visited on average 3.5 times per week. Throughout 2019, Dropout began to experiment with more live streaming versions of their shows, through using Twitch and podcast-like formats. At the end of 2023, the average user subscribed for 18 months; Reich said in June 2024 that the statistic is continuing to increase. , Dropout earns around 8085% of its revenue via subscriptions.

Dropout launched with a beta price of $3.99 per month, for the first three months of the service. After December 2018, the price rose to a three tiered option, with monthly memberships for $5.99/month, semi-annual memberships for $4.99/month, and annual memberships for $3.99/month. , new subscribers paid $5.99 monthly or $59.99 yearly, while those who already subscribed prior to that date were charged $4.99 monthly or $47.99 yearly. In April 2025, Dropout announced a subscription cost increase ($6.99 monthly or $69.99 annually) which took effect on May 7, 2025. However, this increase did not impact existing subscribers who were grandfathered in to the legacy subscription cost.

In August 2019, CollegeHumor also began to partner with Facebook to offer Dropout content via paid video subscriptions on Facebook's platform. Users are also able to access Dropout content through YouTube via the join function.

Services

In addition to original series, Dropout offered videos produced by CollegeHumor 72 hours before they were released to the public. Previously, a subscriber-only Discord server was included as a service, later expanded to non-subscribers as well, until its closure on May 26, 2024. Dropout also has a store which sells merchandise (such as shirts, stickers, and mugs) related to shows on the platform.

Cast members

Dropout productions often feature common rotating talent from a roster of performers, including:

Original shows

Shows on Dropout are usually released fortnightly, a schedule used more often for podcasts than for television. Dropout planned to release a new original title per month in 2019, according to Sam Reich. By 2020, the service had retired all scripted shows in favor of cheaper and more successful unscripted content.

''Dirty Laundry'', ''Play It By Ear'', and '' Make Some Noise'', each spun off from ''Game Changer'', premiered throughout 2022. In 2023, Dropout started airing the improvisational interview show '' Very Important People'', and in 2024 six new shows premiered: ''Smartypants'', ''Thousandaires'', ''Dropout Presents'', ''Monét's Slumber Party'', ''Gastronauts'', and ''Nobody Asked''.

''Smartypants'' was renewed for a 15-episode second season in December 2024, which began airing in early 2025. A second season of ''Gastronauts'' was filmed in March 2025 and will be broadcast in mid-2025. A new show called ''Parlor Room'', hosted by Becca Scott, was announced in March 2025 and premiered on April18, 2025.

Current and upcoming

Former

The following shows have concluded and are no longer producing new episodes.

Live shows and tours

''Dropout Presents''

''Dropout Presents'' is a series of recorded live shows by different comedians and improv groups.

Dropout Improv

Dropout Improv is an improvisational comedy tour featuring regular Dropout performers.

Dates for a Dropout Improv tour in Australia and New Zealand are scheduled in 2026 for Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland.

Awards and nominations

Dropout's show '' Very Important People'' was the People's Voice Winner in the video comedy category at the 2024 Webby Awards.

References and notes

External links

Official website

{{VOD services
CollegeHumor
IAC Inc.
Streaming media systems
Subscription video on demand services
2020 mergers and acquisitions