Electus was a production company founded by

Ben Silverman Benjamin Noah Silverman (born August 15, 1970) is an American media executive. He is the co-CEO and chairman of the entertainment production company Propagate. From 2007–2009, Silverman served as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Univers ...

in 2009. It was financed by

IAC IAC may refer to: Medicine * IAC (chemotherapy), a chemotherapy regimen * Internal auditory canal Organizations * IAC (company), an American media company * India Against Corruption * Indigenous Advisory Council, an Australian government agency * ...

. The company had development deals with

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

, ABC, MTV,

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Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...

, and AOL. In 2018, IAC sold Electus to Propagate Content.

History and partners

Electus was founded by

, former co-chairman of

NBC Entertainment NBCUniversal Television and Streaming is the television and streaming arm of NBCUniversal, and the direct descendant and successor of the former division NBCUniversal Television Group, which existed from 2003 to 2019. History NBC Broadcasting In ...

and chief executive officer of Reveille, and financed by

Barry Diller Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American businessman. He is Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. Diller was inducted into the Television Hall ...

’s IAC in 2009. As part of its inception, IAC partnered Electus with

CollegeHumor CollegeHumor is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles. Aside from producing content for release on YouTube, it was also a former humor website owned by InterActiveCorp ( IAC) until January 2020, when IAC withdrew funding and the websi ...

, the comedy portal that had developed series both on the web and TV. In January 2010, Electus partnered with

Jason Bateman Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor, director and producer known for his roles of Michael Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom '' Arrested Development'' and of Marty Byrde in the Netflix crime drama series '' Ozark'' (201 ...

and

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular chara ...

to launch a sponsor-driven advertising and digital production company, DumbDumb, which launched branded campaigns including one for Orbit Gum, and an online talk show on behalf of Denny's called "Always Open". In August 2010, Electus announced a production and distribution deal with 5x5 Media, headed by Craig Armstrong, Rick Ringbakk and Tod Mesirow, whose combined producer credits include ''

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: Actual survivors * *Last survivors of historical events Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Found ...

'', '' Amazing Race'', '' Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'', ''

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution ''Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution'' (retitled ''Jamie's American Food Revolution'' in the United Kingdom) is a television show on ABC from March 2010 until summer 2011. The show was produced by British chef Jamie Oliver and Ryan Seacrest, foll ...

'' and many more. In January 2011, Electus acquired Engine Entertainment and the formation of a new in-house global distribution arm, Electus/Engine Distribution. The new division handled in-house and third-party projects for distribution globally, including a partnership with Abbot Reif Hameiri Production Company, a leading production company in Israel. In January 2011, Electus partnered with former MTV President of programming Tony DiSanto and head of series development Liz Gateley, to form an independent, multi-media production company, DiGa. DiGa was to focus on producing reality and scripted series for primetime cable and network outlets. In June 2012, Electus partnered with YouTube to launch the YouTube food channel HUNGRY with Celebrity chefs Duff Goldman and

Laura Vitale Laura may refer to: People * Laura (given name) * Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert Places Australia * Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula * Laura, South Australia * Laura Bay, a bay on ...

. In 2013, Electus took over College Humor/Dorkly and created Big Breakfast, the studio behind Adam Ruins Everything (TruTV), Middle of the Night Show (MTV), Fatal Decisions (Go90), Bad Internet (YouTube Red), Comedy Music Awards (IFC) and Hot Date (Pop). In 2018, IAC sold Electus to Propagate Content.

Projects

Electus projects included: * '' The Toy Box'' (2017; Co-produced with

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

) * '' No Tomorrow'' (2016–17; Co-produced with Warner Bros. Television) * ''

Running Wild with Bear Grylls ''Running Wild with Bear Grylls'' is a survival skills reality television series starring Bear Grylls. In each episode, Grylls brings a different celebrity along on his adventures. The crew consists of host Bear Grylls, a story producer, two came ...

'' (Current; Co-produced with Bear Grylls Ventures) * '' Jane the Virgin'' (2014–19; Co-produced with Warner Bros. Television and

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

) * '' Food Fighters'' (2014–15; Co-produced with Rio Bravo and

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predec ...

) * '' King of the Nerds (UK)'' (2015; Co-produced with Objective Productions) * '' King of the Nerds'' (2013–15; Co-produced with 5x5 Media) * ''

Fashion Star ''Fashion Star'' is an American reality television series on NBC, created and executive produced by E.J. Johnston, James Deutch and Rick Ringbakk which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by Louise Roe. It was hosted by Elle Macpherson in the ...

'' (2012–13; Co-produced with 5x5 Media, Magical Elves, EJD Productions, and The Global Fashion Association) * ''Car Boss'' (2012; Co-produced with 5x5 Media) * '' Mob Wives'' (2011–16; Co-produced with The Weinstein Company Television) * ''William the Conqueror'' (2011) * ''Master of the Mix'' (2010) * ''Crowd Sourced Hero'' (current Facebook program) * ''Jerk All Stars'' (2010; MySpace) * ''The Sheriff'' (2011; Co-produced with 5x5 Media) * '' Marco Polo'' (2014–16; Co-produced with The Weinstein Company Television) * YouTube official food channel HUNGRY (2012) * '' Bet on Your Baby'' (2013–14; Co-produced with 5x5 Media) * '' The Hero'' (2013; Co-produced with 5x5 Media) * '' Miami Monkey'' (2013; Co-produced with Just Jenn, Left-Right, and The Weinstein Company Television) * '' Killer Women'' (2014; Co-produced with Latin World Entertainment and

ABC Studios ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...

) * ''

Candid Camera ''Candid Camera'' is a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jok ...

'' (2014: Co-produced with Candid Camera, Inc.) * ''Terry Crews Saves Christmas'' (2016) * ''Winsanity'' (2016) * ''Flaked'' (2016) * '' Dog and Beth: On the Hunt'' (2013–15) * '' Hot Date'' (2017–19)

References

{{Reflist, 30em Television production companies of the United States IAC (company) American companies established in 2009 Mass media companies established in 2009 Entertainment companies established in 2009 2009 establishments in California 2018 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in Los Angeles