Pocket.watch Caps Year Of Explosive Growth By Closing $15M Series B Investment Round With Viacom Taking Lead
As part of a strategic investment, pocket.watch and Viacom will partner to develop and produce long and short form content, extend pocket.watch's advertising reach and capabilities and identify future kid creators and talent for digital and tv
Sarah Levy, COO of Viacom Media Networks, to join pocket.watch's Board
LOS ANGELES, July 18, 2018 -- Pocket.watch, the kids media brand that celebrates the new digital stars, franchises and formats that kids love today, announced the close of its $15M Series B, led by Viacom, with participation from new and existing investors including Greycroft's Tracker fund and UTA Ventures.
In addition to Viacom's strategic investment, pocket.watch has entered into a wide-ranging commercial agreement with the media company encompassing content, advertising and talent.
Pocket.watch and Viacom have already engaged in a variety of content initiatives together including developing
Skoogle, the kids sketch comedy show created by and starring Nickelodeon alum Kenan Thompson (
All That,
Kenan & Kel,
Good Burger), for Nickelodeon while Paramount Players has purchased a pitch from pocket.watch for a feature film currently known as
The Unboxing Movie. In connection with the agreement, the companies have further formalized a process for collaborative development and expect to work together on a number of content projects over the coming year.
Albie Hecht, who was the original executive behind many of Nickelodeon's iconic series in the '90s, including Nick's classic kids sketch show
All That, in which Thompson rose to fame, will serve as Executive Producer with the Nickelodeon alum. Co-producers Josh Server, who also starred on
All That, and Mason Gordon will executive produce. In a statement, the inspiration for the show’s format was described as “the ‘never too young’ entrepreneurial spirit that is encouraging kids everywhere to start their own businesses at any age. And have a blast doing it!”
“Kenan Thompson is a comedic genius,” said Hecht in a statement. “At Nickelodeon, I witnessed first-hand Kenan and his fellow cast members’ ability to turn everyday scenarios into hilarious adventures. I’m very excited to have the opportunity to once again reteam with Kenan and bring premium sketch comedy to a new generation of fans.”
Skoogle will feature Thompson as the voice of the titular Skoogle, an Siri/Alexa-like digital assistant for kids who has been created to help with their daily problems. Along with his cast of kid entrepreneur inventors,
Skoogle will satirize everything from service apps to streaming entertainment to social media. The series marks the first major series production for pocket.watch.
Ryan ToysReview
Viacom will also significantly expand pocket.watch's ad sales reach. Viacom will bring the best from both companies together through this exclusive partnership by packaging pocket.watch branded video inventory with Nickelodeon inventory to create unparalleled advertising reach across digital and traditional platforms.
The companies are also working on a variety of talent initiatives including jointly identifying up and coming talent and creators where the companies are aligned and can bring their unique expertise and resources together for 360 degree talent partnerships. Pocket.watch creator partners will also be invited to a variety of Viacom events including the
Kids' Choice Awards.
Sarah Levy, COO of Viacom Media Networks, will join pocket.watch's Founder and CEO, Chris M. Williams, on the pocket.watch Board with a third Board member to be named by Williams in the coming weeks.
"We started pocket.watch with the understanding that kids today consume entertainment in entirely new ways and in order to reach them, brands have to go to where they are and celebrate the things they love," said Chris M. Williams, CEO of pocket.watch. "In just a little over a year since pocket.watch's launch, we've seen our business grow exponentially and we are thrilled that a legendary media company like Viacom shares our enthusiasm and chose to lead our Series B and partner with us to help bring our new and powerful approach to audiences around the world."
The latest investment in pocket.watch caps off an explosive year of growth for the kids media brand. Since launching in March 2017, pocket.watch has amassed a number of marquee television, film, apparel, toy, game and book deals that are poised to bring the pocket.watch brand to consumers globally while growing their original IP and creator partner brands including Ryan ToysReview, the largest YouTube channel based in the U.S. and one of Time Magazine's 25 most influential people on the internet, EvanTube, JillianTube, HobbyKidsTV and CaptainSparklez into full-scale franchises on par with the biggest media properties in the children's entertainment universe.
Starting next month, pocket.watch will begin to rollout long-form content featuring their original IP and creator partner brands to top streaming networks, will introduce an extensive line of toys and apparel featuring one of their most well-known creator partners to major retailers nationwide, and will debut
Watch this Book!, the first in a series of books released under the pocket.watch Books imprint through Simon Spotlight, a division of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Sarah Levy, COO of Viacom Media Networks, said, "Pocket.watch's unique and comprehensive approach to celebrating the new digital stars of today makes them an outstanding partner for Nickelodeon and our unmatched connections with kids around the world through video, digital and real-world events. It's great to be in business with them and we are excited to be expanding our relationship with such an innovative new media brand."
Pocket.watch has raised $21MM since launching in March 2017 and currently boasts over one billion monthly views across twenty YouTube channels, with a combined subscriber base of over 34 Million.
For more information about pocket.watch, please visit:
http://pocket.watch.
About pocket.watch
Pocket.watch is the virtual entertainment headquarters for kids. It is a new media brand that lives everywhere they live and celebrates the new digital stars, franchises and formats that they love today. The company boasts a growing portfolio of franchises that includes some of the largest kids and family YouTube brands in the world alongside original characters and talent that the company has extended into premium series, retail merchandise and books. Pocket.watch was founded in March 2017 by Chris M. Williams and is located in Culver City, CA where it maintains an office and studio. The management team is made up of studio veterans and visionaries from traditional and digital entertainment including former Nickelodeon Entertainment president Albie Hecht (
GUTS, Kids' Choice Awards), Jon Moonves and David B. Williams. Investors include Viacom, Greycroft, Third Wave Digital and United Talent Agency (UTA), as well as notable strategic angels including Les Moonves, Robert Downey Jr. (Team Downey) and Jon Landau.
SOURCE pocket.watch
Related Links
http://pocket.watch
Update (7/19): Williams discussed pocket.watch’s new funding via email with
L.A. Biz, including how his company will use the money, how Viacom evolved into an investor, and what their strategic partnership will entail.
