Investors in WallStrip publicly confirmed Monday that the video blog has been acquired by CBS. The story was first broken by Jossip May 13 and we confirmed the deal the same day with a purchase price of $5 million.
As previously reported the buy was focused on acquiring the talents of WallStrip host Lindsay Campbell.
The purchase price has not been publicly confirmed; however the investor notes that $600,000 has been invested in the site to date.
No matter what the price, it will be interesting to see if CBS explains the deal. WallStrip launched with mixed reviews and although WallStrip has an audience, it is far from a RocketBoom (at its peak) or a Dawn and Drew Show in terms of penetration and fan base. From my previous discussions with my source close to the deal, WallStrip has close to no revenue; indeed he claimed that WallStrip has no revenue at all. The cost of CBS or other media outlets establishing a rival video blog to WallStrip would be relatively low and CBS now faces that real threat, the purchase of WallStrip bound to create new startups targeting the investor focused video podcasting market.
If the purchase was done primarily to acquire a talented host - Lindsay Campbell - then it would be potent investment. CBS can make use of his talents in other ways besides his blog.
Of course, the blog can be further developed using the deep pockets of CBS, and reading the reviews on the ‘ABOUT’ page - it certainly has its loyal audience.
FYI, at the streamingmedia event in the notes I took (http://www.centernetworks.com/streaming-media-east-panel-creating-the-new-television), I think the $600k is not so much “investment” as it is “costs” in terms of he said that creating each show costs $2,500.
curious about purchase price, without knowing it–i still vote for being a smart move, they may not generate revenue now but they are everywhere—seems lie some big upside possibilities, if it turns out there is no deal, tell them to call me,
—-pk
Search Engine Web
couldn’t agree more, she’s a great talent and it’s sad to see some denigrate her as nothing more than a Craiglist hire.
For the record though, there was an earlier comment that was personally denigrating which is no longer visible. I do question the validity of the deal in terms of the value of it, but like any post that I write that isn’t entirely positive it is never meant as a personal thing with people involved in the company. I can and do respect anyone in this industry who is giving it a go, and good on them for having signed this deal.
I’ve now corresponded directly with two investors asking them to show me the value in the deal, as I write this I’ve received one response that was more personal in nature than the original comment and isn’t worth repeating. Michael was right in his post about the industry, things have gotten nasty and it’s disappointing that things have gotten this way.
curious about purchase price, without knowing it–i still vote for being a smart move, they may not generate revenue now but they are everywhere—seems like some big upside possibilities, if it turns out there is no deal, tell them to call me,
—Patrick Kerr, OilGasFutures.Com
OilGasFutures,
from some of the reports I’m reading there seems to be leverage opportunities into multiple video destinations targeting more specific audiences, certainly CBS has seen something along those lines.
looks like a good acquisition; -RB
i agree $5 mill, as far as i’m concerned they stole it and agree, lindsey campbell is a talented host, and they have excellent placement on many of the top financial websites…i think this has great potential to leverage up– anything else out there like that???—-Patrick Kerr, OilGasFutures.Com
Do you think CBS had any interest in the actual writers and producers of the Wallstrip? Not sure, but I think these guys have a credit at the bottom of Wallstrip’s home page. Seems like the dudes who write, direct and produce the show on a daily basis in New York, might be of some value to a company like CBS. They might want them to expand out the Wallstrip aesthetic into a whole original content division that produces shows in dozens of verticals? Hmm…
Ditto to what Jeff said. Fred Wilson has some must-read thoughts on this deal too — http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/2007.....hits_.html
Jeff
could be something in what you said, hence my leverage into other things comment in the thread.
As one of the two producer/directors (and “spotty” writers, according to your last post on the subject), I would hope that no one would denegrate Lindsay’s talent. We found Lindsay on Craigslist, but that doesn’t make her a “craigslist” actor. (what is that, anyway? There are LOTS of talented people on Craigslist).
Lindsay answered our ad because she was looking for something different to do. She made a conscious choice to join our team after giving it a lot of thought, not because it was a move she needed to make for her acting career. In fact, the whole team that developed this show was looking to make a mark in a new space.
We were lucky to get her, and she has added an immeasurable amount to our show. But part of what allowed her to take the job is that we did NOT sign her to an “iron clad” contract. In fact, we did not sign her to any contract at all. We asked her to continue to work with us on the merits of the work we were producing and the experience she was having on the show.
Anyone in the entertainment business would know that it would be entirely impractical for an internet startup like us to try and “lock up” a working actor who is getting roles on television. Lindsay can make more for three days of work on a national commercial with residuals than we could pay her for the entire year.
That’s part of what’s great about web video right now. You don’t have to tie people up - you can collaborate with talented people and find flexible solutions that work for them and work for you. You can take advantage of every resource available.
Web video isn’t about “locking people up” … (well, at least not on-screen talent. CBS has invested in my partner Jeff and I to exclusively produce for them). We’ve insisted from day one, to everyone from investors to partners, that our talent strategy was the right fit for this model of show. And given the outcome, I feel our position was vindicated.
One of the things I’m most happy about is that Lindsay’s new relationship with CBS allows her to continue to do great work like her recent appearance on the Sopranos. It shows that they share our philosophy about openess when it comes to the web space.
Adam,
Congrats to you and everyone else involved with Wallstrip. I enjoy watching the videos and I hope you and the Wallstrip team flourish at CBS.
If she is such a talent then why does her blog have low revenue and traffic numbers.
This is the first time I have heard about WallStrip. I watched one of the episodes and think it’s a pretty good show. The host does do a fantastic job.
I would have liked to have seen more information from TechCrunch though, relating to the company, how they got started, how many viewers they have, etc.
Congratulations to WallStrip, hopefully the acquisition will allow them to be more creative with their product.
“…or a dawn and drew show” dawn & drew? they are nothing compared to keith and the girl! katg.com
Duncan-
sour grapes…
Your ability to turn Wallstrip being bought by CBS into a negative situation is incomprehensible.
It seems as if the majority of your above post is based on fictional scenarios made up in your own mind.
woodshedder
sour grapes for what? $5m for a video blog raises questions, the only info I have is what I was previously given by a source close to the deal which confirmed the crux of Jossips original post and I’d note ties in with what a number of other sites are saying about the deal.
Ive still not received an explanation of the deal from 2 investors in WallStrip I’ve emailed, if they wont talk then I’m not sure what else I am suppose to write. Lindsay is a great talent and again, congrats to the Wallstrip team on the deal, but seriously, $5m or something with 7 figures for a video blog begs questions and any sane person would ask the same thing, is it worth it, and if so how so?
Well since the 2 investors are not responding to your questions, are you insinuating that that gives you permission to continue making your own reality, or at least persmission to continue speculating on what you believe to be reality?
Truly, do not you agree that a reasonably talented blogger could both “raise questions” and celebrate the success of such a deal simultaneously?
Looks like I arrived at this party a little late…just wanted to clue everyone in that Jeff Marks and Adam Elend, who BOTH commented on this thread ARE Wallstrip, (along with Howard Lindzon, Roman Bodnar, Jon Labes and investors). Looks like Techcrunchers can’t see the forest for the trees. If you want to understand the deal, you could start by finding out who is behind creating the daily show, then posing your questions to them…And contrary to the general climate of the industry, no one involved with Wallstrip is nasty
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