Dropout doubles down on the comedy scene

AFTER A NIMBLE REBRAND, THE THRIVING STREAMING SERVICE FOCUSES ON EXPANDING INTO LIVE SHOWS AND SCRIPTED PROGRAMMING WHILE KEEPING ITS EMMY DREAMS ALIVE ONE GOOD JOKE AT A TIME

- BY LEILA JORDAN

"THIS IS a safe and comfortable space," says David Kerns, left, COO of Dropout. CEO Sam Reich, below, works on shows and has a sketch comedy background.

WHEN NETFLIX LAUNCHED the streaming era it had a simple promise: One place for everything. But when entertainment studios launched their own services, suddenly every major company wanted to be The Streamer, racing to fill their platforms with the most content possible to beat out competitors.

Amid the chaos of the 2010s streaming wars Dropout — a streaming service launched by comedy internet-video giant College Humor in 2018 — was born. The platform specializes in unscripted comedy shows bolstered by its large cast of comedians from the world of improv. “Dropout has to differentiate itself,” says the company’s chief executive, Sam Reich, about developing the streamer’s brand. “I’m interested in, ‘If you’re gonna do comedy right now, what does that mean?’”

After College Humor’s parent company, InterActiveCorp, was dissatisfied with the streaming service's subscriber numbers in 2019, it became apparent that a sale was on the way. Reich, then chief creative officer, pitched a radical alternative to selling the service to a major media company: have Reich take control of College Humor in exchange for IAC maintaining a minority stake in the company. According to Reich, the deal was approved in less than two months. To keep the company afloat, College Humor laid off the majority of its more than 100-person staff in early 2020. Reich and Chief Operating Officer David Kerns whittled the company down to seven full-time employees. The company shifted the business’ focus to making content for its streaming service and later rebranded from College Humor to Dropout.