The upcoming AwesomenessTV and Verizon mobile content venture has drafted in the former drama department head at Universal Television. Russell Rothberg (pictured) has been named senior VP, creative for the currently unnamed service. He exited NBCUniveral’s production arm earlier this year, following president Bela Bajaria out of the door. Bajaria recently resurfaced at another digital […]
Jason Kilar’s online video service Vessel will close on October 31 after US telecoms giant Verizon swooped to buy the technology and software that underpins it. Verizon will hire “most” of Vessel’s staff, including “some of the original founding team at Hulu” after buying the business for an undisclosed amount. Kilar (pictured) co-founded Vessel and […]
US telco Verizon is in position to acquire mobile video platform Vessel, according to a report. Ex-Hulu CEO Jason Kilar and CTO Richard Tom launched Vessel in March 2015 as a start-up after raising millions of dollars in investment. The plan was to offer YouTube stars an alternative to the Google-owned platform, but failed to […]
US mobile platform Go90 has poached Ivana Kirkbride from rival Vessel to become its chief content officer. The hire is a mark on intent from Go90, which telco Verizon launched last year. Kirkbride was VP, content acquisitions at Vessel, which former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar founded, also last year. Before joining Vessel in September, she […]
Vessel, the online video start-up from former Hulu boss Jason Kilar, has dropped the ads on the service for paying subscribers and introduced a new annual payment option. CEO Kilar (pictured) said in a blog post that the change follows user feedback and that “one of the most popular requests has been for an ad-free […]
The online video start-up from former Hulu boss Jason Kilar has launched in beta on Android devices. To this point the service has only been available on iOS-operated Apple devices and via its website, but has now added a Vessel Android app.The app has launched in beta, and is now available to download. The service […]
Vessel, the new online video start-up co-founded by former Hulu boss Jason Kilar, has raised US$57.5 million in a new round of funding. New investor IVP, a later-stage venture capital and growth equity firm, led the Series B round. Vessel’s current investors Benchmark, Greylock Partners and Bezos Expeditions, also contributed. Announcing the new investment, Vessel […]
YouTube has confirmed plans to launch an advertising-free version of YouTube that users will be able access by paying a monthly fee. In a letter sent to YouTube content creators, the Google-owned video site said that the new paid offering will “generate a new source of revenue” that will supplement ad revenues. YouTube said that […]
Vessel, the new online video start-up from former Hulu boss Jason Kilar, has launched in trial mode. The invite-only beta comes a month after Vessel first opened up its platform to content creators, with viewers now able to try Vessel on iOS devices and the web, with an Android app due to follow. “Our vision […]
Former Hulu boss Jason Kilar is set to launch his new video venture Vessel early next year, providing “early access to the web’s best short-form videos” for a low subscription fee. Announcing details of the service, Kilar said that advanced access to content on Vessel will cost US$2.99 per-month, while a free, ad-supported version, where […]
