Dropout is an American subscription media service provider that is developed and operated byCH Media. It was founded in September 2018 and provides advertisement-free access to uncensored original shows, chat stories, comics, and an exclusive Discord server for subscribers.
History
In early September 2018, CollegeHumor began teasing the beginning of a new subscription service, putting hidden keyword clues on their website and in their videos. Entering these keywords to a website owned by CollegeHumor allowed users to see clips of videos, audio, and images that implied the beginning of a new CollegeHumor project. On September 26, 2018, Dropout officially launched in the United States. CH Media's CEO, Rich Cusick, announced the service as a "TV-MA version of CollegeHumor", allowing fans to dive deeper into pre-established characters and shows from the primary CollegeHumor YouTube channel. CollegeHumor's Chief Creative Officer, Sam Reich, also claims that the founding of Dropout was in response to difficulty for receiving advertising dollars on traditional media platforms for mature content. Dropout officially launched native iOS and Android apps for its service in December 2018, allowing users to watch shows and also cast to smart TVs. Comics, especially the chat stories, were integrated into the app. As of December 2018, visitors to the service spent on average 31 minutes per visit, and visited on average 3.5 times per week. Throughout 2019, Dropout began to experiment with more live streaming versions of their shows, through using Twitch and podcast-like formats.
Subscription Model
Dropout launched with a beta price of $3.99 per month, for the first three months of the service. After December 2018, the price rose to a three tiered option, with monthly memberships for $5.99/month, semi-annual memberships for $4.99/month, and annual memberships for $3.99/month. The company has justified the pricing model as allowing them to create content without being dependent on, or beholden to, requests from advertisers. In August 2019, CollegeHumor also began to partner with Facebook to offer Dropout content via paid video subscriptions on Facebook's platform.
Services
In addition to viewing exclusive original series, subscription to Dropout allows users to view all other videos produced by CollegeHumor 72 hours before they are released to the public. There is also access to an exclusive Discord server where subscribers are allowed to chat with cast members and producers of the shows.
Original Shows
Dropout is planning to release a new original title per month in 2019, according to Sam Reich.
