Means TV


Means TV is an American anti-capitalist subscription video on-demand streaming service based in Detroit, Michigan. Means was founded in 2019 by filmmakers Naomi Burton and Nick Hayes as the successor to the video production company, Means of Production. The service features films, television series, podcasts, and news reports. Means TV is organized as a worker cooperative.
Means launched on February 26, 2020.

History

Before founding Means TV, Naomi Burton and Nick Hayes both worked in media production for automakers in Detroit and attended Democratic Socialists of America meetings. After finding their work morally objectionable, they left their jobs and founded the video production company Means of Production. Means of Production first came to prominence after they produced a viral campaign ad for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 2018 election campaign.
While the full streaming service would not launch until February of 2020, Means produced content for their YouTube channel throughout 2019 and early 2020. They acquired the channel from comedian Sara June, the original poster of Nyan Cat, and thus had over 125,000 subscribers when they began posting their own content on March 21, 2019.
Hayes has cited the anarchist podcast Street Fight as an inspiration for his decision to create Means TV. He worked with Street Fight to record live performances in 2017 and 2019.

Original series