1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 2 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and How the 4 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: tech are You. So we're continuing to document the history 5 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: of Rooster Teeth, an online media company that has had 6 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: an enormous influence on web culture over the twenty one 7 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 1: years of its existence. And not to bury the lead, 8 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: but now that company is shutting down as Warner Brothers 9 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: Discovery continues to crack down on expenses and it appears 10 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: that Rooster Teeth hasn't been profitable in quite some time, 11 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: despite trying a lot of different things. Now, if all 12 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,200 Speaker 1: of this is news to you, I recommend you check 13 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: out the first two parts of the series, which have 14 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,559 Speaker 1: just recently published. And we are going to pick up 15 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: in twenty seventeen and work our way up to today, 16 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: and this will be the third and final episode. I 17 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: am pleased to say I don't have a part four 18 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: the following, so let's go back to our history. So 19 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: in twenty seventeen, co founder Jeff Ramsey, who had taken 20 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 1: on additional leadership roles within the creative side of the 21 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: company announced that he was going to take a lengthy sabbatical. Now, 22 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 1: Jeff has since spoken very frankly about how he was 23 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: facing enormous pressure at work while also dealing with personal issues, 24 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: including a desire to become sober, and this was a 25 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: really big move from a guy who was a founding 26 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 1: member of Drunk Gamers. Thankfully, Rooster Teeth showed support for 27 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: him during this journey, and Jeff would actually return later 28 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: that year. In fact, he still appeared in numerous videos 29 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: despite quote unquote being on sabbatical. It became something of 30 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: a running joke. His departure was one indicator that the 31 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: work at Rooster Teeth was not slacking off and was 32 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: in fact requiring more and more of the individuals working 33 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: there at all levels. Also in twenty seventeen, Rooster Teeth 34 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: announced the creation of a podcast network called the Roost. 35 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: This department quote connects influential podcasts with brands that understand 36 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: them end quote. So it's a company that handles things 37 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: like sponsorship deals and ad sales for podcasts. Now, I 38 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: can tell you, as a professional podcaster, having someone dedicated 39 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 1: to doing this job is the difference between making podcasts 40 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,800 Speaker 1: a hobby and making a living from it. It is 41 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: a lot of work to land those kinds of ad 42 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: deals and sponsorship deals, and the Roost would serve as 43 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 1: a company that would do that on behalf of podcasters, 44 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: not just Rooster Teeth podcasters, but others as well. The 45 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: Roost is notably one of the properties that Warner Brothers 46 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: Discovery mentioned by name when talking about looking for potential buyers. 47 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 1: While the individual shows that Rooster Teeth are kind of 48 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 1: up in the air, the Roost is something Warner Brothers 49 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: Discovery hopes it can sell to an interested party, But 50 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: that does not necessarily mean the actual Rooster Teeth podcasts 51 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 1: will go on, but rather the infrastructure of a dedicated 52 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:02,679 Speaker 1: sale team in marketing team. That's kind of what's being 53 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 1: discussed now. I only say that because I saw a 54 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: lot of discussion about how the podcasts are up for sale, 55 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: and while that may also be true, that's a different 56 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,399 Speaker 1: thing than the Roost itself. And I know at least 57 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,399 Speaker 1: a couple of the podcasts the hosts are hopeful they'll 58 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 1: be able to continue. On a recent Anma, which is 59 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:24,919 Speaker 1: a podcast that's hosted by co founders Gustavo Sorola and 60 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: Jeff Ramsey. There was mention of a desire to keep 61 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: that podcast going past the shutdown of Rooster Teeth itself, 62 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: but they also stress this is not a guarantee. These 63 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: things are still being worked out, and I'm sure the 64 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: same is true for lots of the other podcasts and 65 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: other shows that are currently produced by Rooster Teeth. But again, 66 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: the roost is more about the teams that can market 67 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: and sell podcasts rather than the teams that actually make 68 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: the content. Also, in twenty seventeen, Rooster Teeth released Laser 69 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: Team two, which obviously was a sequel to Laser Team, 70 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: their first feature film. Now, like the first film, Laser 71 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: Team two would find distribution through YouTube Bread, the paid 72 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: for subscription service on YouTube. I have not seen Laser 73 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: Team two, but I just checked YouTube and sure enough, 74 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: the movie is on there. The YouTube doesn't include things 75 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 1: like the number of people who have watched a video 76 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:22,720 Speaker 1: on this particular film. I did see that there were 77 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 1: only a few hundred likes on the video, so I 78 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: don't know if this mostly passed under the radar. I 79 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,719 Speaker 1: didn't even find very many reviews for the movie, so 80 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: it seems to me like Laser Team two did not 81 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 1: have the same kind of impact that the first film had. 82 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: In twenty eighteen, the company added another online media company 83 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: to their ranks called Sugar Pine seven. Now that's a 84 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: channel that was created by Steven Septik, Clayton James, and 85 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:54,279 Speaker 1: James DeAngelis, and Sugar Pine seven produced comedic videos, including 86 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 1: an improvised comedy vlog series called Alternative Lifestyle. It actually 87 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:02,160 Speaker 1: spawned from a different media company also getting shut down. 88 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: This other media company was called Source Fed. And just 89 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: a quick tangent because as we'll see, there's some parallels 90 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 1: with source fed and with Rooster Teeth, all right. So 91 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: Phil DeFranco, who was already a popular YouTuber at the time, 92 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: launched source fed back in twenty eleven, and its purpose 93 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: was to produce short, informative videos on a daily basis. 94 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: So he got money from YouTube to fund the founding 95 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: of Source fed, and he hired on some folks who 96 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:30,599 Speaker 1: would go on to do a ton of online content 97 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: like Trisha Hirschberger, Meg Turney, Joe burretta Lee Newton, among others. 98 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: In twenty thirteen, another media company called Revision three acquired 99 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: Source Fed from Phil DeFranco. He took on a leadership 100 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:46,799 Speaker 1: role at REV three, but his duties took him further 101 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:51,040 Speaker 1: away from Source Fed itself. Revision three was owned by 102 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: a larger media company because there's always a bigger fish, 103 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,479 Speaker 1: and that was Discovery Communications, which had acquired REV three 104 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: back in twenty twelve, So by the time we get 105 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:05,479 Speaker 1: to twenty seventeen, Discovery was changing its digital media strategy. 106 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: At one point, the company I worked for, How Stuff Works, 107 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: was actually owned by Discovery Communications. However, we were sold 108 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 1: off in twenty fourteen. Discovery sold Revision three to another 109 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: media company called Group nine Media, and not long after that, 110 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,479 Speaker 1: the Source Fed channel would get shut down, and that 111 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: is what prompted several former Source Fed employees to launch 112 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: sugar Pine seven. And not too much longer after that, 113 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 1: the opportunity came to merge with Rooster Teeth, and it 114 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:37,600 Speaker 1: must have seemed like a really good idea at the 115 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: time because here was this company that had forged a 116 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: successful path for online content even before YouTube existed, so 117 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: it probably seemed like a no brainer to partner with them. However, 118 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: this relationship wouldn't last very long because Sugar Pine seven 119 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: would actually leave the Rooster Teeth network in May of 120 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, Sugar Pine seven would also stop most of 121 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:02,679 Speaker 1: their production, with the exception of a podcast called Beyond 122 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: the Pine and fun tangential fact about the whole Source 123 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: Fed thing. Meg Turney, who had appeared as one of 124 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 1: the original on camera personalities for Source Fed, would leave 125 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 1: Source Fed in order to go work for Rooster Teeth, 126 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: though she would actually leave Rooster Teeth a couple of 127 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: years later in order to pursue an independent career. In 128 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: early twenty eighteen, Ezra Cooperstein, who had been the president 129 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:32,560 Speaker 1: and COO of Full Screen, became president of Rooster Teeth. Now, 130 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: Cooperstein had been in the online media game for a while. 131 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 1: He was a co founder and CEO of a company 132 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: called Maker Studios that had launched back in two thousand 133 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:45,160 Speaker 1: and nine. The idea behind Maker Studios was not that 134 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 1: different to that of Full Screen. Like it was a 135 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:52,000 Speaker 1: company that would find YouTube channels and talent and recruit 136 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 1: them under the umbrella of Maker Studios, a multi channel network, 137 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: and try and help those individual channels grow and to 138 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: generate revenue in the process. So Disney acquired Maker Studios 139 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: in twenty fourteen. Because you know, sometimes a traditional media 140 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: company will buy a digital media company to kind of 141 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: leap frog all the tricky parts of building out a 142 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: digital division from scratch. That story does not always work 143 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: out so great for all the parties involved. Just as 144 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:22,240 Speaker 1: Discovery had shut down Source Fed and just as they 145 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: had sold off Holstuff Works for a fraction of what 146 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: they bought us for, Disney would eventually shut down what 147 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: was Maker Studios. Anyway, Cooperstein had been there and had 148 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:36,040 Speaker 1: already joined Full Screen in twenty eleven before all of 149 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: that had happened, So he had left Maker Studios well 150 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 1: before the Disney acquisition, and he became the president and 151 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: COO of Full Screen before he moved to head up 152 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: Rooster Teeth. As president of the company. He would remain 153 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: in that position only a relatively short while, however, he 154 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:57,679 Speaker 1: stepped down on April twenty sixth, twenty nineteen. In a 155 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: letter to the community. Cooperstein said he made the decision 156 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,040 Speaker 1: in order to spend more time with his family, as 157 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:06,480 Speaker 1: he had been largely focused on his career for nearly 158 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:10,080 Speaker 1: a decade. Matt Hullam, another one of the co founders 159 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 1: of Rooster Teeth, would stay on as CEO and then 160 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,679 Speaker 1: Cooperstein's reports would just shift over to Hullam In the meantime. 161 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 1: All right, let's get back to twenty eighteen. The company 162 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:24,320 Speaker 1: would continue launching tons of new series, some of which 163 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 1: were more successful than others. It also released a horror 164 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:32,719 Speaker 1: film called Bloodfest, and it featured several Rooster Teeth personalities 165 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 1: within the film, some playing major characters, some little cameos. 166 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:39,920 Speaker 1: Rooster Teeth premiered the film at south By Southwest in 167 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:44,199 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen and then landed distribution through the company Cynadime. 168 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:48,240 Speaker 1: Synadime would secure a one night screening event in movie 169 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: theaters through Fathom Events before then making the film available 170 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:55,720 Speaker 1: on various digital services. Rooster Teeth would also get to 171 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:59,440 Speaker 1: provide the film for first members the following year, so 172 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:02,120 Speaker 1: one year after it came out, people who were subscribed 173 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 1: to rooster Teeth as first members could actually watch the 174 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 1: film on the rooster Teeth site. The movie received mixed reviews. 175 00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: A lot of critics said that a lot of the 176 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:13,840 Speaker 1: film's humor had been done by other horror comedies to 177 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: better effect. For what it's worth, I thought the film 178 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:18,960 Speaker 1: was okay when I saw it. Mostly I was just 179 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 1: impressed that Rooster Teeth was continuing to produce feature length films. 180 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,720 Speaker 1: Around this time, Rooster Teeth unveiled a new animated series 181 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: called Genlock, which is a science fiction narrative that boasted 182 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 1: some really big named voice talent that included actors like 183 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: Michael B. Jordan, Mazie Williams, Dakota Fanning, and David Tennant, 184 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: among others. The series officially launched in early twenty nineteen 185 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 1: with eight episodes, and a second season of eight episodes 186 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 1: would come out in twenty twenty one, premiering on what 187 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,960 Speaker 1: was then called HBO Max. Like the video game division 188 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: of Rooster Teeth, a lot of critics who have been 189 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:02,440 Speaker 1: predicting the downfall of the company for years would point 190 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:05,600 Speaker 1: at Genlock as one of the potential reasons for Rooster 191 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:09,719 Speaker 1: Teeth's decline. So critics lamented that the company had been 192 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 1: spending a lot of money on really big ticket blue 193 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:20,200 Speaker 1: sky swing hard projects like Genlock and Bloodfest to the 194 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,320 Speaker 1: other feature films, as well as a video game production 195 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:26,560 Speaker 1: division that, if we're being fair, had a very rough 196 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:30,440 Speaker 1: track record. So whether those critiques have merit or not, 197 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,320 Speaker 1: I can't say I'm not privy to Rooster Teeth's budget 198 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 1: or anything. Like that, I can't see what the company 199 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 1: did and did not choose to spend money on, but 200 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:42,040 Speaker 1: we would definitely hear later on that the company had 201 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:44,440 Speaker 1: really struggled to become profitable in the wake of the 202 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: full Screen acquisition. Like, the thing that's been said is 203 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: that Rooster Teeth hasn't been profitable in a decade. And again, 204 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 1: if we trace that decade back from twenty twenty four 205 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 1: it takes us to twenty fourteen. That's the year full 206 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: Screen acquired Rooster Teeth. Now let's go back to what's 207 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:05,840 Speaker 1: going on at a corporate level far above Rooster Teeth itself. So, 208 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 1: as I covered in the previous episode, AT and T 209 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:13,640 Speaker 1: and the Churnin Group had formed the joint venture Otter 210 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:17,720 Speaker 1: Media and Outer Media took a majority share in full Screen. 211 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,040 Speaker 1: Early in twenty eighteen, Autermedia bought out the rest of 212 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 1: the investors of full Screen and outer Media took full 213 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: ownership of the company. Otter also took full ownership of 214 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 1: a sister media company called Elation at that same time. 215 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 1: Elation was the media company that was the owner of 216 00:12:36,679 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: Crunchy Role. At this point, Crunchy Role was organized under Elation. 217 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 1: Rooster Teeth had been organized under full Screen, so George Strompolis, 218 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:49,200 Speaker 1: the founder and head of full Screen, stepped down from 219 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:54,240 Speaker 1: the company. At this point, once AT and T bought 220 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:56,840 Speaker 1: out the rest or really outter Media bought out the 221 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 1: rest of full Screen, and in the wake of him 222 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 1: stepping down and Automedia taking full possession of full Screen, 223 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:08,200 Speaker 1: there were a ton of layoffs. Some reports suggested that 224 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:12,600 Speaker 1: essentially all Full Screen employees were either let go or 225 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,240 Speaker 1: organized to work for a different department. In addition, the 226 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:20,240 Speaker 1: streaming service that full Screen oversaw shut down. Then you 227 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 1: might remember that I said in a previous episode that 228 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:26,320 Speaker 1: in twenty sixteen, AT and T entered into talks to 229 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:30,400 Speaker 1: acquire Time Warner. So that whole process did not go smoothly. 230 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,560 Speaker 1: It was not a guaranteed deal. At one point, the 231 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 1: US Department of Justice actually opposed this acquisition, so there 232 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,000 Speaker 1: was a concern that the acquisition would be harmful to 233 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 1: consumers and to competition in the marketplace. Now, the interesting 234 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 1: thing here was that the deal was seen as a 235 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: vertical acquisition rather than a horizontal one. So what does 236 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,040 Speaker 1: that mean. Well, with a horizontal deal, you're talking about 237 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:57,200 Speaker 1: two companies that are essentially in the same business, and 238 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:01,040 Speaker 1: thus the two companies have a lot of overlap. Vertical 239 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: deals have less overlap, but they would mean that the 240 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: new organization, the combined organization, would cover a heck of 241 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 1: a lot more businesses, and so in a way, the 242 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 1: opposition to the deal was kind of a test to 243 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: see if US regulators could make a case against vertical mergers, 244 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 1: and it turned out that no, at least in this case, 245 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 1: they couldn't. And the merger finalized in June twenty eighteen. 246 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 1: So AT and T then rebrands Time Warner as Warner Media, 247 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 1: and then things would really start to shake up. We're 248 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 1: going to take a quick break. When I come back, 249 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 1: i'll explain what I mean. Okay, So we're back, and 250 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:49,240 Speaker 1: before the break, I mentioned that AT and T had 251 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:53,160 Speaker 1: purchased Time Warner and had rebranded it as Warner Media. 252 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,600 Speaker 1: They then proceeded to try and tidy things up a 253 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: little bit, because despite the fact that this was a 254 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 1: vertic merger, there were departments that had some overlap that 255 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,720 Speaker 1: was redundant. So, for example, you had full Screen, which 256 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 1: was an organization that had rooster teeth nested beneath it. 257 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:18,480 Speaker 1: You had Elation, which had both Crunchy roll and A 258 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 1: and over the top streaming service called VRV underneath it. 259 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: Then you had WarnerMedia, which had purchased the media company 260 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 1: Machinema back in twenty sixteen, which is interesting because Rooster 261 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: Teeth and Mashinema were brought together after being associated with 262 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: one another, mostly because Rooster T's early work was made 263 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: through the process of Mashinema, which is a lowercase M, 264 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,480 Speaker 1: and Machinima the company was an uppercase M. They were 265 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:48,720 Speaker 1: not one and the same. Rooster Teeth did do some 266 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: sort of collaborations and work with Masinema, but it was 267 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,760 Speaker 1: pretty limited. They never really were corporate partners before, so 268 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:59,440 Speaker 1: that meant that the company would hold a reorganization effort 269 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 1: over at AT and T slash WarnerMedia. So this is 270 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:05,560 Speaker 1: at the high level, right. So then Rooster Teeth gets 271 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 1: shuffled away from full Screen to Nest under Elation. So 272 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:13,960 Speaker 1: now Elation oversees VRV, Crunchy Role, and Rooster Teeth and 273 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 1: Mashinima was supposed to join those other companies in twenty nineteen, 274 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:23,520 Speaker 1: but that wouldn't actually happen. In fact, let's do a 275 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 1: quick where are they now for these various entities. So 276 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 1: we know about Rooster Teeth. You know, it's in the 277 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: process of shutting down. It's likely going to close its 278 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:35,280 Speaker 1: doors sometime around May of twenty twenty four. Crunchy Roll 279 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 1: would actually change corporate hands again. In twenty twenty one. 280 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: Sony would purchase crunchy Roll from WarnerMedia. There's this whole 281 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: crunchy Roll fundamation thing too, That's a very complicated story. 282 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 1: Also that streaming service VRV that also went with the 283 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: deal with crunchy Rolls. So both crunchy Role and VRV 284 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: would end up going over to Sony. As for Mashinema, 285 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 1: it would not find itself under elation with the other brands, 286 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:04,200 Speaker 1: as had been the intent. Instead, it got organized under 287 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 1: full screen. Nearly every video under Mashinema rapidly disappeared from 288 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 1: its YouTube channel following this, either it was deleted or 289 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:17,080 Speaker 1: they got switched to private. So while WarnerMedia sent messages 290 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: saying the company was working for a smooth transition, it 291 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: looked to the casual observer that Machinima was effectively being 292 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:26,880 Speaker 1: erased from the web. Now. Part of that was likely 293 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:29,919 Speaker 1: due to the fact that Machinima worked as a publication platform, 294 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 1: so it had original programming as well, and some of 295 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 1: those videos remained up although they weren't necessarily playable. But 296 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,720 Speaker 1: a lot of the videos that were published on mashinima 297 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:42,720 Speaker 1: actually came from third party content creators, So if I 298 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:46,160 Speaker 1: had to make a guess, deleting or or setting those 299 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: videos to private those third party videos was a way 300 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:53,639 Speaker 1: to remove the obligation to pay out revenue to former partners. 301 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,399 Speaker 1: But again this is wild speculation on my part. The 302 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:01,159 Speaker 1: way Masinima went out has subsequently prompted a lot of 303 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: Rooster Teeth fans to try and archive as much Rooster 304 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:07,679 Speaker 1: Teeth content as they possibly can. Given the fact that 305 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:13,440 Speaker 1: this precedent exists, Mashinema effectively came to an end. One 306 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:17,159 Speaker 1: series from Mashinema Inside Gaming actually did shift over to 307 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:20,200 Speaker 1: Rooster Teeth. But now Rooster Teeth is getting shut down, 308 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:23,160 Speaker 1: so I guess, really Mishinima is coming to an end. 309 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: Then AT and T folded Otter Group in with its 310 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:30,680 Speaker 1: new media company, WarnerMedia. So Otter Group was now organized 311 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,480 Speaker 1: under the Watermedia side of the business. So if we 312 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,040 Speaker 1: go with Rooster Teeth, that means Rooster Teeth at this 313 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:41,320 Speaker 1: point was under Elation. Elation was under Otter Media. Otter 314 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,760 Speaker 1: Media was part of WarnerMedia, which in turn was part 315 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,600 Speaker 1: of AT and T, and the green grass grew all around, 316 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,119 Speaker 1: and around, the green grass grew all around. This would 317 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 1: actually open up some opportunities for Rooster Teeth to work 318 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 1: with and incorporate some Warner owned properties into their own stuff, 319 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,560 Speaker 1: like DC characters, but it also meant a lot more 320 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:05,000 Speaker 1: corporate oversight and involvement or interference that didn't always align 321 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: with Rooster Teeth's startup culture. Also, Warner Media made some 322 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,560 Speaker 1: dramatic cuts to Full Screen staff, with some reports saying 323 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 1: like essentially everyone who had ever worked for Full Screen 324 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:16,800 Speaker 1: just got laid off. So I'm sure that really increased 325 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:20,040 Speaker 1: tensions at companies like Rooster Teeth. To see this happening 326 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 1: to Mashinema and to Full Screen, I'm sure a lot 327 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 1: of people were wondering, when is it going to come 328 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:29,080 Speaker 1: for us? So in twenty nineteen, a new leader joined 329 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:31,720 Speaker 1: Rooster Teeth. His name is Jordan Levin and he has 330 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,680 Speaker 1: a very long list of impressive work credits to his name. 331 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: He's worked for media companies that include the Walt Disney Company, 332 00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: Warner Brothers. Of course, this was years before AT and 333 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:46,000 Speaker 1: T acquired Warner the NFL. He was the chief content 334 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: Officer for the NFL. He worked for Xbox Entertainment. He 335 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:53,720 Speaker 1: was also the CEO of Awesomeness TV. So he'd spent 336 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: really his whole career in media and entertainment and it 337 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:02,080 Speaker 1: bridged both traditional media like television and film as well 338 00:20:02,119 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 1: as digital media. So he came on to Rooster Teeth 339 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:09,560 Speaker 1: and became the new general manager. Other members who had 340 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,199 Speaker 1: been part of the executive team, people like Matt Hullum 341 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: who had been serving as CEO, transitioned to creative roles, 342 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:18,679 Speaker 1: so they were still leadership roles, but they were no 343 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 1: longer managerial. They were creative. So from what I've heard, 344 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,480 Speaker 1: Jordan Levin is one of the big reasons that Rooster 345 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 1: Teeth stayed in operation for as long as it did. 346 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:30,879 Speaker 1: That he managed to keep things going despite the tendency 347 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,840 Speaker 1: of the various parent companies further up the chain to 348 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,160 Speaker 1: cut losses. But he did face a massive challenge because 349 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:40,480 Speaker 1: Rooster Teeth wasn't profitable and some of the flagship properties 350 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 1: were starting to flag in viewership. The numbers were going down, 351 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:47,879 Speaker 1: so Toward the end of twenty nineteen, a couple of 352 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:52,160 Speaker 1: founding members of the channel Funhouse, that being Bruce Green 353 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:56,440 Speaker 1: and Lawrence Sontag, announced that they were leaving the channel. 354 00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:59,800 Speaker 1: They both would later explain their reasons for leaving, with 355 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 1: on Tag in particular being very critical of the corporate 356 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:07,719 Speaker 1: involvement that made creating content a difficult and frustrating experience 357 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 1: over at Funhouse. So he has repeatedly said that he 358 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,320 Speaker 1: has a lot of respect for the creative folks over 359 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:16,199 Speaker 1: at Rooster Teeth, but that on the corporate side, it 360 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:21,920 Speaker 1: made working there a really difficult experience. So in September 361 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:26,240 Speaker 1: of twenty nineteen, Rooster Teeth held a round of layoffs 362 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:30,440 Speaker 1: that directly affected thirteen percent of the company. Now, before 363 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 1: the layoffs, the head count at the company was an 364 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: incredible four hundred and nineteen people. And I say incredible 365 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: because remember back in twenty eleven, there were just twenty 366 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:42,320 Speaker 1: employees at Rooster Teeth, So you know, it's less than 367 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:45,040 Speaker 1: a decade later and it's gone from twenty to four 368 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:48,280 Speaker 1: hundred and nineteen. So the layoffs had a really big 369 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:51,760 Speaker 1: impact on the folks who remained behind as well. Morale 370 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 1: was really suffering. However, the company still released tons of 371 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 1: shows and podcasts and other projects. Rooster Teeth launched face Jam, 372 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:05,960 Speaker 1: which is a comedic show that ostensibly reviews fast food, 373 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,640 Speaker 1: but really it showcases comedy more than anything else, which 374 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:12,360 Speaker 1: is great. They launched a really fun podcast called Good 375 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:15,680 Speaker 1: Morning from Hell. This was a limited run podcast. It 376 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,200 Speaker 1: ran for a good long time, but it did conclude, 377 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:21,920 Speaker 1: but it featured a great concept, which is that the 378 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,640 Speaker 1: Devil's younger brother and his co host, Chris dea Maris 379 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,880 Speaker 1: personality from Rooster Teeth, have a morning show and they 380 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: interview an assortment of historical figures and celebrities and mythological 381 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,919 Speaker 1: creatures who have ended up in Hell for one reason 382 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: or another. And then there were a ton of other 383 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:41,680 Speaker 1: shows that launched as well, including a Dungeons and Dragons 384 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:45,160 Speaker 1: live play style show called Tales from the Stinky Dragon. Again, 385 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:47,480 Speaker 1: to list all the shows that Rooster Teeth has put 386 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 1: out would be exhaustive. It would take a really long 387 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: time just to even name them all. But then we 388 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:57,359 Speaker 1: get to twenty twenty, and then absolutely nothing happened, except, 389 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,399 Speaker 1: you know, there was a global pandemic that forced folks 390 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:03,959 Speaker 1: to work from home Rooster Teeth shifted to largely depending 391 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,520 Speaker 1: on remote work for production, and that obviously had a 392 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,159 Speaker 1: massive impact on the types of content the company was 393 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,400 Speaker 1: able to create. Obviously, the company had to cancel live 394 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,640 Speaker 1: events planned for that year that included RTX as well 395 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 1: as Let's Play live events. That was a big bummer, 396 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,880 Speaker 1: and that year a bunch of terrible scandals would also 397 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:26,000 Speaker 1: hit the company, which was an even bigger bummer. Now 398 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,920 Speaker 1: I mentioned already that during the Black Lives Matter movement, 399 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,719 Speaker 1: Mika Burton, former employee over at Rooster Teeth, would actually 400 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:37,119 Speaker 1: speak up about why she left the company after she 401 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:41,040 Speaker 1: faced cases of neglect and abuse and said that people 402 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:43,720 Speaker 1: weren't listening to her or taking her seriously after she 403 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 1: brought her concerns up to folks, and that she wasn't 404 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,480 Speaker 1: going to just you know, endure that, so she left 405 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 1: the company. Well over at Achievement Hunter, another terrible, terrible 406 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:58,679 Speaker 1: thing happened. Another terrible scandal unfolded. Actually it had been 407 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 1: going on for a while, but it was only just 408 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 1: uncovered over the later half of twenty twenty, and that 409 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:08,639 Speaker 1: was when Achievement Hunter cast member Ryan Haywood would have 410 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:10,840 Speaker 1: to leave the company as a result of violating the 411 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: code of conduct, which is putting things lightly. It was 412 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:16,600 Speaker 1: later revealed he had used his celebrity to form inappropriate 413 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:20,400 Speaker 1: relationships with female fans for several years, sort of a 414 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:22,720 Speaker 1: predatory kind of approach. You know, the fact that there's 415 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:26,040 Speaker 1: a different power dynamic, right if you are a celebrity 416 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: and fans are they've built up this parasocial relationship in 417 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:33,159 Speaker 1: their minds with you. To take advantage of that is 418 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 1: really imhorrant. So the Achievement Hunter crew had to face 419 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: the tough decision at that point, after Ryan had been 420 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:43,160 Speaker 1: fired from the company, do they take all the content 421 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 1: that he had been in, which was a considerable number 422 00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 1: of videos because he had been part of the company 423 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,119 Speaker 1: for a long time. Would do they take that and 424 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,040 Speaker 1: just delete it or set it to private or do 425 00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:57,320 Speaker 1: they leave it standing. They mostly chose the second option. 426 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:01,080 Speaker 1: A few videos actually would disappear, but most of them 427 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: would remain up. But it was a tough decision. People 428 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 1: were very deeply affected by what Ryan had done. But 429 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 1: then over at Funhouse, which again that's the Los Angeles 430 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 1: based media part of Rooster Teeth, there was a similar situation. 431 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:19,240 Speaker 1: One of the co founders of Fun House, Adam Kovic 432 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 1: was fired due to other violations that are rather disturbing 433 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:25,880 Speaker 1: in graphic and so I'm going to leave them out 434 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:29,320 Speaker 1: of this discussion. You can easily find information about it 435 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:32,120 Speaker 1: if you search, but suffice it to say that these 436 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,720 Speaker 1: back to back incidents of two high profile on screen 437 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:39,800 Speaker 1: personalities being fired for inappropriate conduct started to raise a 438 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,960 Speaker 1: lot of questions, and it fueled tons of videos that 439 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 1: proclaim that the end was pretty freakin nigh for Rooster Teeth, 440 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:49,440 Speaker 1: But as it turned out, the company would actually continue 441 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 1: for four more years. A pair of important folks who 442 00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:56,040 Speaker 1: did leave the company in twenty twenty on their own 443 00:25:56,160 --> 00:26:02,600 Speaker 1: terms were Bernie and Ashley Burns Ashley Jenkins. So Bernie Burns, 444 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:06,359 Speaker 1: I'll remind you, was co founder of the company. He 445 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,720 Speaker 1: was the head writer for Red versus Blue for many years. 446 00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:14,680 Speaker 1: It was essentially Bernie that was seen as like the 447 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:18,440 Speaker 1: guy at Rooster Teeth, and he had led at Rooster 448 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,359 Speaker 1: Teeth in lots of different leadership roles, both executive and 449 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,880 Speaker 1: creative roles, but he had stepped back a bit over 450 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,399 Speaker 1: the course of a year. In twenty nineteen, he stepped 451 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,000 Speaker 1: back as co host of the rooster Teeth podcast that 452 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 1: was kind of an early indicator that he was preparing 453 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: to exit the company as a whole. He announced his 454 00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:41,600 Speaker 1: resignation on June eleventh, twenty twenty, and he and his wife, Ashley, 455 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:44,040 Speaker 1: who had been in online media for most of her 456 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:46,960 Speaker 1: professional career as well. She held many roles at rooster 457 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,720 Speaker 1: Teeth former member of the frag Dolls video game Professional 458 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 1: video game League or players, they would both leave and 459 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 1: then they would relocate. Ultimately they would go move to Scotland. 460 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,639 Speaker 1: They recently launched their own podcast called Morning Somewhere. I 461 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,440 Speaker 1: recommend listening to that. It's pretty delightful and it also 462 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:11,159 Speaker 1: recently has included some bits that talked more about the 463 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:15,119 Speaker 1: legacy of rooster Teeth and sort of the fallout of 464 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: the decision to shut the company down. Several other folks 465 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:20,800 Speaker 1: with prominent roles in Rooster Teeth also would leave in 466 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,920 Speaker 1: twenty twenty for various reasons that included people who were 467 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:28,680 Speaker 1: on screen talent, included writers for popular series. For those 468 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 1: who remained, they kept operations going as best they could 469 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,080 Speaker 1: under very trying circumstances, and Rooster Teeth kept in business 470 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,800 Speaker 1: for the following few years, but things would shake up 471 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:41,359 Speaker 1: again in twenty twenty two when AT and T would 472 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:45,360 Speaker 1: sell off Warner Media and we would get Warner Brothers 473 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,159 Speaker 1: Discovery in its place. So yeah, you might get the 474 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 1: feeling that media companies are really unstable places and that 475 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:54,400 Speaker 1: on a corporate level, there's a lot of hot potato 476 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 1: going on. From my own personal experience, I can tell 477 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:01,960 Speaker 1: you that's definitely been what I've seen When I worked 478 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 1: for House Stuff Works. I think there were five different 479 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,760 Speaker 1: corporate owners of how Stuff works while I worked there, 480 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:13,880 Speaker 1: before we spun off into Stuff Media and then joined iHeartMedia. 481 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 1: So again that's anecdotal. It's not meant to be evidence 482 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:22,880 Speaker 1: that the media landscape is inherently unstable, but it's been 483 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:25,560 Speaker 1: my experience, and when I research shows like this, and 484 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:29,639 Speaker 1: every couple of years you're talking about a different corporate structure, 485 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:33,880 Speaker 1: it really kind of stresses that it's not far off 486 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 1: the mark. And I'm sure this also came as another 487 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:39,480 Speaker 1: hit to morale for at least some of the folks 488 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,240 Speaker 1: at Rooster Teeth to see this change from AT and 489 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:48,320 Speaker 1: T owning WarnerMedia, to WarnerMedia becoming part of Discovery and 490 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:51,720 Speaker 1: getting Warner Brothers Discovery in its place. We'll talk more 491 00:28:51,760 --> 00:29:03,920 Speaker 1: about why after we take another quick break. Okay, so 492 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,320 Speaker 1: before the break, I talked about how Discovery had come 493 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:10,400 Speaker 1: over and offered to purchase WarnerMedia from AT and T 494 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:13,160 Speaker 1: and as a result we would get Warner Brothers Discovery, 495 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,600 Speaker 1: and how this all kind of came to a head 496 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:19,040 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two. Well, the reason why some of 497 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:22,120 Speaker 1: the folks at Rooster Teeth were probably a bit anxious 498 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:24,160 Speaker 1: about this deal is that some of them had worked 499 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:28,320 Speaker 1: under digital media companies that had once been part of Discovery, 500 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: and they remember how that went. Because a spoiler alert, 501 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:36,200 Speaker 1: you might have thought David Zaslov of Warner Brothers Discovery 502 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:41,600 Speaker 1: was on a warpath to cancel shows once that merger happened, 503 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:45,280 Speaker 1: But that stuff was happening over at Discovery Communications quite 504 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:49,920 Speaker 1: a bit already, and it really wasn't very long after 505 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:54,640 Speaker 1: these companies had completed this big acquisition deal that Zaslov 506 00:29:54,720 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 1: started to slash high visibility projects. Infamously, this included a 507 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 1: film about Batgirl. Reportedly, that movie was nearly finished, and 508 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:08,560 Speaker 1: instead of finishing it up and then releasing the film, 509 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 1: Warner Brothers Discovery would write off the production for tax reasons. 510 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 1: Now that meant that they legally could not ever release 511 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 1: the movie, that that movie's never going to be seen 512 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:23,040 Speaker 1: by anyone, even though most of the work had already 513 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:26,760 Speaker 1: been done. So a corporate leader who can make those 514 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:30,440 Speaker 1: kinds of harsh decisions is scary to work for, because 515 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:33,240 Speaker 1: you never know when your department is going to be 516 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:36,080 Speaker 1: the next one on the chopping block. You could very 517 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:39,520 Speaker 1: much make the argument that these kinds of decisions, while 518 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:43,960 Speaker 1: really difficult, are also necessary because in this particular case, 519 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:49,320 Speaker 1: Warner Brothers Discovery had a truly enormous amount of debt 520 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:53,160 Speaker 1: that they needed to be able to cut. It still 521 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:56,480 Speaker 1: doesn't make it easier to swallow when you see these 522 00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:59,040 Speaker 1: projects that people put a lot of work and effort 523 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:06,000 Speaker 1: into get swept away. However, doomsayers aplenty once again started 524 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,640 Speaker 1: to predict that Rooster Teeth was not long for this world, 525 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:12,320 Speaker 1: and again that had been going on since twenty fourteen 526 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:15,280 Speaker 1: with the full Screen acquisition. So it turns out that 527 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: telling the future is harder than it looks. For more 528 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:21,959 Speaker 1: evidence of that, just looked to my various predictions episodes 529 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:24,800 Speaker 1: for a year and find out how many of them 530 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 1: I was like almost completely wrong about so as it stands, 531 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,480 Speaker 1: Rooster Teeth would end up sticking around until March of 532 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,720 Speaker 1: twenty twenty four. And to be clear, it's still operating 533 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:37,200 Speaker 1: right now, though it's on borrowed time right now as 534 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:40,680 Speaker 1: of the recording of this podcast. That is so, things 535 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:43,520 Speaker 1: changed a lot in the last couple of years at 536 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:48,720 Speaker 1: Rooster Teeth. There was an increased push on the various 537 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 1: types of entertainment, like the various channels, the various videos 538 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:55,600 Speaker 1: and podcasts. There was a bigger and bigger push to 539 00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:59,640 Speaker 1: urge viewers to become first members or YouTube channel members, 540 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,880 Speaker 1: in other words, to become paid subscribers more than just 541 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:07,120 Speaker 1: you know, viewers or listeners of the content. Now, if 542 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:09,280 Speaker 1: I had to guess, I would say this was kind 543 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:12,880 Speaker 1: of a top down directive that they were being told 544 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,800 Speaker 1: by their bosses, Hey, you need to get these numbers up, 545 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,760 Speaker 1: and the intent was to turn things around from a 546 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:22,320 Speaker 1: revenue perspective. So, according to numerous pieces written in the 547 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:26,240 Speaker 1: wake of Warner Brothers Discovery announcing Rooster Teeth's shut down, 548 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:28,520 Speaker 1: it's been reported that, like I said, rooster Teeth has 549 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:30,840 Speaker 1: not been profitable for a decade. And again, if we 550 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:32,800 Speaker 1: look back that's all the way back to the Full 551 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:35,680 Speaker 1: Screen acquisition. I don't know for sure that the Full 552 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:37,920 Speaker 1: Screen deal is what you would call the beginning of 553 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 1: the end, but it doesn't look good at least from 554 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:44,080 Speaker 1: a casual glance. Now that being said, I also don't 555 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:47,480 Speaker 1: know if Rooster Teeth would have maintained its success without 556 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:50,600 Speaker 1: the acquisition from Full Screen. It's impossible to say. We 557 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,680 Speaker 1: don't know. We only know what has happened. We don't 558 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:57,040 Speaker 1: know what could have happened if Rooster Teeth had remained independent. 559 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,840 Speaker 1: Would it still be around, would it be successful? Or 560 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:05,600 Speaker 1: are the problems that plagued Rooster Teeth ones that are 561 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:09,280 Speaker 1: unrelated to corporate ownership. You could argue that part of 562 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:12,120 Speaker 1: the issue was that the media company was built around 563 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:15,280 Speaker 1: the sense of humor and the perspective of a group 564 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:20,080 Speaker 1: of co founders and their particular audience had aged out 565 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:24,480 Speaker 1: of the material and newer audiences didn't resonate with the 566 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:27,080 Speaker 1: material on the same level. Then it doesn't matter who 567 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:29,960 Speaker 1: your corporate owner is. If you're no longer appealing to 568 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,840 Speaker 1: an audience well and you're a media company, that's a 569 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:37,400 Speaker 1: big problem. So maybe Full Screens acquisition was the beginning 570 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,800 Speaker 1: of the end, or maybe that was immaterial. Maybe Rooster 571 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:44,960 Speaker 1: Teeth was always going to have a limited lifespan. Now, 572 00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:47,800 Speaker 1: as I said earlier in this episode, there were other 573 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:51,480 Speaker 1: controversies as well. Departing employees had some pretty harsh words 574 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:54,000 Speaker 1: for the company. You can go to glass door and 575 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:57,760 Speaker 1: look up Rooster Teeth and there's some pretty brutal things there. 576 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:01,840 Speaker 1: This also included some serious accusations of discrimination and harassment. 577 00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:04,200 Speaker 1: So the feeling I've always had is that a lot 578 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:08,359 Speaker 1: of the problems originated above the organization itself. It kind 579 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:10,920 Speaker 1: of came from levels above Rooster Teeth, But some of 580 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:14,480 Speaker 1: them were clearly issues within Rooster Teeth, and it's hard 581 00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:17,080 Speaker 1: to tell what was endemic to the culture of the 582 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:20,400 Speaker 1: company and what emerged as a result of corporate control. 583 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,520 Speaker 1: One particularly upsetting series of claims came from a former 584 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:28,560 Speaker 1: employee named Caden Jensen, and she posted a blog in 585 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:31,839 Speaker 1: twenty twenty two. She said she was the subject of 586 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:36,560 Speaker 1: homophobic slurs, including ones that were said on camera with 587 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:41,520 Speaker 1: just slight changes to the slur to make it camera friendly, 588 00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:45,959 Speaker 1: I guess. She said she worked for really long hours 589 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,840 Speaker 1: as a kind of contract worker before she was officially 590 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:51,680 Speaker 1: hired on as Rooster Teeth staff, but she was never 591 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:54,719 Speaker 1: paid for that earlier work she did. She also said 592 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:57,600 Speaker 1: that she and many other employees had to work incredibly 593 00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:01,160 Speaker 1: long hours in a crunch time atmosphere that very rarely 594 00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:05,240 Speaker 1: led up. This was a big complaint among many folks 595 00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:07,839 Speaker 1: at the company, who a lot of the ones who 596 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:10,440 Speaker 1: had left the company in particular, said that they just 597 00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:14,239 Speaker 1: they were tired of the incredibly long hours. And I 598 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:17,560 Speaker 1: think this probably was a culture issue at Rooster Teeth 599 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:22,480 Speaker 1: because remember rooster Teeth started with five co founders getting 600 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:26,759 Speaker 1: together and doing everything themselves. So these five people were 601 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:29,800 Speaker 1: working incredibly long hours. In fact, when rooster Teeth first started, 602 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:32,719 Speaker 1: they were working a different job as well, Like they 603 00:35:32,719 --> 00:35:35,320 Speaker 1: had a job job and then they had Rooster Teeth. 604 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:38,800 Speaker 1: So the folks who started the company had this culture 605 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:41,600 Speaker 1: of we got to get it done, and you do 606 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:43,680 Speaker 1: whatever it takes to get it done. It doesn't matter 607 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:45,360 Speaker 1: how long it takes, how many hours you have to 608 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:47,520 Speaker 1: be up, you got to get it done. And I 609 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:50,840 Speaker 1: think that just kind of became part of the corporate culture. 610 00:35:51,239 --> 00:35:55,160 Speaker 1: But it's not a very healthy culture to create and 611 00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:58,319 Speaker 1: to nourish, right, It's much better to find ways to 612 00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,840 Speaker 1: operate without making people work themselves to death. But I 613 00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:03,720 Speaker 1: think that was part of the problem, is that because 614 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:07,560 Speaker 1: the founders had had the experience of working these incredibly 615 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:11,520 Speaker 1: long hours and doing so much, that they didn't have 616 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:16,520 Speaker 1: much perspective or perhaps sympathy for people who were asking 617 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:20,239 Speaker 1: to not have that kind of burden put onto themselves. 618 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:24,200 Speaker 1: Cayden also said that the company's efforts to promote diversity 619 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:27,000 Speaker 1: and equality were far more for show in front of 620 00:36:27,040 --> 00:36:29,920 Speaker 1: the camera and being a different story behind the scenes. 621 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,680 Speaker 1: The responses from the company proved that at least some 622 00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:36,279 Speaker 1: of the claims Cayden had made were true. Employees like 623 00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:40,120 Speaker 1: Gavin Free came forward and accepted responsibility for using those 624 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:43,719 Speaker 1: slurs and apologized for that behavior while promising to learn 625 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:46,400 Speaker 1: and work to be better. The company itself issued a 626 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:50,239 Speaker 1: statement admitting that quote we have faced inevitable mistakes and 627 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:54,680 Speaker 1: interpersonal challenges end quote. As well as that quote, twenty 628 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:58,240 Speaker 1: twenty was a year of broad societal change that brought 629 00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:03,080 Speaker 1: past conduct to our attendant end quote, which I imagine is 630 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:06,600 Speaker 1: reference to the Black Lives Matter movement in twenty twenty, 631 00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:10,560 Speaker 1: as well as how employees former employees like Mika Burton 632 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:15,000 Speaker 1: had brought concerns forward. She was not the only one, 633 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:18,200 Speaker 1: but she was probably the most famous one. The company 634 00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:20,000 Speaker 1: had to face the fact that, as I've said before, 635 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:22,439 Speaker 1: Rister Teeth started as a company launched by a group 636 00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:25,600 Speaker 1: of guys, primarily white guys who are straight, and it 637 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:27,879 Speaker 1: launched way back in two thousand and three, and much 638 00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,560 Speaker 1: of the humor of that group of guys consisted of 639 00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:33,200 Speaker 1: them ribbing each other like there's a lot of humor 640 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:36,080 Speaker 1: of them cutting each other down and insulting one another, 641 00:37:36,239 --> 00:37:39,600 Speaker 1: and it was all jokes, but that informed the culture 642 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:42,239 Speaker 1: of the company, and the real problems would arise as 643 00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:45,000 Speaker 1: the company would grow and begin hiring on people who 644 00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:50,160 Speaker 1: weren't just white, straight guys, folks who didn't necessarily enjoy 645 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:54,839 Speaker 1: the privileges that straight white guys enjoy and who are 646 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:58,640 Speaker 1: far more vulnerable. It's not necessarily the same experience for 647 00:37:58,719 --> 00:38:01,680 Speaker 1: those kinds of folks to endure the quote unquote fun 648 00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:04,840 Speaker 1: abuse that had permeated the original members of Rooster Teeth. 649 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:07,000 Speaker 1: So in a way, the company was coming to terms 650 00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:09,879 Speaker 1: with itself and having to grow up a bit. And 651 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,879 Speaker 1: it wasn't a painless process, but it was I think 652 00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:17,120 Speaker 1: a necessary one. Now, before I go any further, I 653 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,160 Speaker 1: also need to say that Cayden herself had some pretty 654 00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:23,400 Speaker 1: serious skeletons in the closet as far as acceptance and 655 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:26,000 Speaker 1: diversity and all that kind of stuff. Fans of Rooster 656 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:29,200 Speaker 1: Teeth did a dive into her background and they found 657 00:38:29,560 --> 00:38:32,400 Speaker 1: sort of old videos that had comedic bits where Cayden 658 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:35,959 Speaker 1: had included awful stuff like racial slurs. So Rooster Teeth 659 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:39,279 Speaker 1: defenders used this in part to discredit Caiden, But I 660 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:41,880 Speaker 1: think it says a lot that the official company response 661 00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:45,239 Speaker 1: appeared to hold itself accountable for at least some of 662 00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:48,000 Speaker 1: what was appearing in Cayden's blog post, so it's not 663 00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:51,640 Speaker 1: like it was all made up. Twenty twenty three marked 664 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:54,319 Speaker 1: the twentieth anniversary of Rooster Teeth, and in celebration of 665 00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:57,879 Speaker 1: that milestone, the company released several video projects that revisited 666 00:38:57,880 --> 00:39:01,240 Speaker 1: things that they had produced over the past twenty years. 667 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:04,960 Speaker 1: For example, Chris Deamris and Kerrie Shawcross returned to New 668 00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:08,840 Speaker 1: Zealand to retrace their steps from a simple walk. That 669 00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:11,160 Speaker 1: was the video that showed the two making the one 670 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:14,120 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty mile trek between the shooting location for 671 00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:18,200 Speaker 1: Hobbiton and the shooting location for Mordor in Peter Jackson's 672 00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:21,680 Speaker 1: Lord of the Rings series. Other departments, like Achievement Hunter 673 00:39:21,719 --> 00:39:24,960 Speaker 1: would release videos revisiting popular concepts that they had done 674 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:27,960 Speaker 1: in the past but they had since moved on from. 675 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:31,160 Speaker 1: But a lot of other changes in twenty twenty three 676 00:39:31,239 --> 00:39:34,720 Speaker 1: would end up upsetting old time fans of the company, 677 00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:38,560 Speaker 1: so Gustavo Sorola announced he was leaving the popular Rooster 678 00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:43,040 Speaker 1: Teeth podcast along with podcast regulars Gavin Free and Barbara Dunkleman. 679 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:46,719 Speaker 1: Gustavo would hand over control to a younger group of podcasters. 680 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:49,640 Speaker 1: He didn't leave the company. He was still doing other 681 00:39:49,719 --> 00:39:52,880 Speaker 1: projects with Rooster Teeth, but the rooster Teeth podcast was 682 00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:55,960 Speaker 1: a very long running and popular show, so a lot 683 00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:59,719 Speaker 1: of folks who had kind of really adopted that show 684 00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:02,680 Speaker 1: as well one of their favorites, were upset. Achievement Hunter 685 00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:06,319 Speaker 1: also announced that that group was disbanding. Some of the 686 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:09,080 Speaker 1: members went on to form a new comedy sketch group 687 00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:13,520 Speaker 1: within Rooster Teeth called dog Bark, but Achievement Hunter would 688 00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:16,600 Speaker 1: no longer be a thing, and the view counts on 689 00:40:16,719 --> 00:40:19,360 Speaker 1: Rooster Teeth's YouTube channels seemed to be in further decline. 690 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:23,080 Speaker 1: Reports were that things just weren't much better for subscriber 691 00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:26,960 Speaker 1: numbers either. In fact, many's former subscribers had kind of 692 00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:29,360 Speaker 1: ended their support in the wake of the various scandals 693 00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:32,400 Speaker 1: that had broken out over the previous years. At RTX 694 00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:36,120 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three, the company gave attendees a big surprise. 695 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:40,200 Speaker 1: They showed a preview for Red Versus Blue Season nineteen, 696 00:40:40,640 --> 00:40:44,160 Speaker 1: and they revealed that it was the final full length 697 00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:47,000 Speaker 1: season for the show, that this was going to wrap 698 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:50,040 Speaker 1: up the main Red Versus Blue story, and it was 699 00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:53,080 Speaker 1: also a surprise that Bernie Burns returned, not just to 700 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:56,680 Speaker 1: voice his character Church in the Red Versus Blue series 701 00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:59,640 Speaker 1: or epsilon. Actually to go into all of that would 702 00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:02,640 Speaker 1: take away too much time, but also he would be 703 00:41:02,719 --> 00:41:06,120 Speaker 1: the writer for season nineteen, something that he had not 704 00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:10,000 Speaker 1: done for many years, and Matt Hullam was directing the season. 705 00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:12,960 Speaker 1: Two of the company's co founders would be responsible for 706 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:16,239 Speaker 1: bringing a conclusion to their flagship series. And while the 707 00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:18,880 Speaker 1: announcement was made that the company would shut down before 708 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:22,759 Speaker 1: Red Versus Blue Season nineteen has actually premiered, reports from 709 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:26,280 Speaker 1: the company suggest that as of right now, Red Versus 710 00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:31,120 Speaker 1: Blue Season nineteen will come out regardless of the shutdown 711 00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:34,400 Speaker 1: of the company. That report that Rooster Teeth is actually 712 00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:37,160 Speaker 1: coming to an end, that came as employees gathered for 713 00:41:37,239 --> 00:41:40,680 Speaker 1: an all hands meeting on March sixth, twenty twenty four. 714 00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:45,359 Speaker 1: Around that same time, Entertainment Press covered the story. So 715 00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:49,800 Speaker 1: clearly Warner Brothers Discovery gave the reports to the various 716 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:52,080 Speaker 1: media out there and just told them when the story 717 00:41:52,080 --> 00:41:55,160 Speaker 1: would be live, and they ran with it. So like 718 00:41:55,239 --> 00:41:58,080 Speaker 1: the world found out about Roaster Teeth shutting down around 719 00:41:58,160 --> 00:42:00,840 Speaker 1: the same time that the employees did. There's been a 720 00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:05,440 Speaker 1: little bit of conflicting information about when they're actually shutting down. 721 00:42:05,600 --> 00:42:09,720 Speaker 1: The figure I hear most often is sixty days from 722 00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:12,919 Speaker 1: the announcement on March six, twenty twenty four, so two 723 00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:17,960 Speaker 1: months after that announcement. There are other reports that suggest 724 00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:20,520 Speaker 1: that some stuff might stretch on a little longer than 725 00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:23,840 Speaker 1: that in order for everything to be wrapped up, you know, 726 00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:27,879 Speaker 1: things like rolling out the season nineteen of Red Versus Blue. 727 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:30,640 Speaker 1: Perhaps maybe that goes a little longer. We don't know yet. 728 00:42:30,920 --> 00:42:34,040 Speaker 1: Employees are receiving a severance package, and it sounds like 729 00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:36,680 Speaker 1: that's based off seniority at the company, So the longer 730 00:42:36,719 --> 00:42:40,800 Speaker 1: you've been with the company, the longer or more helpful 731 00:42:40,920 --> 00:42:44,239 Speaker 1: that severance packages. Somewhere between one hundred and fifty to 732 00:42:44,239 --> 00:42:47,480 Speaker 1: two hundred folks are actually being let go, plus contractors 733 00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:50,760 Speaker 1: and freelancers. It's a really rough end to an online 734 00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:53,160 Speaker 1: media company that had such a huge impact on web 735 00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:57,399 Speaker 1: culture and entertainment distribution models. In the end, Rooster Teeth 736 00:42:57,480 --> 00:43:00,000 Speaker 1: really set an example of how to build a success 737 00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:04,120 Speaker 1: business online, at least for you know, a given amount 738 00:43:04,160 --> 00:43:07,640 Speaker 1: of time, and they found success not just financially, but 739 00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:13,040 Speaker 1: through building a passionate and invested community of viewers. I 740 00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:15,440 Speaker 1: can't tell you how many times I heard stories about 741 00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:18,960 Speaker 1: people who did everything they could to get hired by 742 00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:22,280 Speaker 1: the company that made the stuff they happened to love, 743 00:43:22,680 --> 00:43:25,160 Speaker 1: and for those few who did manage to do that, 744 00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:28,000 Speaker 1: it seemed like a dream come true. Now, over time, 745 00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:32,640 Speaker 1: the realities of production became evident. Right Crunch time is brutal, 746 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:35,520 Speaker 1: even if you love your work. I would argue crunch 747 00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:38,800 Speaker 1: time is brutal, especially if you love your work, because 748 00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:42,080 Speaker 1: you'll push yourself even harder than you have to in 749 00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:46,239 Speaker 1: order to meet various deadlines. It also discovered, you know, 750 00:43:46,280 --> 00:43:50,040 Speaker 1: that changes in direction, corporate direction can be really demoralizing, 751 00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:54,120 Speaker 1: and that corporate cultural issues are really hard to reckon 752 00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:57,080 Speaker 1: with and to fix when things are broken. But if 753 00:43:57,120 --> 00:44:00,319 Speaker 1: you watched that video live stream that Rooster Teeth held 754 00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:03,520 Speaker 1: the day after everyone found out the company was shutting down, 755 00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:05,799 Speaker 1: it's up on YouTube. You can actually watch the whole thing. 756 00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:07,640 Speaker 1: If you watch that, you will see a group of 757 00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:11,239 Speaker 1: people who clearly loved the company they worked for, and 758 00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:14,880 Speaker 1: more importantly, they loved the people they worked with. And 759 00:44:14,880 --> 00:44:18,040 Speaker 1: that's not nothing. So now it's time for us to 760 00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:20,719 Speaker 1: close the book on Rooster Teeth. It remains to be 761 00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:24,040 Speaker 1: seen if any of the properties created by Rooster Teeth 762 00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:27,480 Speaker 1: are going to experience life after the closure of the company. 763 00:44:27,840 --> 00:44:30,839 Speaker 1: Beyond that, there are a lot of other questions that 764 00:44:31,040 --> 00:44:35,319 Speaker 1: just remain unanswered, you know, like do you ever wonder 765 00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:39,759 Speaker 1: why we're here? I hope you enjoyed these episodes about 766 00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:42,560 Speaker 1: Rooster Teeth. My apologies if you had no interest in 767 00:44:42,600 --> 00:44:45,960 Speaker 1: that material whatsoever. Clearly, this is something that I had 768 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:49,080 Speaker 1: a deep interest in because I fell in love with 769 00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:51,680 Speaker 1: the work of the company in the early days. And 770 00:44:51,719 --> 00:44:54,719 Speaker 1: while I haven't really followed it as much in more 771 00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:57,959 Speaker 1: recent years. I feel really sad for folks who work 772 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,600 Speaker 1: in online media and who find them sells out of 773 00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:02,680 Speaker 1: a gig. And a lot of the folks I have 774 00:45:02,920 --> 00:45:07,279 Speaker 1: met and I really like them, and they impressed me 775 00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:11,040 Speaker 1: with their creativity and their work ethic and their dedication 776 00:45:11,120 --> 00:45:14,000 Speaker 1: to one another. So I just wanted to give it 777 00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:16,560 Speaker 1: it's due. I know there are tons of different think 778 00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:21,040 Speaker 1: pieces and video essays and such about the company, but 779 00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:24,759 Speaker 1: this one was from my perspective. We will now move 780 00:45:24,800 --> 00:45:27,800 Speaker 1: on from Rooster Teeth and talk about totally different things 781 00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:30,560 Speaker 1: in the next upcoming episodes, so I look forward to 782 00:45:30,920 --> 00:45:33,959 Speaker 1: doing that, and I'll talk to you again really soon. 783 00:45:40,320 --> 00:45:44,960 Speaker 1: Tech Stuff is an iHeartRadio production. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 784 00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:49,000 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 785 00:45:49,040 --> 00:45:53,680 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.