Dropout TV is the streaming service you’ve either never heard of or won’t stop talking about. In 2020, we used Dropout as a case study for how paywalling content can keep your business alive and not at the whims of social platforms. Three years on, let’s revisit the comedy platform and see what lessons journalism can learn from its success.
Dropout TV: The Internet’s Favourite Niche Streaming Service
“Whether it will survive the callous world of media publishing, only time will tell.” – Interhacktives, 2020.
Guess what, it has more than survived. Whilst Dropout does not publish its subscriber numbers, its continued investment in continuing fan favourite shows and pioneering new concepts demonstrates the company has done well under Sam Reich’s leadership. In his Twitter thread celebrating Dropout’s 4th birthday, he recounts the woes the company faced in its first year: “All of our programming went remote, which wasn’t exciting enough to bring in new subscribers. No new subscribers meant no new budget to invest in new programming.”
Dropout’s discord server currently has nearly 98,000 members, clips regularly go viral on TikTok and YouTube, and their social media accounts continue to grow. Dropout’s Twitter grew 80% in the last year.
What can journalism learn from Dropout TV’s success?
As discussed in our initial article, Dropout came about because Facebook was proving insecure for their parent company CollegeHumor (and many other comedy/satire sites). News has been facing a similar problem. Social media fragmentation, journalism’s reliance on an unpredictable and sometimes hostile Twitter, and dwindling advertiser money all indicate rough seas ahead for publishers that rely entirely on search and social.
But publishers have responded. The increase of podcasts and newsletters isn’t a coincidence – both go straight to the audience and provide opportunities for monetisation. And paywalls are increasingly common. Dropout demonstrates a way to move to a ‘freemium’ model with great success. Keeping costs low, teaser content in front of the paywall, and innovative use of social media have all worked for Dropout.
Beyond that, the key has been community. Their Discord has nearly 98,000 members where the community can discuss episodes. This acts as a free comment section for paid content. They are also relatively relaxed with community members uploading pay-walled clips to social media, knowing they can reach new audiences. Currently Twitter acts a bit like a free comment section for journalism, but will this continue as Musk transforms the platform? Only time will tell. But if it does, publishers could do worse than look to Dropout TV for an example of how to build a loyal, engaged, and paying audience.