CH Media

What does CH Media own?
CH Media owns and operates Dropout and controls a library of comedy programs and legacy CollegeHumor material. Its active properties include Dimension 20, Game Changer, Make Some Noise, and other Dropout originals.

Is CH Media publicly traded?
No. CH Media is privately held. There is no public ticker for the company or Dropout.

Who founded CH Media?
Sam Reich formed the current independent operation through his 2020 purchase of the remaining CollegeHumor business from IAC. CollegeHumor itself was founded in 1999 by Josh Abramson and Ricky Van Veen.

Where is CH Media headquartered?
CH Media is based in Los Angeles, California, USA, where its studio production is centered. Dropout streams to customers beyond the United States.

How many brands does CH Media own?
The company has one principal service brand, Dropout, plus a group of original program properties. It does not publish a fixed corporate brand count.

Who owns CH Media?
Sam Reich controls CH Media. No authoritative public record used here identifies a larger parent company or a complete list of minority shareholders.

Does IAC still own Dropout?
No. IAC withdrew funding and sold the remaining CollegeHumor business to Reich in January 2020. Dropout now operates through independent CH Media.

CollegeHumor began in 1999 as a website created by Josh Abramson and Ricky Van Veen. It published comedy articles, photographs, and video for a young internet audience. Connected Ventures became the operating company around CollegeHumor and related sites.

IAC acquired a controlling interest in Connected Ventures in 2006. Under IAC, CollegeHumor built an in-house video operation and distributed sketches through its website and YouTube. The business developed performers, writers, and directors who later worked across television, film, and online media.

The economics of digital publishing changed during the 2010s. Facebook and YouTube controlled more discovery and advertising, while scripted video remained expensive. CollegeHumor pursued longer formats and direct audience revenue rather than depending only on advertising views.

Dropout launched in 2018 as a paid streaming service. Its early catalog included scripted programs, comics, chat features, and unscripted shows. Dimension 20, a tabletop role-playing anthology led by Brennan Lee Mulligan, became one of the durable series. Game Changer used a game-show format in which contestants discover the rules during play.

In January 2020, IAC withdrew financing and eliminated most positions. Sam Reich acquired the remaining operation. Contemporary reporting described the deal as a management buyout, but the price and full ownership terms were not publicly disclosed. Reich retained a small team and continued Dropout while much of the older advertising-funded CollegeHumor model ended.

The COVID-19 pandemic immediately constrained studio production. Remote formats and a deep library helped the service continue releasing material. As production resumed, CH Media concentrated spending on a smaller number of recurring unscripted formats rather than rebuilding a broad digital publisher.

CollegeHumor's consumer identity was gradually reduced. The company renamed the CollegeHumor YouTube channel Dropout in 2023, matching the paid service that had become the main business. CH Media remained the corporate name.

Dropout expanded its schedule with Make Some Noise, Play It by Ear, Dirty Laundry, Very Important People, Smartypants, and other programs. It also sold live-event tickets, merchandise, and home-media products for selected series. Management has said the service became profitable, but the private company has not released audited amounts.

The 2023 strikes by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA raised classification and labor questions across entertainment. Dropout stated that productions covered by union agreements would follow applicable rules and adjusted public communications around struck work. The company has increasingly used union performers and production standards as its scale has grown.

CH Media does not publish a full sustainability report or hold a verified B Corp certification. Its direct environmental effects come from studio electricity, sets, travel, merchandise, cloud distribution, and viewer streaming. No independently verified emissions target is available.

Labor practices are more material to audience evaluation. Productions use performers, writers, directors, and technical crews under a mix of employment and contract arrangements. Union coverage depends on the production and role. The company should be assessed through applicable agreements and documented conduct, not broad claims based on its public tone.

Dropout's subscription model reduces advertiser influence over content. It does not remove duties involving workplace safety, harassment prevention, accessibility, privacy, or clear cancellation terms. The company publishes service terms and privacy information for members.

The January 2020 layoffs were the largest public crisis in the business's recent history. IAC's withdrawal eliminated most CollegeHumor jobs before Reich completed the management buyout. The outcome was a smaller independent operation rather than restoration of the former workforce.

During the 2023 entertainment strikes, viewers questioned how Dropout productions fit union rules. The company communicated about covered work and continued formats that were permitted under relevant arrangements. No finding that CH Media violated the strikes is established by those online questions.

As a subscription service, Dropout is subject to consumer rules on billing, renewal, cancellation, and privacy. No major final regulatory penalty against CH Media was identified in the authoritative sources used for this update.

Program rights can also create disputes even when no regulator is involved. CH Media must clear music, performer, writer, artwork, and format rights for distribution in the territories it serves. Older CollegeHumor material may have contracts written for web video rather than a later subscription service. No broad public ruling invalidating the library's use was identified, but individual rights remain governed by their contracts.

Fan discussion sometimes treats program cancellation as evidence of a rights conflict. Scheduling, cost, performer availability, and audience response can all produce the same outcome. Without a company statement or legal record, a cancellation should not be assigned to a dispute.