Studio71 has announced that Adam Boorstin, COO, and Matt Crowley, CRO, will be upped to Co-CEOs of the company, effective November 1. Reza Izad, current CEO and co-founder of Studio71, will become Chairman of the company.
2020 has proven to be a watershed year for Studio71. Despite the significant challenges facing many digital and entertainment companies due to the negative impact of COVID-19, Studio71 has seen unprecedented success across numerous divisions. This is largely due to a new business model that the company implemented last year, which focuses on multi-platform distribution, advertising partnership deals, and in-house production.
“When I co-founded Studio71, YouTube was the main way talent could build a video business; but the media ecosystem has expanded since then, and over the last few years Adam and Matt have done a great job evolving and scaling our business offerings, while pushing for the company to own more content” said Izad, Studio71 Chairman. “Their promotion to Co-CEOs is a strategic next step for Studio71, and I look forward to supporting them as they continue to grow our business.”
“Audiences are engaging with more video platforms than ever before, and we are excited to keep building strong partnerships with creators and brands across the new video landscape,” added Boorstin and Crowley, Studio71 Co-CEOs.
After acquiring over 50 Connected TV video apps in 2019, the company has launched a range of O&O short-form video channels on platforms such as Snap Discover and Facebook Watch, across popular verticals such as beauty, gaming, and lifestyle. In 2020 alone, the company’s production team, led by Boorstin, will create over 2,500 original videos and edit and distribute over 150,000 videos for these platforms. The media and brand teams, led by Crowley, will route tens of millions of dollars in direct-sold advertising across both O&O and third-party content on all video platforms this year.
Boorstin was hired in 2015 with the goal of expanding Studio71’s business beyond YouTube. During his tenure, Boorstin has led numerous teams including the Business Development division, which forged monetization deals with 30+ video platforms such as Amazon Prime, Roku, and PlutoTV to create new revenue streams for talent. He has also led Studio71’s Podcast Division, which in two years has grown to over 100 shows generating over 30 million monthly streams. Studio71’s off-YouTube revenue has more than doubled annually for the last few years and is now a central part of the business model.
Crowley, who joined the company in 2017, was quick to turn “media” into one of the top profitability engines for Studio71. He and his team are charged with generating cross-platform revenue for content partners, while delivering safe, transparent and scalable advertising solutions to his clients and agencies. Crowley’s teams manage multimillion-dollar upfront commitments with brands and agency holding companies and execute 450+ campaigns annually against Studio71’s content across every platform including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Podcasts, and Connected TVs. Brands span from direct-to-consumer and hyper local clients to corporate awareness driven advertisers. Since his first year, sales and partnership revenue have increased by double- and triple-digit percentages and continue to grow in the midst of the global pandemic.