From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vessel Group, Inc
Industry
| Online video
|
---|
Founded
| January 21, 2015
(
2015-01-21
)
|
---|
Defunct
| October 31, 2016
(
2016-10-31
)
|
---|
Fate
| Acquired by
Verizon
|
---|
Key people
| Jason Kilar
Richard Tom
|
---|
Vessel
was a commercial
video service
launched in early 2015 by former
Hulu
executives
Jason Kilar
and Richard Tom.
[1]
[2]
Vessel was acquired by
Verizon
on October 26, 2016 and was closed on October 31, 2016.
History
[
edit
]
The service resembled
YouTube
, whereby a viewer could watch videos for free. However, viewers could add "Early Access" at a $3 monthly or $20 annual fee to their account, which allowed them to view videos a minimum of 72 hours before the video is released to the general public.
[2]
Vessel then created mobile applications for
iOS
and
Android
devices which optimized the videos for mobile viewing. The idea behind the site was that creators would be able to gain more revenue from their videos than on YouTube due to the subscription fee as well as advertisements.
[3]
After the site was created, YouTube personalities such as
LinusTechTips
,
Craig Benzine
,
Connor Franta
,
Shane Dawson
,
Doug Walker
,
Caspar Lee
,
Tanya Burr
,
Good Mythical Morning
,
Epic Meal Time
, Super Best Friends Play,
Marcus Butler
, Kent Heckel,
LaToya Forever
, Delaila Johnson, Tre Melvin and
Jack Vale
signed up to have their content streamed on Vessel.
[2]
On October 26, 2016,
Verizon Communications
announced that it had acquired Vessel, and that it would be shut down on October 31. Vessel's team
was hired
to revamp Verizon's fledgling video streaming service
go90
(resulting in 155 members of the service's existing staff being laid off), with Richard Tom retained and appointed as chief technology officer of Verizon Digital Entertainment. Kilar departed after the sale.
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Stone, Brad.
"Vessel: A YouTube Rival That Wants to Be the Streaming HBO"
.
Bloomberg Business
.
Bloomberg L.P.
Retrieved
March 31,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
Spangler, Todd (January 21, 2015).
"Vessel Signs More YouTube Stars to Subscription Service, Launches Limited Beta Test"
.
Variety
. PMC
. Retrieved
March 31,
2015
.
- ^
"Here's Everything You Need To Know About Vessel, Jason Kilar's New Online Video Platform"
.
Tubefilter
. January 21, 2015
. Retrieved
October 19,
2015
.
- ^
Spangler, Todd (October 26, 2016).
"Verizon Acquires Vessel, Will Shut Down Jason Kilar's Video Service"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
April 21,
2019
.
- ^
"Verizon acquires subscription video service Vessel, will shut it down on Oct. 31"
.
TechCrunch
. Retrieved
July 9,
2018
.
- ^
"Verizon Lays Off 155 Employees at Go90 Division (EXCLUSIVE)"
.
Variety
. January 24, 2017
. Retrieved
June 1,
2017
.
- ^
Evans, Greg (January 24, 2017).
"Verizon Axes 155 Go90 Staffers; Streaming Service Targets Millennials"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
February 5,
2017
.
External links
[
edit
]