Brat TV, maker of young-skewing online series like Chicken Girls and Attaway General, has received an investment from New Line founder Bob Shaye, who is joining the company’s board.
Terms were not disclosed. Brat, which was founded in 2017, says it tripled its revenue to $15 million in 2020 and projects reaching $35 million in 2021. Its YouTube channel has more than 5 million subscribers and draws advertisers like General Mills and Mars-Wrigley. The company also has launched free, ad-supported streaming channels on Roku, Samsung and NBCUniversal’s Peacock. Brat also has a significant presence on social media, with a production partnership with Instagram and Past Your Bedtime, a news show it makes for Snapchat that aims at Gen Z viewers.
Shaye left New Line in 2008 after the company he started in 1967 began to get more fully absorbed into Warner Bros. After operating for more than 25 years as a fully independent production entity known for Nightmare on Elm Street, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, New Line was acquired in 1994 by Turner Broadcasting, which then became part of Time Warner. Along the way, New Line released The Mask, Boogie Nights and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
After leaving the company in 2008, Shaye launched Unique Features.
Brat TV has previously raised $45 million from investors including Anchorage Capital, which recently sold MGM to Amazon, and Advancit Capital, the venture firm co-founded by Shari Redstone. Brat TV’s founders, Rob Fishman and Darren Lachtman, sold their prior business to Twitter in 2015.
“Rob and Darren seem to have their professional thumb on an entertainment pulse for a new generation,” Shaye said. “Brat TV is addressing a young, underserved generation, just as New Line did fifty years ago. I have confidence this team knows their market, how to satisfy it, and how to responsibly turn their product into viewing time well-spent by their growing community.”
Fishman said Brat is “honored to welcome Bob as an investor and mentor, adding one of Hollywood’s most storied and successful executives to our team.”
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