How do you build a streaming service from scratch? On this week’s “Galaxy Brain,” Charlie Warzel speaks with Sam Reich,the CEO of Dropout, a comedy streaming platform that’s found success eschewing the growth-at-all-costs model of the mega streamers. The two discuss the pre-YouTube days of online video and how Reich acquired Dropout, formerly known as the internet site CollegeHumor, for $0. They talk about how comedy has evolved online, how to build a cinematic universe of content, and whether Reich sees Dropout as a feeder for places like “Saturday Night Live.” Reich shares his philosophies on how to make things that people love and why he steers away from the venture-capital and big-media playbooks.
This episode of "Galaxy Brain" was produced by Renee Klahr and engineered by Miguel Carrascal. Our theme is by Rob Smierciak. Claudine Ebeid is the executive producer of Atlantic audio, and Andrea Valdez is our managing editor.
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00:00 Intro
04:12 Interview with Sam Reich
07:40 What Is Dropout?
13:39 Lessons from CollegeHumor
17:10 Building the Dropout Ensemble
22:14 Dropout as a Comedy Pipeline
24:50 Dropout and Inclusive Comedy
30:17 Greenlighting New Shows
37:02 Closing Thoughts