Vessel (website)
Type of site | Video hosting service |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 21, 2015 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Owner | Verizon Communications |
| Key people | Jason Kilar Richard Tom |
| Industry | Internet Video hosting service |
| Parent | go90 |
| URL | vessel |
| Launched | January 21, 2015 |
| Current status | Closed (Acquired by Verizon) |
Vessel was a commercial video service launched in early 2015 by the team behind Hulu, including former CEO Jason Kilar and Richard Tom.[1][2] Vessel was acquired by Verizon on October 26, 2016 and was closed on October 31, 2016.
Company history
The service resembled that of 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]
Since the site was created, YouTube stars such as LinusTechTips, Craig Benzine, Connor Franta, 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]
Vessel was acquired by Verizon on October 26, 2016, and was closed on October 31, 2016.[4] On January 23, 2017, the Vessel staff was reassigned to oversee Verizon's streaming video platform go90, and co-founder Richard Tom was subsequently appointed as chief technology officer of Verizon Digital Entertainment in April 2017.[5][6]
See also
References
- ^ 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. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ "Verizon acquires subscription video service Vessel, will shut it down on Oct. 31". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
- ^ "Verizon Lays Off 155 Employees at Go90 Division (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ Evans, Greg (January 24, 2017). "Verizon Axes 155 Go90 Staffers". Deadline. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
External links
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