Break.com (formerly Big-boys.com) is a humor website founded in 1998 that features comedy videos, flash games, and pictures among other material. The chief executive officer of Break is Keith Richman. The web site's target audience is men 18-35.[1]
Content
The main focus of the site is videos, with an emphasis on humorous videos and other material targeted towards their male demographic. Break also has several video categories including animation, military, sports, humor, movies and entertainment. Break posts roughly 8 new videos on the homepage per day, mostly consisting of user generated home movies of people performing stunts and pranks. Some of the videos feature people getting injured, usually as a result of their own recklessness or foolishness, on purpose or by accident, but Break does not post videos where it is certain someone has died (with the exception of the Saddam Hussein execution video). The site also includes television clips and other viral videos.
Visitors were once able to rank site material on a scale of 1 to 5, but Break has since replaced this feature with a thumbs up/thumbs down system. Negative scores are not allowed on videos - a "thumb down" simply counteracts the vote of a "thumb up." Users can also comment on most of the individual entries.
In January 2006, Break.com introduced a new file hosting system for its users to share their files. Shared files can be promoted to the homepage to be featured. Users that host original files promoted to the homepage are paid and the user relinquishes all rights to their material under contract. [2]
As of July 2008, Break is one of the 300 most viewed sites in the world.[3]
The website is owned by TMFT Enterprises, LLC.
Mainstream media content
In August 2006, Break.com and Showtime partnered to promote Weeds by encouraging Break.com users to upload original videos matching the themes of the show, with winners eligible for airing on the channel.[4]
In March 2007, Break.com signed a contract with NBCU Digital Studios to develop a streaming broadband series to be featured on Break.com, tentatively titled Breakers. The show will involve attractive women finding different ways to break objects.[5] Breaker's advertising revenue will come from businesses paying to have their product smashed on the show. Break.com's young-male demographic is expected to attract the advertisers. Break.com CEO Keith Richman stated "We have a male audience that likes attractive women and demolition."[6]
In April 2007, Break.com announced a deal with Fear Factor/Big Brother (TV series) producer Endemol USA to create a new show called Record Breakers. The show will center around contestants attempting to break obscure world-records. Endemol chose Break.com for its ability to reach the young-male demographic. According to MediaWeek the show is likely to carry pre-roll video advertisements and banner ads.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Paul R. La Monica (2007-02-09). "Big media beats up on YouTube", CNNMoney.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
- ^ Break.com Terms Of Use, Retrieved April 9, 2007
- ^ Traffic Details: break.com, Alexa Internet, #248 retrieved July 15, 2008
- ^ Heather Green (2006-08-22). "Break.com's Innovative Marketing Deal With Showtime", BusinessWeek. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ a b Mike Shields (2007-04-09). "Break.com, Endemol to Launch Record Breakers", MediaWeek. Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
- ^ Andrew Wallenstein (2007-03-14). "NBCU Digital Preps 'Breakers'", Adweek. Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
External links
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