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CNN Acquires Social-Video Startup Beme, Co-Founded By YouTube Star Casey Neistat (variety.com)

CNN announced Monday that it has purchased video-sharing app Beme, and will work with its founder, Casey Neistat, to build a new media brand next year focused on storytelling for a younger audience. Casey Neistat is a YouTube celebrity and tech entrepreneur who launched Beme last year. Variety reports: CNN said the new venture that it's forming out of the acquisition -- aimed at reaching millennial viewers with the street cred of Neistat's reporting and commentary -- will launch in the summer of 2017. All 11 of Beme's employees will join CNN; the cable news network will be shutting down Beme, which had garnered more than 1 million downloads. New York-based filmmaker Neistat, who has more than 5.8 million subscribers on YouTube, announced earlier this month on his channel that he would be suspending his personal vlog to focus on new projects, one of which turns out is the pact with CNN. His daily vlog dispatches cover current political and news events as well as action sequences like his viral "Snowboarding With the NYPD" video last winter. Led by Hackett, formerly VP of engineering at Yahoo's Tumblr, Beme's development team will "build technology to enable the new company and also develop mobile video capabilities for CNN's portfolio of digital properties," according to the Turner-owned cable news network. Neistat, 35, will lead the new venture's "editorial vision" as executive producer. CNN said it will employ its global resources to launch the new media brand, and plans to hire dozens of producers, builders, developers, designers and content creators for the new company. CNN said the new Beme-based company will operate as a standalone business under the CNN Digital umbrella.

24 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. Star Casey Netstat by ls671 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I don't know if Casey Netstat is really a star but his netstat program sure came handy to me many times.

    https://linux.die.net/man/8/ne...

    --
    Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
    1. Re:Star Casey Netstat by geekmux · · Score: 1

      I don't know if Casey Netstat is really a star but his netstat program sure came handy to me many times.

      https://linux.die.net/man/8/ne...

      Guessing this was a veiled dig on the lack of News for Nerds here, but it's Casey Neistat.

      As far as the "celebrity" moniker, I'd award that to the netstat author any day over some guy who likes to pimp his life for clicks.

    2. Re:Star Casey Netstat by ls671 · · Score: 1

      I'd award that to the netstat author any day over...

      Read the fine link (RTFL) provided in my OP, there was many contributors...

      --
      Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
  2. Focusing on Storytelling by EmagGeek · · Score: 2

    Well, CNN is already really good at telling stories to an audience of millennials who live in fantasyland, so this should be a raging success for them.

    1. Re:Focusing on Storytelling by geekmux · · Score: 1

      Well, CNN is already really good at telling stories to an audience of millennials who live in fantasyland, so this should be a raging success for them.

      Very true. I fully expect an army of Kardashians filling news anchor positions very soon.

      Of course, religion will be covered by Yeezus himself...

    2. Re:Focusing on Storytelling by Bender+Unit+22 · · Score: 1

      It kinda seems to me that it has already happened. The news anchors are such drama queens. And then they waste everybodys time by airing crazy bitches like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      It's a freak show already, why would I want to get cable TV again?

    3. Re:Focusing on Storytelling by alvinrod · · Score: 1

      Have you stopped to consider that because the media spends so much time focusing on his twitter shit posts, they aren't spending time focusing on legitimate criticisms.

      It's a bit like why Obama didn't release his birth certificate. Sure it would have stopped the crazies (well some of them) from carrying on about it, but they would have just found something else to complain about and they looked really stupid to everyone else.

      If you want to go after Trump, do so on policy, because he doesn't really have one and that's going to hit harder and stick rather than playing into his hand and being distracted by something irrelevant.

  3. pump the brakes, CNN by nimbius · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...reaching millennial viewers with the street cred of Neistat's reporting and commentary

    Then you should have gone for someone like PewDiePie, Arin Hanson or Markiplier; youtube celebs with some actual pull amongst millennials. Neistat is popular with only one segment of the popularion: elitist pricks seeking to live vicariously through one of New Yorks globetrotting clickbait-pandering monied elite.

    Caseys problems, ipod batteries that dont last long enough and wacky shit that happens on a chartered Gulfstream jet, arent relateable to any millenial stuck with 50k in college debt and a 20 year old car that doesnt start in cold weather. his "reporting and commentary" so far has been 2 videos whining about trumps election and a ringing endorsement of Hillary with no real reason or defence of the position. He once made a video solely about him buying a $21,000 airline ticket. not something a Millenial easily identifies with.

    but sure, CNN, if segmenting the american populus into democrat and republican, conservative and liberal, elite and blue collar is the goal here then selecting a project from Caseys "poor mans vine" is a good start.. From here youre free to repeat the same mistakes that led you to vaingloriously confirm Hillaries ascension before the numbers ever came in.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:pump the brakes, CNN by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 1

      Eyeballs, my friend. They are back.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    2. Re:pump the brakes, CNN by smooth+wombat · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I've never heard of these people. Are they supposed to be important or contributing to society in any way?

      After all, every time we hear about a new mission to Mars or somewhere in space someone always asks why we're "wasting" money on research and discovery rather than poverty (which has always existed) or some fantasy about "curing" cancer.

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    3. Re:pump the brakes, CNN by roninmagus · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'm 32 and I know and watch all of the people mentioned. I don't want Casey Neistat. His content is garbage that doesn't apply to me.

      They probably acquired his company because of the political pull that he has; he convinced hundreds/thousands of other youtubers to publicly endorse Hillary on their channels.

    4. Re:pump the brakes, CNN by Godai · · Score: 1

      I spent about two months trying to figure out how to tell the suggestion service on Android TV that I was not interested in his crap. I still don't know how he got into my rotation and I'm still not sure why he was finally removed. But it's good to know that CNN is going to inflict him on a whole generation; I feel like my pain should be shared.

      --
      Wood Shavings!
      - Godai
    5. Re:pump the brakes, CNN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Well then tell his viewers that because he's making massive cash based on people viewing his videos. There are way too many to just be "elitist pricks". The kids love him.

      Keep in mind that millenials are not really the force behind youtube views. The main force is little kids 12 and under. These kids no longer watch TV or play video games or do anything other than watch content on YouTube. I'm exaggerating a bit but seriously if you have kids this age you understand what I'm talking about. If you let them they would literally sit there all day watching other people play with toys.

    6. Re:pump the brakes, CNN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You must not have actually watched many of his videos. The guy came from nothing, had a kid at like 18. With no money moved to NYC on whim and made it. He is a very motivating personality.

    7. Re:pump the brakes, CNN by JoeyRox · · Score: 1

      Casey's vlogging of his problems may not be relatable but they're certainly entertaining which is why he has nearly 6M subscribers on his YouTube channel. This fits perfectly with CNN's focus on infotainment rather than news.

    8. Re:pump the brakes, CNN by idji · · Score: 1

      he didn't buy that $21,000 ticket.

  4. Re:Waaa waaa waaa by EmagGeek · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Umm, CNN is the reason that Millennials stayed home instead of voting for Hillary. CNN trashed Bernie throughout the entire campaign with lies and deception at the behest of the Clinton campaign. Unfortunately Millennials will believe anything they are told by "reputable" left-leaning journalism outfits like CNN.

    You think I'm for Trump, and you're mistaken. Trump terrifies me, like he should terrify the legions of mouth-breathers who put him into office.

    You are foolish to think that anyone who doesn't toe your particular line is necessarily against you. Your kneejerk reaction to my post, accusing me of being a Trump supporter, is ignorant, foolhardy, and outright stupid.

  5. Re:So strange by TheCastro1689 · · Score: 1

    A lot of my friends fall into the "have no money" millennial character, you know what though, they have plenty of money, but they usually spend it on their cell phones, eating out, alcohol, and weed. Of course you have no money when you spend 50% of your income on entertainment.

  6. Re:Waaa waaa waaa by vel-ex-tech · · Score: 1

    Umm, CNN is the reason that Millennials stayed home instead of voting for Hillary. CNN trashed Bernie throughout the entire campaign with lies and deception at the behest of the Clinton campaign. Unfortunately Millennials will believe anything they are told by "reputable" left-leaning journalism outfits like CNN.

    Hahaha! That's a very interesting rationalization you have there. The only part of it that makes sense is that yeah, a lot of millennials, after voting for Bernie in the primary despite all the lopsidedness in the lizard person moon matrix media, did stay home or else wrote in Bernie (or Vermin Supreme).

  7. Likely CNN paid $1 for app and $24,999,999 for him by JoeyRox · · Score: 1

    The same as tech companies sometimes acquire a company to get its engineers rather than its failed products.

  8. Re:Breaking News by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

    You have a typo - your post should read:

    Fake news channel works together with youtube "celebrity."

    What the fuck is a "YouTube Star" anyway?

    --
    Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  9. Re:A peek behind the media curtain. by Bender+Unit+22 · · Score: 1

    Who thinks that the news channels have any integrity left? People over 60?

  10. Re:Casey sucks mad dick by sexconker · · Score: 1

    The AC you replied to stated a fact.
    You're the homophobic bigot who assumed Casey's gender and interpreted it as an insult.
    I saw it as a compliment.

  11. Re:A peek behind the media curtain. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    They remember lots of things that never happened.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'