Defy Media, the digital media company whose brands include Smosh and Clevver, is shutting down its production facility in Beverly Hills and will lay off all employees at the location by the end of the year.
Per notices sent to Defy employees, the Beverly Hills office will be closed effective Jan. 2, 2019. All employees who work out of the office — at 8750 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills — will be permanently laid off. The L.A. office also houses employees of Generate, Defy Media’s branded content and talent management division.
The company notified employees of the plans under the requirements of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act and California’s State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
The closure was first reported by Tubefilter, which said the shutdown will affect at least 80 employees. The company at one point reported having nearly 400 employees. Reps for Defy Media did not respond to a request for more information.
A staffer who answered the L.A. number for the company said she was unable to provide any info on the closure. Calls placed to the main phone number listed for Defy Media’s New York office were answered with a recorded message: “The Google subscriber you have called is not available.”
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For Defy Media, it’s yet another move that shrinks its business — which has long been rumored to be for sale.
Earlier in the year, Defy laid off 8% of its workforce, exiting its programmatic advertising and video licensing and syndication businesses. Then in July, the company sold its long-languishing The Escapist video-game website to Canada’s Enthusiast Gaming and also announced a deal with Fandom to sell Screen Junkies, its entertainment news and parody property.
The company’s in-house studios have produced 75 regularly scheduled shows, but it would appear that output will be reduced given the closure of the Beverly Hills facility.
Defy Media, which is based in New York City, was formed through the merger of Alloy Digital and Break Media in 2013. Two years ago, the company announced $70 million in funding led by Wellington Management Co. Previous investors include ABS Capital, Lionsgate, Viacom and Zelnick Media Capital.
Defy’s website currently lists seven job openings for its Beverly Hills location, including for a VP of brand and content strategy, a post-production supervisor, and a supervising producer.
Defy distributes its original programming across more than 25 video platforms, including YouTube, subscription VOD services and TV networks. Defy’s brands, which include Smosh, Clevver, AWEme, Break and Made Man, have more than 140 million followers across YouTube and social media, according to the company.
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