AwesomenessTV Holdings, LLC, often shortened to Awesomeness, is an American digital media and entertainment network company owned by Paramount Global.
Established in July 2012 by Brian Robbins and Joe Davola, the company operated a network initially focused on children’s programs, teen dramas, comedies, live events and music videos targeting adolescents and young adults.
In 2018, following NBCUniversal's acquisition of DWA (which led to conflict due to being owned by Verizon competitor Comcast) and the shutdown of the fledgling go90, Viacom acquired AwesomenessTV for around $50 million – a fraction of its 2016 valuation.
Since its purchase by Viacom, the studio has focused more on long-form television series and films for over-the-top services, and has referred to itself as targeting generation Z.
In July 2012, founders Brian Robbins and Joe Davola[3] launched AwesomnessTV as part of the YouTube Original Channel Initiative, producing various web series oriented towards a tween and teenage audience.
Robbins had personally observed his two sons as examples of changing media consumption trends among the demographic, which had increasingly favored short-form internet video over television.
[12] In September 2014, AwesomenessTV partnered with the department store chain Kohl's to launch a teen fashion line co-branded with its web series Life's S.o.
Alongside the equity stake, the deal included a multi-year, $180 million investment for the studio to produce content for Verizon, for which it would hold exclusive U.S. distribution rights.
[21][22] On April 28, 2016, Universal Pictures announced its intent to acquire DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion, in a deal completed August 22, 2016.
[25] On November 1, 2017, it was announced that Kelly Day would step down as Chief Business Officer to become the new CEO for Viacom Digital Studios.
Digiday reported that Verizon's content investments with AwesomenessTV had accounted for approximately 40% of the studio's revenue, which led to concerns over how the company would run without this backing.