Atom.com (formerly AtomFilms) was a broadband entertainment network offering original
short subject movie
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
s,
animations, and series by independent creators. The company was founded in 1998 in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
by
Mika Salmi
Mika Salmi (born 16 November 1965) is a Finnish-American entrepreneur in technology and media.
Biography
Mika Salmi is a pioneer in the creative and technology industries, founding AtomFilms – a forerunner in short-form, user-created content â ...
.
Sequoia Capital, led by
Michael Moritz
Sir Michael Jonathan Moritz (born 12 September 1954) is a Welsh billionaire venture capitalist, philanthropist, author, and former journalist. Moritz works for Sequoia Capital, wrote the first history of Apple Inc., '' The Little Kingdom'', ...
, was the lead investor in Atom Films.
Overview
Atom Films was the first online video platform for Oscar winners
Jason Reitman,
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and clay ani ...
, and
David Lynch. It was the first site to work with a major intellectual property rights owner to allow derivative works by the general public when it created a partnership with
George Lucas and
LucasFilm for
The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards
The Official ''Star Wars'' Fan Film Awards was an annual contest put forth by Lucasfilm and AtomFilms to showcase and acknowledge the growing genre of fan films made by, for, and about fans of the ''Star Wars'' saga. The inaugural contest in 20 ...
in November 2000.
Buyout
On August 10, 2006, Atom Entertainment was bought by MTV Networks (now called
Paramount Media Networks
Paramount Media Networks (formerly known as Warner Cable Communications, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, MTV Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks) is an American mass media division of Paramount Global tha ...
) with all its properties, including AtomFilms, Addicting Games, Addicting Clips (renamed AtomUploads) and
Shockwave.com.
The buyout occurred shortly after negotiations against and subsequently with
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
to purchase
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. In 2012, Atom.com was absorbed into
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
, and was renamed CC Studios.
References
{{reflist
External links
Official WebsiteMovies & EntertainmentHottest Movies & TV SeriesXappie Entertainment Portal
American film websites
Home video companies of the United States
Internet properties established in 1998
Internet properties disestablished in 2012
Former Viacom subsidiaries