Electus was a production company founded by Ben Silverman in 2009. It was financed by IAC. The company had development deals with

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, ABC, MTV, VH1,

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...

, and AOL. In 2018, IAC sold Electus to Propagate Content.

History and partners

Electus was founded by Ben Silverman, former co-chairman of

NBC Entertainment NBCUniversal Television and Streaming is the television and streaming arm of NBCUniversal, and the direct descendant and successor of the former division NBCUniversal Television Group, which existed from 2003 to 2019. History NBC Broadcasting In ...

and chief executive officer of

Reveille "Reveille" ( , ), called in French "Le Réveil" is a bugle call, trumpet call, drum, fife-and-drum or pipes call most often associated with the military; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise. The name comes from (or ), th ...

, and financed by

Barry Diller Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American businessman. He is Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. Diller was inducted into the Television Hall o ...

’s IAC in 2009. As part of its inception, IAC partnered Electus with

CollegeHumor CollegeHumor is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles. Aside from producing content for release on YouTube, it was also a former humor website owned by InterActiveCorp ( IAC) until January 2020, when IAC withdrew funding and the websi ...

, the comedy portal that had developed series both on the web and TV. In January 2010, Electus partnered with Jason Bateman and

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...

to launch a sponsor-driven advertising and digital production company, DumbDumb, which launched branded campaigns including one for Orbit Gum, and an online talk show on behalf of Denny's called "Always Open". In August 2010, Electus announced a production and distribution deal with 5x5 Media, headed by Craig Armstrong, Rick Ringbakk and Tod Mesirow, whose combined producer credits include '' Survivor'', ''

Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

'', '' Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'', ''

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution ''Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution'' (retitled ''Jamie's American Food Revolution'' in the United Kingdom) is a television show on ABC from March 2010 until summer 2011. The show was produced by British chef Jamie Oliver and Ryan Seacrest, foll ...

'' and many more. In January 2011, Electus acquired Engine Entertainment and the formation of a new in-house global distribution arm, Electus/Engine Distribution. The new division handled in-house and third-party projects for distribution globally, including a partnership with Abbot Reif Hameiri Production Company, a leading production company in Israel. In January 2011, Electus partnered with former MTV President of programming

Tony DiSanto Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

and head of series development

Liz Gateley Liz Gateley is an American television producer. She currently serves as head of programming at Lifetime Television. She is also a founding partner and co-owner, along with Tony DiSanto, of DiGa, a studio and production company hybrid. In what Gat ...

, to form an independent, multi-media production company,

DiGa Diga is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is part of the Misraq Welega Zone and it is part of former Diga Leka woreda. Demographics The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 66,689, of whom 33, ...

. DiGa was to focus on producing reality and scripted series for primetime cable and network outlets. In June 2012, Electus partnered with YouTube to launch the YouTube food channel HUNGRY with Celebrity chefs

Duff Goldman Jeffrey Adam "Duff" Goldman is a pastry chef, television personality, and cookbook author. He is the executive chef of the Baltimore-based Charm City Cakes shop, which was featured in the Food Network reality television show '' Ace of Cakes'', ...

and Laura Vitale. In 2013, Electus took over College Humor/Dorkly and created Big Breakfast, the studio behind

Adam Ruins Everything ''Adam Ruins Everything'' is an American educational comedy television series starring Adam Conover that ran from 2015 through 2019 on TruTV. The series endeavors to debunk common misconceptions held by the public on a variety of topics. Premise ...

(TruTV),

Middle of the Night Show ''Middle of the Night Show'' is an American late-night television series hosted by Brian Murphy Brian Murphy may refer to: Sportspeople * Brian Murphy (Jamaican cricketer) (born 1973), Jamaican cricketer * Brian Murphy (Zimbabwean cricketer) (b ...

(MTV), Fatal Decisions (Go90),

Bad Internet ''Bad Internet'' is an American series that premiered on May 25, 2016, on YouTube Premium (then known as YouTube Red). It is produced by CollegeHumor's Los Angeles-based production studio Big Breakfast. The first season contains ten episodes, wit ...

(YouTube Red), Comedy Music Awards (IFC) and Hot Date (Pop). In 2018, IAC sold Electus to Propagate Content.

Projects

Electus projects included: * ''

The Toy Box ''The Toy Box'' is an American reality television show that debuted on April 7, 2017 on ABC. The show is about contestants as aspiring entrepreneurs, who present toy inventions first to a panel of toy industry professionals, then to a panel of ...

'' (2017; Co-produced with

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

) * '' No Tomorrow'' (2016–17; Co-produced with

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

) * ''

Running Wild with Bear Grylls ''Running Wild with Bear Grylls'' is a survival skills reality television series starring Bear Grylls. In each episode, Grylls brings a different celebrity along on his adventures. The crew consists of host Bear Grylls, a story producer, two cam ...

'' (Current; Co-produced with Bear Grylls Ventures) * ''

Jane the Virgin ''Jane the Virgin'' is an American romantic comedy-drama and satirical telenovela developed by Jennie Snyder Urman. The series premiered October 13, 2014, on The CW and concluded on July 31, 2019. It is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan t ...

'' (2014–19; Co-produced with

and

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

) * '' Food Fighters'' (2014–15; Co-produced with Rio Bravo and

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a prede ...

) * '' King of the Nerds (UK)'' (2015; Co-produced with

Objective Productions Objective Media Group (OMG), previously known as Objective Productions, is a media company that produces shows in comedy, comedy drama, entertainment, factual entertainment and Magic. It has produced shows including '' The Cube'', ''Breaking Ma ...

) * ''

King of the Nerds ''King of the Nerds'' is an American reality competition series co-produced by Electus and 5x5 Media. It was inspired by the ''Revenge of the Nerds'' films. The show is hosted by actors and executive producers Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstr ...

'' (2013–15; Co-produced with 5x5 Media) * ''

Fashion Star ''Fashion Star'' is an American reality television series on NBC, created and executive produced by E.J. Johnston, James Deutch and Rick Ringbakk which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by Louise Roe. It was hosted by Elle Macpherson in t ...

'' (2012–13; Co-produced with 5x5 Media, Magical Elves, EJD Productions, and The Global Fashion Association) * ''Car Boss'' (2012; Co-produced with 5x5 Media) * ''

Mob Wives ''Mob Wives'' is an American reality television series that premiered on VH1 on April 17, 2011. The show focuses on the lives of several women residing in the New York City borough of Staten Island, whose family members and husbands have been arr ...

'' (2011–16; Co-produced with The Weinstein Company Television) * ''William the Conqueror'' (2011) * ''Master of the Mix'' (2010) * ''Crowd Sourced Hero'' (current Facebook program) * ''Jerk All Stars'' (2010; MySpace) * ''The Sheriff'' (2011; Co-produced with 5x5 Media) * '' Marco Polo'' (2014–16; Co-produced with The Weinstein Company Television) * YouTube official food channel HUNGRY (2012) * '' Bet on Your Baby'' (2013–14; Co-produced with 5x5 Media) * '' The Hero'' (2013; Co-produced with 5x5 Media) * ''

Miami Monkey ''Miami Monkey'' is an American reality television series that premiered on VH1 on September 8, 2013. Developed as the third spin-off of ''Mob Wives'', the series chronicled Angela "Big Ang" Raiola as she opened up a second location of her Staten ...

'' (2013; Co-produced with Just Jenn, Left-Right, and The Weinstein Company Television) * ''

Killer Women ''Killer Women'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from January 7 to March 25, 2014. The series is based on the Argentine crime drama '' Mujeres Asesinas'', which was adapted into an American setting by writer Hannah ...

'' (2014; Co-produced with Latin World Entertainment and

ABC Studios ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...

) * '' Candid Camera'' (2014: Co-produced with Candid Camera, Inc.) * ''Terry Crews Saves Christmas'' (2016) * ''Winsanity'' (2016) * ''Flaked'' (2016) * '' Dog and Beth: On the Hunt'' (2013–15) * '' Hot Date'' (2017–19)

References

{{Reflist, 30em Television production companies of the United States IAC (company) American companies established in 2009 Mass media companies established in 2009 Entertainment companies established in 2009 2009 establishments in California 2018 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in Los Angeles