ManiaTV is a digital

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...

that produces, packages and distributes premium live

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

TV shows for the 13-34 youth/young adult market. According to comScore, ManiaTV reaches over 10 million viewers each month. It was founded by Drew Massey.

History

ManiaTV Network launched in 2004 as the world's first Internet television network. In early 2008, ManiaTV moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, from its original base of operations in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. The move was to place the company closer to the talent and partnerships in the entertainment industry. The new home included a production house with

sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...

, allowing many of the shows to be filmed

in-house Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity which otherwise is or could be carried out internally, i.e. in-house, and sometimes involves transferring employees and ...

. The company has worked with every major

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

delivering branded entertainment before the term branded entertainment existed. Nearly 100 different advertisers have worked with ManiaTV. In March 2009, the company was unable to renegotiate a credit facility with Comerica. On July 10, 2009, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' announced that the founder of ManiaTV, Drew Massey, who had retired to Chairman two years earlier, had raised additional money to buy out the company and relaunch with a focus exclusively on celebrity TV shows. TV veteran

Warren Littlefield Warren W. Littlefield (born May 11, 1952) is an American television executive. Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Littlefield attended Montclair High School and graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York, where he was award ...

joined the new company board.

Programming

ManiaTV's youth programming slate has included celebrities,

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

action sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playin ...

and

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

. Shows include ''

Tom Green Live! ''Tom Green's House Tonight'' (formerly known as ''Tom Green Live!'') is a talk show hosted by Tom Green. In addition to its primary Internet broadcast on ''TomGreen.com'', the show has been syndicated on television stations throughout North Ame ...

'' and Dave Navarro's Spread TV, Dave Navarro’s Dr. Dave, Dave Navarro’s Relative Reality, Gastineau Girls' G-Spot TV,

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts champions ...

Show, Stage 5 Live Concerts, the Arcade, Laugh of the Day with the National Lampoon's Lemmings, Top 5, Gameology, Grudge Match, Video Game Report, War Room, All Access, At the Show, Sam’s Circle, Truth in Music, Comedy Roadtrip, Hollywood Junket Queen, Jonah Ray’s Barbequay, Laugh of the Day and more. Founder Drew Massey has announced that several new Celebrity-hosted TV shows will launch in the 2009/2010

television season A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

References

USA Today Article

StreamingMedia.com Article

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maniatv! Internet television channels Television channels and stations established in 2004