NextUp SVOD funding grows sharply
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Editor
| 22 March 2018

What is claimed to be the world’s only stand-up comedy SVOD service, NextUp, has revealed that its latest investment round has doubled and is currently overfunding at 111%.

Launched in 2016 by Daniel Berg, Sarah Henley and Kenny Cavey — the team behind the YouTube channel and live comedy night ComComedy — and Stuart Snaith, the former director for comedy at BBC Worldwide — NextUp aims to disrupt the live stand-up market by filming the most exciting comedy specials and showcasing them to a worldwide audience of fans via a subscription platform, at a cost of £3.50 per month.

Available worldwide via web browsers and mobile apps, the SVOD service is also distributed on Amazon Channels in the UK, and US and selected stand-up specials have been featured on Virgin Atlantic’s in-flight entertainment offering.

The funding round, which will support the company’s growth and expansion, is available via the online equity investing platform SyndicateRoom and is open to members of the public, closes at 11pm GMT on 27 March 27, 2018.

Bruce Tuchman, the former president of AMC Global and Sundance Channel Global, is serving as serve as a senior advisor to NextUp. The US media executive, who was also formerly president of MGM Networks Worldwide, has in addition taken an investment position in NextUp and remarked: “The team at NextUp are experts in their field with huge amounts of collective experience, as well as drive and ambition. I’m looking forward to helping them maximise their distribution channels so they can grow rapidly and dominate the comedy vertical.”

Tuchman is joined by other experienced angel investors while venture capital firm Velocity, who previously invested in the service, has also re-invested and appointed the founder of BMB Marketing Agency, Bil Bungay, to sit on the board.

Commenting on the round, NextUp managing director and co-founder, Daniel Berg added: “We’re very pleased with the success of this latest funding round, which will really help push the business to its next level of growth. We are also delighted to have Bruce on-board. We showcase an unparalleled variety of live comedy shows and with his experience, connections and insight, we can start to distribute them further than ever and grow into the worldwide home of stand-up comedy whilst supporting acts, venues and everyone in-between.”