4 “MUST WATCH” Vertically-Focused MCNs - Stylehaul, MiTu, DanceOn, and TheWhistle

As my readers know, I follow the world of multi-channel networks (MCNs) very closely -- and share my views frequently (via my own blog, but also in other national and international media outlets).  This is my recent post in which I give a lay of the land of what I find to be the most interesting MCNs (all of which are logical acquisition targets in the current MCN M&A environment).

Here are 4 leading vertically-focused MCNs that I find to be particularly interesting for myriad reasons, including (i) critical mass (I order these in terms of audience size), (ii) executive teams, (iii) investors, (iv) vision, (v) market opportunity, and (vi) strategic partnerships.  I don’t discuss leading gamer-focused MCN Machinima here, because that pioneering MCN is one that you likely already know well.

(1) Stylehaul -- the leading fashion, beauty, lifestyle MCN (with 13+ billion network views to date; CEO Stephanie Horbaczewski is a powerhouse -- and the company’s monetization opportunity is somewhat unique and compelling, since the vast majority of its revenues come from branded content (rather than Youtube-based ad revenues); and, of course, fashion and beauty travel well internationally;

(2) MiTu -- the leading Latino-focused MCN (with 6+ billion network views to date); another impressive team, this one deep with major media experience; this is yet another major international opportunity for a frequently underserved market; among other things, this MCN has a compelling opportunity to “upstream” talent and programming to more traditional media outlets like television;

(3) DanceOn -- as the name says, the leading dance-focused MCN (think of it as the “MTV of Dance”, with 2+ billion views to date); CEO Amanda Taylor has that “it” factor you want in a CEO, and the blue-chip media investors (including “So You Think You Can Dance” and “American Idol” creator Nigel Lythgoe) can accelerate the company’s growth like no others could; this is another branded content play that travels well internationally with a deeply passionate audience; this type of content also has deep potential to “upstream” to more traditional media outlets; and

(4) TheWhistle -- the leading sports-focused MCN (just launched in January, but already crossing the 1 billion + view mark and just featured in Variety yesterday); strong management team includes top former YouTube talent who deeply understands the YouTube sports playbook, as well as others with deep relationships with top sports leagues and athletes; in fact, the company already has impressive partnerships with the NFL, MLB and others; sports, of course, are a massive potential international opportunity in this multi-platform world.