HitFix
Type of business | Wholly owned brand of Woven Digital |
---|---|
Type of site | Entertainment news |
Available in | English |
Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Slogan(s) | "What's Next In Entertainment" |
Website |
www |
Alexa rank | 17,936 (November 2016)[1] |
Registration | Optional |
Launched | December 2008 |
Current status | Online |
HitFix, or HitFix.com, is an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television.[2] In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,000,000 unique users per month milestone.[3] As of April 2013, HitFix was ranked 17th among all entertainment news websites by Alexa.[4] HitFix has been cited as a source by such publications as TIME, The L.A. Times, The Huffington Post, E! Online, and The Daily Herald. In April 2016 it became a brand of Woven Digital[5][6][7][8][9]
Founders
HitFix was founded by ex-Reed Business Information Development executive, Jen Sargent, and former L.A. Times and MSN.com film editor, Gregory Ellwood. Sargent and Ellwood's goal was to create a site that fit into the gap between trade publications and gossip- or celebrity scandal-driven sites, such as TMZ, and to target an audience slightly skewed towards males – a unique approach in a female-driven industry[10] - while catering to 18- to 34-year-olds.[11]
Angel Investment
HitFix received its first funding from Golden Seeds, the fourth largest angel investment group in the United States, in 2009. Since then, HitFix has twice benefited from investment from the Tech Coast Angels, one of the largest angel investment networks in Southern California.[12] The first such investment came in February 2009 in the amount of $850,000. In June 2010, the Angels added to their commitment investing an additional $1,600,000.[13] In addition to Golden Seeds and Tech Coast Angels, HitFix investors include HBS Angels, Liquid Capital, and Gordon Crawford.
Contributors
Gregory Ellwood
In addition to being one of its co-founders, Ellwood reports on movies and awards for HitFix.[10]
Drew McWeeny
Formerly known as “Moriarty”, McWeeny previously wrote for Ain't It Cool News. In addition to being a screenwriter and movie critic, McWeeny now covers the movie industry for HitFix. McWeeny announced his move to HitFix in 2008 in a review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.[14]
On September 20, 2016, McWeeny announced via Twitter that he would no longer be working for Hitfix. [15]
Alan Sepinwall
After 14 years at the New Jersey Star-Ledger, Sepinwall—also known for his blog, "What's Alan Watching"—moved to HitFix full-time in April 2010. Last spring, NBC executives went so far as to credit Sepinwall by name for his role in earning a renewal for Chuck.[16] Slate Magazine credited Sepinwall with having "changed the nature of television criticism".[17]
References
- ↑ "Hitfix.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- ↑ "Hitfix.com - HitFix - Entertainment News, Events, Exclusives & Reviews for Movies, Film, Television, Music". Site Info Tool. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- ↑ Jones, Deborah (June 28, 2010). "Tech Coast Angels Joins $1.6m Investment in Hitfix, Unique Content-Driven Entertainment Website". Tech Coast Angels. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- ↑ "Top Sites by Category: Arts/Entertainment/News and Media". Alexa Internet. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- ↑ Carbone, Nick (August 14, 2011). "Groovy, Baby! Mike Myers Will Return for 'Austin Powers 4′". TIME. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- ↑ Boucher, Geoff (December 13, 2009). "'Avatar' weekend roundup and fearless predictions". Lost Angeles Times. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- ↑ "'Austin Powers 4': Mike Myers Signs For New Sequel". The Huffington Post. August 13, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- ↑ Malkin, Marc (July 14, 2010). "The Hulk: Is Mark Ruffalo Replacing Ed Norton?". E!. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
- ↑ "Contestants? It's TV talent judges basking in fame, cash". The Daily Herald. May 17, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
- 1 2 Article on Variety.com Archived November 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ socaltech.com Archived May 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Venture Capital Totals $603.2M In Southern California In Q3". socaltech.com. October 18, 2011.
- ↑ Tech Coast Angels Joins $1.6M Investment in HitFix, Unique Content Driven Entertainment Website
- ↑ McWeeny, Drew (7 December 2008). "Moriarty Has Seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button!!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/DrewMcWeeny/status/778290313316098049
- ↑ Georgian, Laura (April 26, 2010). "The Star-Ledger's Alan Sepinwall Moves to HitFix.Com". Business Wire. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
- ↑ Levin, Josh (February 14, 2011). "The TV Guide". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 15 February 2011.