Revolt expands with app for mobile devices and connected TV

On the heels of its eighth anniversary, Black-owned media company Revolt is dipping its toes into the streaming game, launching a new ad-supported app for mobile devices and connected TV platforms as the company aims to move beyond linear. Debuting throughout November on both iOS and Android, as well as on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire, the new Revolt app will provide a library of content including app-exclusive originals and future live-streamed events. It will feature both pre- and mid-roll ads, with one spot per ad break at intervals of approximately every eight to 12 minutes. “Jumping into streaming has always been a part of the plan,” said Detavio Samuels, who was named Revolt’s CEO earlier this year. “We’re focused on the younger generations. We love the linear business, but we can see that the decline is happening.” It’s no secret in the media industry that “cord-cutting” is accelerating as consumers increasingly opt to ditch cable, satellite or broadcast TV in favor of streaming services. The rate at which Black households in the U.S., in particular, have been abandoning traditional TV has ramped up in the past three years, according to recent data from market research firm Horowitz. Register for Ad Age Next: Streaming at AdAge.com/NextStreaming. Horowitz’s research also found that at least 60% of Black consumers want to watch video content that’s specifically geared towards their communities and experiences at least weekly. Since early last year, Revolt’s audience numbers as well as its “cultural relevance” have scaled tremendously, said Samuels, adding that the company is now “making more content than ever before” and has enough content to be able to launch its own app. The Revolt app will include both long- and short-form original video content, including content from its TV networks. It will also host all recorded sessions from the upcoming Revolt Summit, a three-day event celebrating Black excellence and hip-hop taking place in Atlanta from Nov. 11-13. The free-to-download app is designed to “super-serve” Black audiences, said Samuels, whose aim is to keep Black-focused content accessible to all—something that he feels many players in the linear TV realm have failed to do. Some cable and broadcast providers don’t even carry Revolt and its peer networks that cater to Black viewers, and “some that do carry us put us on higher [subscription] tiers, making Black people pay a premium to watch us,” he said. “We know that if we only wait for linear … wait for the MVPD players to ‘super-serve’ Black audiences, we will fail. If you wait on them, you’ll fail,” Samuels said of multi-channel video programming distributors, which encompasses most traditional TV providers. “For us, there’s no more time to wait.” The Revolt app won’t have any exclusive brand launch partners, although Samuels said he feels “very confident stepping into 2022” that it will attract sponsor advertisers after its debut. The app, which launched its beta version on Apple iOS on Nov. 4, currently contains little ad support. Episodes of multiple series reviewed by Ad Age including “Drink Champs,” “Love & Respect with Killer Mike,” “Drip Report feat. Weavahman Jim” and “Revolt Black News” do not feature any pre- or mid-roll spots; although title cards for “Revolt Black News” do indicate State Farm as a presenting sponsor. Join Ad Age on Nov. 9 and 10 for our second annual Ad Age Next: Streaming conference, featuring the event’s largest-ever lineup of industry leaders who will discuss the present and future of the rapidly evolving business. Additional information and tickets can be found here.

Revolt expands with app for mobile devices and connected TV

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