College Humor Lays off 100+ Employees, CCO Sam Reich Named New Owner of Company

College Humor has been an innovative platform for online comedy since 1999, but a recent sale that resulted in over 100 layoffs at the company might signal the end times for the site. But instead of dissolving the entire staff and site, InterActiveCorp., the New York based company-that has owned College Humor since 2006, sold the company to Sam Reich, the chief creative officer of the site, and allowed a handful of employees to remain on staff.

“Sam was the best choice to acquire CH Media and define its next chapter,” said a representative of IAC in a statement. “The decision places CH Media with an owner who is beloved by fans, passionate about the business and sees a future we believe in.”

Reich penned a Twitter thread to explain the details of the situation, and also to clarify that while the site is saved for now, there is still a dire need for patron support and crowdfunding:

So, bad news – with a twist. IAC, our parent company, has made the difficult decision to no longer finance us. Today, 100+ brilliant people lost their jobs, some of whom are my dear, dear friends. Hire them.

The twist, however, is that IAC has agreed to let me run with the company myself. In words that I’m sure are as surreal to read as they are to type, I will soon become the new majority owner of CH Media. Of course, I can’t keep it going like you’re used to. While we were on the way to becoming profitable, we were nonetheless losing money — and I myself have no money to be able to lose.

Long story short, I need your support now more than ever. The #1 way you can support me is to stay subscribed to Dropout. We have six months’ worth of content still to release: Dimension 20, Um, Game Changer, Breaking News, and more. Dropout 2.0 launches at the end of the month, and along with it come two long-desired features: (a) downloads and (b) international Discord access.

In these six months, I hope to be able to save Dropout, CollegeHumor, Drawfee, Dorkly, and many of our shows. Some will need to take on bold new creative directions in order to survive. You may not agree with all of them. And this won’t be the last time I ask for your support.

I will, however, do my very best to stay true to the talent, shows, fans, and principles that got us where we are today. We dropped out once before; we can do it again. Independent comedy lives on — just now more independent (gulp) than ever before.

College Humor produced popular shows like truTv’s Adam Ruins Everything and their own Jake and Amir, but the future for their already green-lit series on their streaming service Dropout remains uncertain.

There’s no telling whether the gutting of staff and lack of financial resources will ultimately be the source of College Humor’s demise, but if it could survive 20+ years with many a hiccup, it might just have what it takes to keep moving forward.