Helmed by gaming industry royalty and financed by a who's-who of gaming investors, the Video Game Entertainment and News Network (VENN) launches Wednesday. The free, ad-based network features live, 24/7 coverage on its website and a range of social media and connected-TV platforms.
VENN's home base is Playa Vista Studios in Los Angeles, where it boasts five sets comprising over 8,000 square feet. It will also broadcast out of New York City. The programming slate will include a variety of original content covering gaming, esports and music.
Welcome to VENN (Official Launch Trailer) www.youtube.com
VENN's co-founders and co-CEOs both have extensive backgrounds in gaming, which they've seen grow to a $150 billion industry. Ben Kusin's father co-founded Babbage's in 1984, an early video game retailer that eventually went public as GameStop. The younger Kusin worked at Electronic Arts and Vivendi Games before moving full-time into entrepreneurship and angel investing.
His partner, Ariel Horn, is a 4-time Emmy winner and considered one of the pioneers of esports, having applied lessons from his days at NBC Universal to his role as head of esports content at Riot Games. Horn has also developed esports projects for Blizzard Entertainment and Justin.tv, which would become Twitch.
In 2019, Kusin pitched his idea for a gaming-centered network to Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill, who told Kusin that Riot's former head of production – Horn – had just pitched him on virtually the same concept. Merrill suggested that Kusin go meet Horn before he headed back to New York.
Ben Kusin (L) and Ariel Horn are VENN's co-founders and co-CEOs
"I went to the W in Hollywood," Kusin told dot.LA. "He was there taking another meeting, and he came over and I said 'Marc said we should meet.' We decided to lay out our own visions. I had mine; he had his. We were on the same track and we decided to start it."
VENN went on to raise $17 million in seed funding. Bay Area gaming fund BITKRAFT led the round, which also included Merrill, Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment's co-founder Mike Morhaime, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, Kroenke Sports (owner of the L.A. Rams and two L.A. esports teams, among other holdings), Beverly Hills-based family office Lifeline Financial Group, and L.A.-based investment group aXiomatic Gaming.
VENN wants to be the MTV of the gaming generation
The founders are captivated by the possibility of becoming the "MTV of this generation." They view gaming as a culture and lifestyle that has become ubiquitous among young people.
"Asking if someone's a gamer is like asking if they eat lunch," Kusin said. "It's hard for generations that didn't grow up in a gaming- and digital-first world to understand... Lots of young people derive their identity, validation and social circles from gaming."
"You create content that that audience wants and you build organic fandom," said Horn, "and we think that's the future of entertainment."
The Playa Vista studio is bedecked with over 1,000 square feet of LED tiles, a trove of fiber cables to beam gaming content from a variety of consoles both in-studio and remote, and a set that replicates what gaming streamers "are doing out of their bedrooms, so it should feel comfortable to them," Kusin said.
Some of VENN's shows are meant to embody the at-home vibes of gaming streamers
The control room allows the production team to operate cameras remotely, and the entire facility is an "NBA-style bubble." The company credits the many preventative measures with helping its staff stay COVID-free, despite an intense rehearsal and preparation schedule ahead of the launch.
Kusin described the VENN team of 70 full-timers and 70 or so additional production contractors as nimble and agile in a way that traditional networks cannot be.
"We're doing shit that networks would die to be doing right now," he said.
Among other shows, "VENN Arcade Live" is a daily variety show that celebrates "all things gaming and pop culture," hosted by James 'Dash' Patterson, who on Tuesday signed with talent agency CAA. "Guest House" is a two-hour program hosted by singer Chrissy Costanza that will bring in guest creators to "choose their own adventure" — which could include making food, building legos, or singing karaoke. And "The Sushi Dragon Show" is a talk show hosted by the eponymous streamer, who Kusin describes as "like Eric Andre on crack" (which, if you've seen Eric Andre, is saying something).
The Sushi Dragon Show Starring TheSushiDragon (Official Trailer) www.youtube.com
---
Sam Blake primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Find him on Twitter @hisamblake and email him at samblake@dot.LA
- The Videogame Entertainment and News Network Raises $26M - dot.LA ›
- Gaming Became One of the Hottest Form of Entertainment - dot.LA ›
- Venn No Longer Wants to Be MTV for the Gaming Generation - dot.LA ›
- Elysian Park Ventures' Cole Van Nice On the Future of Sports - dot.LA ›
Subscribe to our newsletter to catch every headline.
Snap’s parental controls.
Courtesy of Watchful.
Snapchat is planning to introduce Family Center, which would allow parents to see who their children are friends with on the app and who they’ve messaged within the last seven days, according to screenshots provided by Watchful, a product intelligence company. Parents would also be able help their kids report abuse or harassment.
The parental controls are still subject to change before finally launching publicly, as the Family Center screenshots—which were first reported by TechCrunch—reflect features that are still under development.
Santa Monica-based Snap and other social media giants have faced mounting criticism for not doing more to protect their younger users—some of whom have been bullied, sold deadly drugs and sexually exploited on their platforms. State attorneys general have urged Snap and Culver City-based TikTok to strengthen their parental controls, with both companies’ apps especially popular among teens.
A Snap spokesperson declined to comment on Friday. Previously, Snap representatives have told dot.LA that the company is developing tools that will provide parents with more insight into how their children are engaging on Snapchat and allow them to report troubling content.
Yet Snap’s approach to parental controls could still give teens some privacy, as parents wouldn’t be able to read the actual content of their kids’ conversations, according to TechCrunch. (The Family Center screenshots seen by dot.LA do not detail whether parents can see those conversations).
In addition, teenage users would first have to accept an invitation from their parents to join the in-app Family Center before those parents can begin monitoring their social media activity, TechCrunch reported.