Whalerock Industries

Whalerock Industries, formally Whalerock Industries Holding Company, LLC, is an American media and technology company headquartered in West Hollywood, California. Founded in January 2014 by media executive Lloyd Braun, the company was established after Braun’s buyout from BermanBraun, the production company he had co-founded with Gail Berman. Whalerock was created around the idea that public figures, entertainers, and brands could communicate with audiences more directly through internet distribution rather than relying exclusively on broadcast television, cable networks, or conventional social platforms. The company’s central operating model has been to partner with celebrities, creators, established media companies, and consumer brands to build and operate direct-to-consumer, multi-media digital experiences. These products have combined several functions that were traditionally separated across television, websites, social networks, mobile applications, and commerce platforms. Depending on the project, Whalerock’s applications and hubs have incorporated video, music, live streaming, e-commerce, gaming, exclusive editorial material, and fan interaction. The model was aimed at giving partners greater control over distribution and monetization while offering highly engaged audiences content and experiences unavailable through ordinary mass-market channels. Whalerock’s publicly identified partners have included SiriusXM, Howard Stern, Warner Bros., Pottermore, MTV, Comedy Central, CMT, MSN, Microsoft, the Kardashian and Jenner family, and Tyler, the Creator. Its work has therefore covered both large established media properties and personality-led entertainment brands. The company has been associated with digital hubs and applications connected with celebrities and cultural franchises, including products for Khloé Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and the Kardashian-focused Kimoji brand. It has also developed emoji and sticker products for organizations and personalities such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Ellen DeGeneres, and the NFL Players Association. In addition to digital products, Whalerock has produced and developed content for film, television, and stage. Its identified television and streaming-related properties include Nuts + Bolts, BattleBots, The Jellies!, Hyperdrive, Believer with Reza Aslan, and Ravi Patel’s Pursuit of Happiness, while its film work has included The Addams Family. These projects demonstrate a broader business scope than software development alone: Whalerock has operated across production, development, digital distribution, branded entertainment, and consumer-facing technology. The company attracted outside investment during its early expansion. GF Capital acquired a minority stake in 2015, the same year Whalerock’s existing film and television relationship with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was renewed and the company launched direct-to-consumer over-the-top media hubs. Insight Venture Partners acquired another minority stake in 2016. The transactions provided financial backing as Whalerock pursued a platform-oriented strategy at a time when streaming, mobile applications, celebrity-led media, and direct fan monetization were rapidly converging. Whalerock later transferred at least some of its digital publishing properties. In September 2018, RockYou acquired Mom.me and Purple Clover from Whalerock for an undisclosed amount. Public reference material does not establish a complete current product portfolio, ownership structure, executive roster, or financial profile. Whalerock is best understood as a privately held entertainment-technology venture focused on building specialized digital ecosystems around creators, celebrities, and media brands rather than as a conventional consumer-goods brand.

Whalerock Industries was founded in January 2014 by Lloyd Braun, a veteran media executive whose earlier positions included leadership roles at Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, ABC Entertainment Group, and Yahoo’s media organization. Braun had publicly anticipated a media environment in which celebrities could communicate with audiences directly and interactively rather than being experienced only through traditional television distribution. Whalerock was formed after Braun’s buyout from BermanBraun, the media production company he had co-founded with Gail Berman. The new company pursued a hybrid model combining entertainment production with consumer technology. Rather than treating a website, application, television program, or online store as separate products, Whalerock sought to create integrated digital destinations for particular personalities, franchises, and communities. These platforms could include video, music, live broadcasts, commerce, games, editorial content, and fan participation. The strategy reflected the growth of mobile devices, streaming video, social engagement, and direct monetization during the mid-2010s. Whalerock developed partnerships with major media companies and high-profile public figures. Publicly identified partners included SiriusXM, Howard Stern, Warner Bros., Pottermore, MTV, Comedy Central, CMT, MSN, Microsoft, the Kardashian and Jenner family, and Tyler, the Creator. The company also worked on celebrity and organization-specific emoji and sticker applications, including Kimoji for Kim Kardashian, Showtime! Stickers for the Los Angeles Lakers, Emoji Exploji for Ellen DeGeneres, and Any Given Emoji for the NFL Players Association. In 2015, GF Capital acquired a minority stake in Whalerock. During the same period, Whalerock renewed its existing film and television arrangement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and launched direct-to-consumer over-the-top media hubs. These developments illustrated the company’s effort to operate simultaneously as a production business, a technology provider, and a distributor of premium fan-oriented content. In 2016, Insight Venture Partners acquired a minority stake, providing another disclosed external investment in the privately held company. Whalerock’s production activities extended across television, streaming-oriented programming, and film. Its associated properties have included Nuts + Bolts, BattleBots, The Jellies!, Hyperdrive, Believer with Reza Aslan, Ravi Patel’s Pursuit of Happiness, and The Addams Family. The company’s digital portfolio included projects connected with Khloé Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kimoji, and Wonderwall, alongside its broader media and branded-content work. The company later sold certain digital publishing assets. In September 2018, RockYou acquired Mom.me and Purple Clover from Whalerock Industries for an undisclosed amount. Publicly available reference material does not provide a complete account of Whalerock’s subsequent ownership, leadership changes, financial performance, or current product lineup. Its documented history nevertheless shows a company built around the convergence of celebrity media, streaming distribution, mobile applications, entertainment production, and direct relationships with specialized audiences.

• 2018

  Mom.me and Purple Clover were sold to RockYou

  [1]Whalerock Industriesen.wikipedia.org

  RockYou acquired the two digital properties from Whalerock in September for an undisclosed amount.

• 2016

  Insight Venture Partners acquired a minority stake

  [1]Whalerock Industriesen.wikipedia.org

  Insight Venture Partners invested in Whalerock during its digital-platform expansion.

• 2015

  GF Capital acquired a minority stake

  [1]Whalerock Industriesen.wikipedia.org

  GF Capital became a minority investor while Whalerock expanded its platform and production activities.

• 2015

  Whalerock launched over-the-top media hubs

  [1]Whalerock Industriesen.wikipedia.org

  The company launched direct-to-consumer over-the-top media hubs and renewed its existing film and television deal with MGM.

• 2014

  Whalerock Industries was founded

  [1]Whalerock Industriesen.wikipedia.org

  Lloyd Braun founded Whalerock Industries in January as a media and technology company focused on direct relationships between public figures, brands, and audiences.

A privately held media-technology partner that combines entertainment production with direct-to-consumer digital platforms, enabling celebrities, creators, and brands to distribute content, interact with fans, and monetize specialized communities.

• Digital media platforms · 2015

  Direct-to-consumer multimedia apps and hubs

  Whalerock’s core digital offering has been a set of specialized applications and over-the-top media hubs developed with celebrities, creators, and established brands. These experiences could combine video, music, live streaming, commerce, gaming, editorial content, and fan interaction in a single destination. The approach was designed to give partners more control over distribution and audience relationships than conventional network or social-media channels.

• Emoji and mobile content

  Kimoji

  Kimoji is a Kardashian-associated emoji product developed by Whalerock. It illustrates the company’s model of translating celebrity identity and fan culture into a mobile consumer product, using branded visual expressions and digital content designed for direct distribution to a dedicated audience.

• Television

  Nuts + Bolts

  Nuts + Bolts is a television property listed among Whalerock’s production and development projects. Public reference material identifies the title as part of the company’s television portfolio but does not provide sufficient detail here about its format, distribution history, or current availability.

• Television

  BattleBots

  BattleBots is a competition television property associated with Whalerock’s production activities. The program centers on robot combat and belongs to the company’s broader work in unscripted and entertainment programming.

• Animated television

  The Jellies!

  The Jellies! is an animated television property included in Whalerock’s production portfolio. The title reflects the company’s participation in scripted and animated entertainment alongside its digital-platform work.

• Streaming television

  Hyperdrive

  Hyperdrive is a competition-oriented streaming television property associated with Whalerock. It forms part of the company’s effort to develop entertainment for internet-delivered platforms as well as traditional television.

• Emoji and mobile content

  Emoji Exploji

  Emoji Exploji is an emoji application developed for Ellen DeGeneres. It represents Whalerock’s use of mobile expression tools as branded extensions of a public figure’s entertainment identity.

• Emoji and mobile content

  Any Given Emoji

  Any Given Emoji is an emoji product developed for the NFL Players Association. The application extended Whalerock’s celebrity-centered mobile model to a sports organization and its audience.

• 2018

  Divestiture of Mom.me and Purple CloverM&A

  Background

  Whalerock held digital publishing properties alongside its entertainment and direct-to-consumer platform activities.

  Action taken

  The company sold Mom.me and Purple Clover to RockYou in September.

  Aftermath

  The transaction transferred two identified digital properties to RockYou; the consideration and broader strategic rationale were not publicly disclosed in the reference material.

  Transaction value. (2018)

  Source

• 2015

  Expansion into direct-to-consumer over-the-top mediaStrategy

  Background

  Whalerock was developing a business model based on direct digital relationships between media personalities, brands, and fans.

  Action taken

  The company launched over-the-top media hubs and continued partnerships spanning content production and digital distribution.

  Aftermath

  The move reinforced Whalerock’s positioning as a hybrid media-production and technology company rather than a conventional television producer.

  Source

1. 1Whalerock Industriesen.wikipedia.org