Los Angeles will always be known for one thing above all others: Hollywood. With all the veterans of the entertainment industry bouncing around the area, it’s no surprise there are so many digital media startups in Southern California. Here are media companies in Los Angeles you should know.
Top Media Companies in Los Angeles
- TikTok
- Cameo
- Pluto TV
- Omaze
- Fandango
- Leaf Group
- Ranker
- Mashable
- MotorTrend Group
- UPROXX
- Tastemade
- Wonderstorm
Global media and entertainment company NBCUniversal connects with audiences through a content portfolio that covers everything from movies and reality shows to live sports and news broadcasts. It operates several well-known brands including Peacock, SYFY, Bravo, and DreamWorks.
To get the most out of an interconnected world, customers can rely on the evolving technologies of DIRECTV. Already a leader in the communications sphere, DIRECTV has developed new streaming options to give consumers more control over their visual content. Not only do customers gain access to all-around coverage of news, sports, and entertainment, but they can also record multiple shows simultaneously and stream on different devices for a more personalized viewing experience.
Being a free online TV broadcasting service with over 100 live channels that has an entire channel dedicated to James Bond is pretty, well, unique. These two elements are just a couple of the differentiators Pluto TV’s CEO and Co-founder Tom Ryan said are baked into the company's DNA. Ryan said he wants the company to break the rules of the media industry, very similar to the way 007 likes to operate.
Prodege is an Internet and media company that operates nine consumer engagement platforms that drive content to more than 100 million members. The company operates platforms, like Swagbucks, MyPoints, ShopAtHome and InboxDollars, that give retailers marketing insights through consumer surveys, while granting members with more than $1.7 billion in rewards for their insights.
Irvine-based Cie Digital Labs isn't just an interactive development firm, it's also a well-known tech startup studio. CDL serves as an innovation lab for several prominent global brands and acts as a platform to develop ideas.
Ranker is a ranking site that relies on its 27 million monthly visitors to crowdsource and curate lists on a wide range of media topics. Ever wonder what the “best horror movie reboots that no one asked for” are? Have you ever needed a definitive list of the greatest members of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame? From music to movies and pop culture, Ranker most certainly has a list that will pique your interest in the world of entertainment.
Omaze is transforming the way we think about donating to causes by offering chances to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences or products by giving to charity. The company has raised more than $130 million for charities, like the Water.org United Way, Special Olympics and The Trevor Noah Project, by offering the chance to win special experiences for each donation. In exchange for a donation, donors have the opportunity to win lunch with Matt Damon, a chance to play soccer with Alex Morgan, dinner with Andy Cohen or even a trip to Barcelona to meet Shakira.
Hawke Media is a digital consultancy that helps companies with strategy, web design, branding, social content creation and video production. The “outsourced CMO” team will produce custom, data-driven marketing content that will help to drive engagement and boost clients. Hawke Media has created digital media campaigns for well-known brands like Red Bull, Alibaba and Verizon.
Collab is a digital content studio that helps independent video creators earn a living doing what they love. The company helps producers get the most out of their content while also providing software to build audiences and generate revenue on major social platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and Youtube.
Core Digital Media was founded to help improve the lives of users. The online marketing and consumer acquisition platform runs sites like LowerMyBills.com and ClassesUSA.com, which help consumers to make optimal choices when it comes to loans, insurance and continuing education.
The MotorTrend Group is the largest automotive media company in the world with a monthly reach of more than 131 million unique audience members. The group maintains a large network of social media accounts, print magazines, on-demand shows, original programs and websites that are all related to the automotive world. The media giant is behind some of the industry’s most recognizable shows, like “Top Gear America” and the MotorTrend YouTube channel, which has over 6.5 million subscribers.
Wonderstorm is a media studio that develops storytelling franchises and video games. The company, founded in 2016, developed “The Dragon Prince”, an Emmy Award-winning project, and they are currently developing a video game from the same world and vision.
Darkroom is a creative marketing agency that has a deep expertise in creating engaging and unique branding and advertising experiences. The company offers a full-suite of services, like social media advertising, creative video production and brand refreshes, that help companies to tell their stories in fun and engaging ways.
Another in a series of LA-based YouTube networks, Jukin Media operates its network to build unique content brands and partner with channel creators. The company's diverse content portfolio includes fails, wins, extreme sports and many, many more.
MediaCom is one of the largest media agencies in the world. With more than 8,000 employees across 125 offices worldwide, the media giant helps clients of all sizes to craft their communications strategies to build brands and generate sales. The MediaCom team uses a combination of social, mobile, digital, ad, business science and data to craft individualized plans for brands to reach wider audiences with experiential media solutions. Mars, Shell, AARP and eBay all trust MediaCom to craft their digital media strategies.
Have you ever wanted to get a personalized shoutout from your favorite movie star, TV personality or sports hero? With Cameo, you can. Cameo is a platform filled with celebrities who are waiting to give you a birthday shoutout, congratulate your cousin on their new job or really anything in-between. For the right price, you can get the likes of Andy Cohen, Caitlyn Jenner, Chris Harrison, Snoop Dogg or Brett Favre to send you or your friends and family a personalized video message.
TikTok is one of the most popular social media apps in the world with more than 800 million active users. The short-form mobile video app lets users show off their creativity, passions or really whatever they want with easy-to-use editing and filming tools that combine with the company’s social media platform to help users become viral sensations.
Fandango is a digital platform for all-things movies. The company, which also owns movie rating site Rotten Tomatoes, helps more than 60 million visitors each month by finding the latest flicks, nearest theaters, best movie ticket prices and even news surrounding the industry. Fandango also offers their FandangoVIP program, where movie lovers receive insider perks, ticket refunds, coupons with partners and even exclusive movie gear.
Santa Monica-based Leaf Group (previously Demand Media) builds platforms across its collection of media (eHow and LIVESTRONG.com) and marketplace (Society6 and Saatchi Art) properties. The company's headquarters are definitely worth checking out.
Deluxe Entertainment provides tools and services to the media, advertising and entertainment industries, offering everything from animation and sound to visual effects and restoration. The Burbank-based media company got its start as a film lab in 1915 and has consistently evolved with the ever-changing media landscape for the last 100 years.
Brainjolt is a media network bringing content to over 75 million unique users a month. With brands like 22 Words, Happiness Heroes and Bad Parenting Moments in its portfolio, Brainjolt focuses on spreading silly, interesting and viral content to huge audiences.
There might not be a more esteemed member on this list than tronc. While everyone might know the 92 Pulitzers, it's the media company's focus on creating personalized content to a global audience in real time that has the company still very much relevant today.
Mashable is a popular major-media platform for all things tech, digital culture and entertainment. With 45 million unique visitors a month and 29 million social media followers, Mashable is quickly becoming a global force in the digital domain. Headquartered in New York, the company opened its Culver City office in 2015.
ZEFR provides professional solutions for YouTube content creators, boasting a network that features a diverse collection of movies, television, music and sports content. With more than 700 million monthly visitors, the Venice-based startup is now partnering with major Hollywood studios.
Uproxx Media Group, formerly known as Woven Digital, manages male-focused content for a number of its sites, including Uproxx and BroBible, reaching more than 85 million users per month. Founded in 2010, the company is headquartered in LA, with additional offices in NYC and Chicago.
Verizon Digital Media Services, which acquired LA-based EdgeCast Networks in 2013 for $350 million, has developed end-to-end digital media platform that can deliver, display and enable the monetization of online content.
It's hard to imagine, but way back in 2006 Santa Monica-based Hulu was just another digital media startup operating in a private beta. Things, of course, have taken off in the decade since then, and Hulu has become a brand recognized virtually everywhere for the content it delivers.
Kin Community unites some of the world's most popular lifestyle content creators across social platforms. The company's creators deliver female-focused video content across a number of lifestyle verticals.
With nearly 2.5 billion monthly video views and reaching over 175 million viewers each month, Machinima has solidified its role as the destination for video gamers. The company's content is aimed at 13-34 year-olds, with a whopping 70 percent of the audience being male.
MERRY JANE MEDIA, which was founded by Snoop Dogg, is a lifestyle website with a focus on delivering video and written content to cannabis enthusiasts across the globe. The site also produces a number of video series, featuring Snoop Dogg narrating National Geographic videos, as well as business leaders all over the US that recreationally consume cannabis.
Founded in 2015, it's easy to see why there is so much buzz surrounding Social Native — the executive team includes veterans of Google, Salesforce, Scopely Yahoo and Intuit. The company developed a platform that connects brands with more than 14 million independent content creators around the globe.
TasteMade is a lifestyle site dedicated to the finer things in life: travel and food. The company, which finished out 2015 on a high note, sees itself as a technology platform and community dedicated to enabling a new creative class of "Tastemakers" to come together to connect, collaborate and create.
