Machinima, a digital video site that is dedicated to fandom and gamer culture, has raised $24 million in funding from Warner Bros. Entertainment and existing investors.
The investors include Redpoint Ventures, MK Capital, Coffin Capital, and Allen DeBevoise, Machinima’s former chief executive. Machinima has been in transition for the past year as it continues to grow its monthly viewership.
Machinima said that it has 430 million total subscribers worldwide and 170 million monthly unique viewers and 3.7 billion monthly video views. Monthly viewership is up 70 percent from a year ago, and the number of U.S. unique viewers has tripled in a year.
Before this round, Machinima had raised $53 million in funding, including an $18 million round in March 2014.
“In 2014, Machinima regained our leadership position in the global digital video marketplace by focusing on our Talent Network and transforming our brand into one that is reflective of our content, our audience and our community of creators,” said Chad Gutstein, chief executive of Machinima, in a statement. “This additional funding will enable Machinima to accelerate our growth through increased investments in content and technology that better serves our audiences, advertisers, creators and distributors.”
Warner Bros. and Machinima have been partners for some time. They have created the live-action web video series “Mortal Kombat Legacy,” and later this year will release “Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles,” an animated video series from DC Comics and Blue Ribbon Content.
“Under Chad’s leadership, Machinima continues to grow as a key entertainment destination for millennials,” said Craig Hunegs, president of business and strategy at Warner Bros. Television Group, in a statement. “With its enormous fan base, Machinima is an important exhibition partner, providing content creators, including Warner Bros., multiple platforms for distributing and monetizing digital content and programming brands.”
Machinima has been putting more emphasis on its gifted talent network and original programming. Recently, Machinima announced distribution partnerships with Samsung and Vessel.