MTV certainly contributed a lot to 1980\u2019s entertainment. For DEFY Media, one of the most valuable learnings was the \u201cfast fail model.\u201d<\/p>\n
So while DEFY\u2019s programming resembles traditional programming in areas like writers and talent, where it \u201cvaries a bit\u201d is in MTV\u2019s concept that no idea is bad, CEO Matt Diamond says in this interview with Beet.TV during the Digital Content NewFronts<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bar to succeed is very high but the bar to test things is very low. You can test things pretty easily and cost effectively with digital,\u201d Diamond says.<\/p>\n And when you have amassed the audience sizes of a DEFY<\/a>\u2014700 million monthly views for owned and operated video, 70 million YouTube subscribers and 100 million social media followers\u2014the feedback is fast and telling.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re able to test a lot. Some don\u2019t work. And when they don\u2019t work, we can move on. An advertiser gets the benefit of coming along with us because we will always get big audiences,\u201d says Diamond<\/a>.<\/p>\n DEFY is platform and screen agnostic when it comes to promoting its content. \u201cWe are neutral and we want to make sure that the distribution partner is able to build big audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n From the start, DEFY shunned the multichannel network model, as it has never represented third-party content providers. Simply repping other talent that posts on YouTube \u201cwe just didn\u2019t feel was the value add that we were providing for both our advertisers as well as our consumers,\u201d says Diamond.<\/p>\n \u201cFrankly, those people can just post things to YouTube and YouTube can sell the ads.\u201d With content like SMOSH that DEFY owns and produces, \u201cwe can time the social message that goes out and we can have the talent itself work specifically with our brands<\/a> as well as our partners\u2019 brands.\u201d<\/p>\n