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Break.com

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Break.com
Owner
URLbreak.com
Launched1998; 26 years ago (1998) (as Big-boys.com)
Current statusRelaunched

Break.com (formerly Big-boys.com) is an entertainment and humor website founded in 1998 that featured comedy videos, flash games, and pictures among other material. The website's target audience was men aged 18–35.[1]

After shutting down on November 6, 2018 when Defy Media announced that it was ceasing operations, the site reopened several months later in April 2019 under ownership of the Vietnam-based Yeah1 network.[2][3] It is currently shut down and the domain is for sale with an asking price of $679,800 USD.[4]

History

Break.com was founded in 1998 as Big-boys.com, a humor website featuring comedy videos, flash games, and other material. At one time, visitors were able to rank site material on a scale of 1 to 5, but Break replaced that feature with a thumbs up or thumbs down system. Negative scores were not allowed on videos – a "thumb down" simply counteracted the vote of a "thumb up". Users could also comment on most of the individual entries. At the time of shutdown, all forms of visitor feedback and comments had been removed.

In January 2006, Break.com had introduced a new file hosting system for its users to share their files. Shared files were able to be promoted to the homepage to be featured. Users that hosted original files promoted to the homepage were paid, but the user relinquished all rights to their material under contract.[5] Break.com paid users for content ($400 for user-generated content and up to $2,000 for animated shorts) if the content yielded significant views.[6]

In August 2006, Break.com and Showtime partnered to promote Weeds by encouraging Break.com users to upload original videos matching the themes of the show, with winners eligible for airing on the channel.[7] Since then, advertising from various television shows and movies had appeared around the site, with similar video competitions occurring occasionally.[citation needed]

In March 2007, Break.com signed a contract with NBCU Digital Studios to develop a streaming broadband series to be featured on Break.com, tentatively titled Breakers. The show planned to involve attractive women finding different ways to break objects.[8] Breaker's advertising revenue was planned to come from businesses paying to have their product smashed on the show, with Break.com's young-male demographic expected to attract the advertisers. Break.com CEO Keith Richman stated at the time, "We have a male audience that likes attractive women and demolition."[9]

In April 2007, Break.com announced a deal with Fear Factor and Big Brother producer Endemol USA to create a new show called Record Breakers. That show was planned to center around contestants attempting to break obscure world records. Endemol had chosen Break.com for its ability to reach the young-male demographic. According to MediaWeek, the show was likely to carry pre-roll video advertisements and banner ads.[8]

In July 2009, Break.com partnered up with G4's Web Soup for their "This Week In FAIL" segment.[10]

In February 2010, Break.com purchased the PC game mod hosting network FileFront.com, which was previously owned by Ziff Davis Media.[11]

In March 2018, Break.com inexplicably disabled all comments, user uploads and user pages on their site, putting an end to any kind of user interaction or participation. Viewership plunged, and on November 6 of that year, parent company Defy Media announced that it was ceasing all operations.[12]

The website had been owned by TMFT Enterprises, LLC.,[13] was sold to Yeah1 media group soon after, but is now offline and the domain up for sale.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ Paul R. La Monica (February 9, 2007). "Big media beats up on YouTube". CNNMoney.com. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
  2. ^ "Defy Media Announces Total Shutdown, Is Ceasing Operations Effective Immediately". TubeFilter. November 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "About break.com". Facebook.
  4. ^ "Break.com domain for sale". BrandBucket.
  5. ^ Break.com Terms Of Use, Retrieved April 9, 2007 Archived March 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Break.com to Pay $400 Per Video". November 26, 2006. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  7. ^ Heather Green (August 22, 2006). "Break.com's Innovative Marketing Deal With Showtime". BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on October 19, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2007.
  8. ^ a b Mike Shields (April 9, 2007). "Break.com, Endemol to Launch Record Breakers". MediaWeek. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
  9. ^ Andrew Wallenstein (March 14, 2007). "NBCU Digital Preps 'Breakers'". Adweek. Archived from the original on March 17, 2007. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
  10. ^ Break.com & Web Soup's "This Week In FAIL" - Break.com (accessed July 30, 2009)
  11. ^ Schonfeld, Erick (February 11, 2010). "Break Media Buys Gaming Site FileFront". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  12. ^ "Defy Media Announces Total Shutdown, Is Ceasing Operations Effective Immediately". TubeFilter. 7 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Docracy - Learn More".
  14. ^ "Break.com domain for sale". BrandBucket.
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