Rooster Teeth, a digitally-focused entertainment and media company that also runs its own SVOD service, has named Ezra Cooperstein as president.

For the past three years, Cooperstein has been helping to lead the Rooster Teeth business as president of Fullscreen Media, which acquired Rooster Teeth in 2014.

Rooster Teeth produces shows such as RWBY and Red vs. Blue, and claims to have an online community of more than 45 million. It also runs its own SVOD services, with two subscription tiers, and also offers a subscription service through VRV, Ellation’s SVOD aggregation offering.

Its SVOD channel, called FIRST, has more than 250,000 subscribers. Rooster Teeth also runs its own RTX live events in locations such as Sydney and London.

RELATED: Rooster Teeth Expands SVOD Play   

In his new role, Cooperstein will head up key areas of revenue growth for Rooster Teeth, including FIRST, its consumer products and e-commerce business, live events, and external areas of the business that include strategic partnerships.

Prior to Fullscreen, Cooperstein was the founding CEO of Maker Studios (acquired by Disney in 2014), and was VP and director of innovations at Initiative, an ad agency subsidiary of IPG. He also served on the founding creative team of Al Gore’s Current TV channel (acquired by Al Jazeera in 2013) as VP, development and programming.

Rooster Teeth, a digital content specialist that recently took a bigger bit into the world of SVOD, is diving deeper into the free, ad-based world of OTT with an exclusive series for Verizon’s go90 service.

What Do You Know?, a series billed as a “comedic roundtable” hosted by Rooster Teeth co-founder and personality Joel Heyman, is slated to premiere exclusively on go90 on Jan. 30.

The 24-episode series will premiere new 30-minute episodes each Monday, Wednesday and Friday on go90, the free, ad-based OTT service from Verizon that launched in October 2015 and is geared for younger audiences.

RELATED: Verizon Launches go90 App for iOS, Android

Rooster Teeth said Heyman will be joined by other Rooster Teeth personalities such as Barbara Dunkelman and Ashley Jenkins, comedians and experts to discuss topics ranging from robots, online trolling, genetic engineering, catfishing, time travel, urban legends and augmented and virtual reality.

“You know that friend in your circle that seems to have endless reams of useless knowledge stored away in their head? We’re hoping to make every viewer into a version of that guy with this new show,” Heyman said in a statement.

Rooster Teeth said it has a global footprint that includes more than 28 million subs on its YouTube network, 3 million visitors to its RoosterTeeth.com hub and 1.8 million registered members.

In July, Rooster Teeth launched a two-pronged subscription strategy designed to appeal to its current base of fans as well as subset of “super fans” who are willing to pay a heftier premium for VIP tickets to events, merchandise and other ancillary perks and benefits.

RELATED: Rooster Teeth Expands its SVOD Play 

Rooster Teeth, an SVOD service that tailors is fare to millennial audiences, said its new “FIRST” offering is boosting its presence on the big screen via new apps for Apple TV boxes and Xbox One consoles.

That expansion complements the service’s support for the Web and iOS and Android smartphones.

“As we’ve expanded into more premium content, where episodes can be up to an hour long, we’ve realized our audience wants the option of a lean-back experience, to watch these shows from their couch, and our new apps support that.” Matt Hullum, CEO and co-founder of Rooster Teeth, said in a statement.

Rooster Teeth also announced that it has about 200,000 subscribers, up 125% from a year-ago, and up 33% from June.

Rooster Teeth said its FIRST subscription tier offers more than 5,000 hours of original content. (Day 5, Crunch Time, RWBY, among them).  Rooster Teeth is also to be part of VRV, a new SVOD aggregation service from Ellation that is currently in beta and expected to launch commercially later this year.

In July, Rooster Teeth launched a two-pronged subscription strategy designed to appeal to its current base of fans as well as subset of “super fans” who are willing to pay a heftier premium for VIP tickets to events, merchandise and other ancillary perks and benefits.

RELATED: Rooster Teeth Expands its SVOD Play 

The new FIRST offering that sells for $4.99 per month or $19.99 for six months, while a higher level tier called Double Gold sells for $34.99 per month that includes everything in FIRST, plus a 10% discount on all Rooster Teeth merchandise, first access to live event VIP passes, and a box of merchandise that carries a value of more than $60, according to the company.

Underscoring The Idea that video is just one piece of the new subscription video-on-demand puzzle, Rooster Teeth has pushed ahead with a two-tiered approach that aims to appeal to its traditional base, as well as a subset of “super fans” willing to pay a handsome premium for VIP tickets to events, merchandise and other perks associated with the “digital-first” content studio.

Starting July 1, current Rooster Teeth subscribers, formerly known as “sponsors,” as well as new subscribers, became members of a new “FIRST” offering that sells for $4.99 per month or $19.99 for six months.

The ad-free FIRST offering provides early access to new videos, exclusive behind-the-scenes content and premium series, as well as access to live broadcasts and a “FIRST-only” panel at RTX, Rooster Teeth’s annual gaming and Internet culture event. (The last RTX took place July 1-3 in Austin, Texas.)

FIRST subscribers also have the option to upgrade to a higher-level tier, called “Double Gold,” for $34.99 per month, or $179.99 for a six-month subscription that includes everything in FIRST, plus a 10% discount on all Rooster Teeth merchandise, exclusive access to live event VIP passes, and a box of merchandise shipped monthly that carries a value of more than $60. Rooster Teeth also offers some ad-supported content for free to registered users.

The company’s new, rebranded approach to subscriptions draws on a broader trend among over-the-top SVOD services, which continue to pair their core video offerings with ancillary benefits.

For example, anime-focused VOD service Crunchyroll has a partnership with e-retailer Loot Crate that provides Crunchyroll subscribers with discounts on a Loot Crate box of goodies that’s tailored to anime fans and delivered every month. And cable network Turner Classic Movies recently launched TCM Backlot, a fan club that offers members exclusive content, plus the ability to become a “guest programmer” and win on-set tours.

“With our audience, we want to be more than just a video platform,” Rooster Teeth CEO and co-founder Matt Hullum said. “Our audience wants that higher level of engagement and they want more connection. We’re trying to provide more of that on an ongoing basis … But we didn’t want to do anything that would take away from the community origins of the service.”

Rooster Teeth is not new to the SVOD sphere. It got into the game almost 14 years ago with a subscription-based offering that was as much a fan club as it was a video service.

Early on, members of the Rooster Teeth community expressed they’d pay extra to gain early access to the studio’s videos, Hullum said, noting that those viewers were also the ones who tended to jump into the platform and comment, “First!” when a new video was posted.

Obviously, it was that behavior that also led to the naming of Rooster Teeth’s new FIRST offering.

Like a lot of OTT-delivered SVOD services, Rooster Teeth tends to skew to cord-cutters, cord-nevers and more generally to younger millennials. The company has developed apps for iOS and Android mobile devices, and has work underway to expand to other platforms, including set-tops and gaming consoles, this fall.

Rooster Teeth is also one of the first announced partners for VRV, a multichannel video distribution platform from Ellation that’s expected to launch later this year on devices such as the Xbox One gaming console. Ellation, a portfolio company of Otter Media (the OTT-focused joint venture of AT&T and The Chernin Group) is targeting its platform at fans of anime, animation, gaming, comedy, fantasy and technology.

SEVERAL REVENUE STREAMS

SVOD is just one of several Rooter Teeth revenue streams. According to Hullum, its revenue mix is fairly even across, SVOD, merchandising, advertising and licensing. Its original subscription offering has experienced a growth spurt of late, though, spurring on the decision to launch the two new services.

Rooster Teeth said its paid subscribrer base has doubled to more than 135,000 in the past year, and expects its new, core FIRST base to surpass 200,000 by year-end.

On the content side, Rooster Teeth said it will launch two new premium narrative shows this year — Day 5, an apocalyptic drama series in which sleep becomes fatal and four survivors seek a cure before encroaching insomnia and madness take hold. Also on tap is Crunch Time, a half hour sci-fi action comedy starring Nick Rutherford (Good Neighbor) and Samm Levine (Freaks and Geeks, Inglorious Basterds).

Rooster Teeth is also set to debut a live broadcast series (Theater Mode and Heroes & Halfwits), and an irreverent animated series called Camp Camp. It’s also prepping the launch of four feature-length documentaries as part of its “RT Docs” initiative, including World’s Greatest Head Massage, which premiered July 1.

Rooster Teeth said it’s also creating fresh far for existing series such as RWBY, Immersion, Red vs. Blue, Million Dollars, But … , RT Shorts and The Rooster Teeth Podcast.

With a growing number of niche-focused SVOD services entering the market, new and existing players are trying new ways to attract new subscribers and keep existing ones on the hook. 

Offering further proof that video is just one element of the evolving over-the-top SVOD market, Rooster Teeth, a “digital-first” content studio focused on comedy and gaming, has introduced a two-pronged subscription strategy designed to appeal to its current base of fans as well as subset of “super fans” who are willing to pay a handsome premium for VIP tickets to events, merchandise and other ancillary perks and benefits.

Starting July 1, Rooster Teeth subscribers, formerly known as “sponsors,” as well as new subscribers, will become members of a newly-branded “FIRST” offering that sells for $4.99 per month or $19.99 for six months.

The ad-free FIRST offering will provide perks such as early access to new videos, exclusive behind-the-scenes content and premium series, access to live broadcasts and a “FIRST-only” panel at RTX, Rooster Teeth’s annual gaming/Internet culture event (the next one is set to run July 1-3 in Austin, Texas).

FIRST subscribers will also have the option to  upgrade to a higher-level tier, called Double Gold,  for $34.99 per month, or $179.99 for a six-month subscription that includes everything in FIRST, plus a 10% discount on all Rooster Teeth merchandise, first access to live event VIP passes, and a box of merchandise that carries a value of more than $60, according to the company

Rooster Teeth’s new approach keys on a larger trend in the every-expanding arena of over-the-top SVOD services, which are gravitating toward models that pair core video offerings with additional benefits.

“With our audience, we want to be more than just a video platform,” Matt Hullum, CEO and co-founder of Rooster Teeth, said. “Our audience wants that higher level of engagement and they want more connection. We’re trying to provide more of that on an ongoing basis…But we didn’t want to do anything that would take away from the community origins of the service."

Rooter Reeth has developed apps for iOS and Android mobile devices, and has work underway to expand to others, including set-tops and gaming consoles, this fall.

Rooster Teeth is also one of the first announced partners for VRV, a multichannel video distribution platform from Ellation for fans of anime, gaming, comedy and technology that’s expected to launch later this year on devices such as the Xbox One gaming console.

SVOD is just one of several Rooter Teeth revenue streams. According to Hullum, its revenue mix is fairly event across, SVOD, merchandising, advertising, and licensing.

Rooster Teeth said its paid sub base has doubled to more than 135,000 in the past year, and expects it new, core FIRST base to surpass 200,000  by year-end.

Rooster Teeth also announced several programming updates, noting that it will unleash two new premium narrative shows this year -- Day 5, an apocalyptic drama series in which sleep becomes fatal and four survivors seek a cure before encroaching insomnia and madness take hold, as well as Crunch Time, a half hour sci-fi action comedy starring Nick Rutherford (Good Neighbor) and Samm Levine (Freaks and Geeks, Inglorious Basterds).

Expanded coverage of Rooster Teeth’s new SVOD strategy and programming plans will be featured in an upcoming edition of Next TV, a special section that runs each week in Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable.