Whiskey Media - What the Hell Happened?

In the wake of Whiskey Media being completely dismantled, I'm just curious if there's been any news out there as to what exactly happened. Were the sites not profitable enough? Did Bonnie just want out? Does anyone know the story there? I've been wondering for a while but I haven't really seen any info on it. Just curious why my favourite family of websites got broken up all of a sudden.

*sadface*

Where. Have. You. Been.

Did you read the post? I have been here the whole time. I'm WELL aware as to WHAT has happened, I'm asking if anyone knows WHY.

Because people like selling things to other people for higher amounts than they got for that thing?

because money?

@boylie said:

Did you read the post? I have been here the whole time. I'm WELL aware as to WHAT has happened, I'm asking if anyone knows WHY.

He just told you why.

@boylie: I don't think that the specifics of what happened are really any of our business or matter in any capacity other than curiosity. The only answers you're gonna get are pure speculation.

@IAmNotBatman said:

@boylie: I don't think that the specifics of what happened are really any of our business or matter in any capacity other than curiosity. The only answers you're gonna get are pure speculation.

Ya that's fine, I mean if no one knows, then no one knows, I just knew that, for instance, it seemed like their ad stuff and subscriber stuff maybe wasn't working as well as they'd hoped, I just was curious if maybe that had anything to do with it is all. Maybe Bonnie had given an interview or something, I don't know. Just was curious is all. If there's nothing out there that says definitively what had happened, then that's fine.

@boylie said:

Did you read the post? I have been here the whole time. I'm WELL aware as to WHAT has happened, I'm asking if anyone knows WHY.

Because bermanbrawny ,the quicker picker upper, wanted the Whiskey back-end stuff and gave Shelby Bonnie an offer he couldn't refuse.

@adoggz said:

@boylie said:

Did you read the post? I have been here the whole time. I'm WELL aware as to WHAT has happened, I'm asking if anyone knows WHY.

Because bermanbrawny ,the quicker picker upper, wanted the Whiskey back-end stuff and gave Shelby Bonnie an offer he couldn't refuse.

Hahaha, fair enough

More money.

yeah why did the whiskey people want to secure their livelihood?

seems strange people using a business as a tool to make money.

I am not sure the sites ever made money. The goal was at least to break even. Remember when they launched ads? How many did they get? Not many. Then they had to resort to google ads for dick pills etc and then the meebo bar. What of the new sites? There doesn't seem much point when all the traffic comes from 2 sites and one of them is responsible for 98% of subscriber signups (an income in itself that would not even pay for salaries).

In this economic climate there isn't a great deal of money for publishers to buy adverts so 90% goes to the sites with the greatest market share - so GS and IGN.

Seems a bit reductive to say that the investors just wanted to make money. That is kinda the whole point of investing and as investors go they seemed pretty free with the funds for years while the guys were seeing if they could build a network of sites. I would speculate they faced some hard choices. Best to split and sell off when things are still worth something - that way you can negociate from a position of power - rather than have it all erode and then face selling off the empty husk *cough* 1up.

I mean - would the community still be confident if they sold off comic vine and tested, killed AV and Screened and tried to make it a go of it? Maybe buying them another year. I don't see the market improving all that much in 12 months.

@stinky: Now come on, he's only asking a question.

In reply, I would say that the Whiskey Media family were actually doing very well, and because of this Shelby put the sites out to tender (thankfully with the creators knowledge/blessing/input) to see who the highest bidder was. It's because Giantbomb/Whiskey Media has been a great success that it has sold, not because it has failed.

Dat cheese

wow guys its an interesting question... kind of. I bet some of you have read books about the backround stuff that happened in specific industries or companies. He wants to know if there are any interesting details or stories that went down thru this process. And the message from the crew we receive, whether true or not would be missing this information. Of course there is the video where Jeff was talking about how their business manager tentatively asked if it was ok to talk to Gamespot and that exact video proves my point. It explains the details of what went down back in 2008(?) and the backround details we never saw. Granted, the gamespotxJeff thing was more interesting and controversial, hence the great interest in it but who are we to say what might be interesting to the OP. IF he wants to know if anything crazy went down during the transfer aside from what we have been shown the last couple of weeks then im all for it cause i wouldnt mind hearing some about my favourite site.

@super2j said:

wow guys its an interesting question... kind of. I bet some of you have read books about the backround stuff that happened in specific industries or companies. He wants to know if there are any interesting details or stories that went down thru this process. And the message from the crew we receive, whether true or not would be missing this information. Of course there is the video where Jeff was talking about how their business manager tentatively asked if it was ok to talk to Gamespot and that exact video proves my point. It explains the details of what went down back in 2008(?) and the backround details we never saw. Granted, the gamespotxJeff thing was more interesting and controversial, hence the great interest in it but who are we to say what might be interesting to the OP. IF he wants to know if anything crazy went down during the transfer aside from what we have been shown the last couple of weeks then im all for it cause i wouldnt mind hearing some about my favourite site.

Pretty much this. Sorry, I guess I wasn't super clear in the beginning, I was curious if there'd been any news about the behind the scenes stuff. I just find that stuff interesting is all, and Whiskey has been nothing if not open and honest in it's business in the past, so I figured maybe someone, somewhere had talked about it at some point since it all went down. If not, if we're all just speculating here (and it really seems like that's the case) then no big deal, I guess the answer is a big "who really knows", but I just was curious if I'd maybe missed an article somewhere that maybe got into the behind the scenes stuff, and I figured that if there was, someone here would have caught it and been able to hook a brotha up, that's all.

@boylie: u mean like in an obscure article on "webbusiness-weekly.com" or something?

In short it was Kessler's fault.

I think the only thing that gets me still is that there was no finale, or last day of school so to speak. It was so surreal and quiet the way it ended.

@super2j: Ya something like that. Or if for some insane reason some Whiskey people responded in some forum post on here or something, I don't know. Just kinda curious like if they actually managed to turn a profit or not and if that was why, or maybe BermanBraun wanted the tech and made some insane offer or whatever, or maybe Bonnie just got bored and wanted to move on, who knows. I just find behind the scenes stuff like that interesting, I didn't realize that I was the only one hahaha

The company that bought Whiskey Media wanted the rights to the publishing platform (they said as much in the press release). They also took what was probably the cheaper domains (Screened, Tested, Anime Vice) and are now in the process of flipping them to be more profitable.

In the last Jar Time video, Jeff mentioned that they've been casually talking to people for a while about a deal, but only until last December did the talks become serious. He also said that he had some say in blocking the deal with CBS, but thought it fit well and moves would've been made regardless of their input. Unless I misunderstood or missed something, this was a long time coming. Other than that, I have no idea though.

@IAmNotBatman: that doesn't answer why, just says what happened.

@Turbo_Toaster: I felt the same way. Would have been awesome to have all the properties get together for one last... thing, before it all closed down. Bah.

@Turbo_Toaster: I felt the same way. Would have been awesome to have all the properties get together for one last... thing, before it all closed down. Bah.

@Turbo_Toaster said:

I think the only thing that gets me still is that there was no finale, or last day of school so to speak. It was so surreal and quiet the way it ended.

Do you still work at... err... CBSi or BermanBraun?

@Napalm: I might be wrong, but I'm under the impression that the mods are volunteers. If that's the case, well it's not like you fire free help, right?

@boylie said:

@Napalm: I might be wrong, but I'm under the impression that the mods are volunteers. If that's the case, well it's not like you fire free help, right?

She was an artist for the quest system. The fuck are you talking about?

@Napalm: Didn't know that, I thought you were asking about mod stuff. Relax.

@Napalm: When Whiskey dissolved so did my contract. We'll see what happens!

In short it was Kessler's fault.

@Turbo_Toaster said:

I think the only thing that gets me still is that there was no finale, or last day of school so to speak. It was so surreal and quiet the way it ended.

Indeed, I hope we get some background info on this at least. Had they already decided that Whiskey Media wouldn't get through another year before Big Live Live show 2?

Whiskey Media was always going to be the process of going from upstarts to solid communities, bundled with the tech behind it, to make a for a nice investment opportunity. Thankfully the sites have made the transition without losing their soul in the process. Though I can't speak for Screened now with Rorie gone, and I'm not sure Anime Vice had much of a vibe in the first place.

@Turbo_Toaster said:

@Napalm: When Whiskey dissolved so did my contract. We'll see what happens!

That's... extra shitty. (By the way, I did read your full post, but I respect it enough to not repeat it here.)

@Turbo_Toaster said:

I think the only thing that gets me still is that there was no finale, or last day of school so to speak. It was so surreal and quiet the way it ended.

Many things get me about this, this is just one of them. I had gotten used to the new sites until the Rorie news dropped. Now, I'm looking at the whole situation and it sucks so hard on so many levels.

@ThePickle said:

@Turbo_Toaster said:

I think the only thing that gets me still is that there was no finale, or last day of school so to speak. It was so surreal and quiet the way it ended.

Many things get me about this, this is just one of them. I had gotten used to the new sites until the Rorie news dropped. Now, I'm looking at the whole situation and it sucks so hard on so many levels.

Especially when you consider the homebred nature of Whiskey Media. You'd think there'd be a big meeting with details ironed out, etc.

So, fuck Shelby Bonnie? Or, too soon, or misdirected...?

@Napalm said:

@ThePickle said:

@Turbo_Toaster said:

I think the only thing that gets me still is that there was no finale, or last day of school so to speak. It was so surreal and quiet the way it ended.

Many things get me about this, this is just one of them. I had gotten used to the new sites until the Rorie news dropped. Now, I'm looking at the whole situation and it sucks so hard on so many levels.

Especially when you consider the homebred nature of Whiskey Media. You'd think there'd be a big meeting with details ironed out, etc.

So, fuck Shelby Bonnie? Or, too soon, or misdirected...?

I'd second a "fuck Shelby Bonnie."

@SmilingPig

In short it was Kessler's fault.

I knew it!

It's all about the benjamins

@rebgav said:

@ThePickle said:

@Napalm said:

@ThePickle said:

@Turbo_Toaster said:

I think the only thing that gets me still is that there was no finale, or last day of school so to speak. It was so surreal and quiet the way it ended.

Many things get me about this, this is just one of them. I had gotten used to the new sites until the Rorie news dropped. Now, I'm looking at the whole situation and it sucks so hard on so many levels.

Especially when you consider the homebred nature of Whiskey Media. You'd think there'd be a big meeting with details ironed out, etc.

So, fuck Shelby Bonnie? Or, too soon, or misdirected...?

I'd second a "fuck Shelby Bonnie."

Why? The sites were always going to "make it on their own" or get sold, Shelby Bonnie was responsible for them having the money and time to figure it out.

Err.. I mean, fuck that guy for not paying Whiskey's way until his dying days! Grr!

How about, fuck that guy for splitting the sites. He did a shit job handling this. Two of them go to one company where they get treated like royalty, two get shipped off to some unknown company and get gutted and retooled.

Do we need to have yet another discussion on how venture capitalism works?

because sadly money is very important in our society

@Turbo_Toaster said:

I think the only thing that gets me still is that there was no finale, or last day of school so to speak. It was so surreal and quiet the way it ended.

This. Screened got it the worst though. :(

@Turbo_Toaster said:

I think the only thing that gets me still is that there was no finale, or last day of school so to speak. It was so surreal and quiet the way it ended.

Look at it as when a baseball player gets traded. He can be playing a game and the phone call comes. You get your things and you're gone! No goodbyes, no nothing. It sucks. Remeber Jeff mention they got the call and they picked up their things and left WM offices.

@HelpImUpsideDown said:

@Turbo_Toaster said:

I think the only thing that gets me still is that there was no finale, or last day of school so to speak. It was so surreal and quiet the way it ended.

This. Screened got it the worst though. :(

Not surprisingly though. It's run by one guy and is a website covering a subject which has already been over-saturated online.

In the wake of Whiskey Media being completely dismantled, I'm just curious if there's been any news out there as to what exactly happened. Were the sites not profitable enough? Did Bonnie just want out? Does anyone know the story there? I've been wondering for a while but I haven't really seen any info on it. Just curious why my favourite family of websites got broken up all of a sudden.

*sadface*

@rebgav said:

@ThePickle said:

@rebgav said:

@ThePickle said:

@Napalm said:

@ThePickle said:

@Turbo_Toaster said:

I think the only thing that gets me still is that there was no finale, or last day of school so to speak. It was so surreal and quiet the way it ended.

Many things get me about this, this is just one of them. I had gotten used to the new sites until the Rorie news dropped. Now, I'm looking at the whole situation and it sucks so hard on so many levels.

Especially when you consider the homebred nature of Whiskey Media. You'd think there'd be a big meeting with details ironed out, etc.

So, fuck Shelby Bonnie? Or, too soon, or misdirected...?

I'd second a "fuck Shelby Bonnie."

Why? The sites were always going to "make it on their own" or get sold, Shelby Bonnie was responsible for them having the money and time to figure it out.

Err.. I mean, fuck that guy for not paying Whiskey's way until his dying days! Grr!

How about, fuck that guy for splitting the sites. He did a shit job handling this. Two of them go to one company where they get treated like royalty, two get shipped off to some unknown company and get gutted and retooled.

CBS bought GB and Comic Vine. I'm going to guess that they didn't want the rest of the sites. Not sure what you think could have been done about that.

Take the rest of these sites too! Go on. No, really, I insist!

Or that they didn't offer what Shelby what he was really wanting and that selling GB and CV to CBS and Tested and Screened to BermanBraun got him more than all sites as a package deal to CBS. Jeff said they were getting multiple offers, I doubt all of them excluded three sites.

@ThePickle said:

@rebgav said:

@ThePickle said:

@Napalm said:

@ThePickle said:

@Turbo_Toaster said:

I think the only thing that gets me still is that there was no finale, or last day of school so to speak. It was so surreal and quiet the way it ended.

Many things get me about this, this is just one of them. I had gotten used to the new sites until the Rorie news dropped. Now, I'm looking at the whole situation and it sucks so hard on so many levels.

Especially when you consider the homebred nature of Whiskey Media. You'd think there'd be a big meeting with details ironed out, etc.

So, fuck Shelby Bonnie? Or, too soon, or misdirected...?

I'd second a "fuck Shelby Bonnie."

Why? The sites were always going to "make it on their own" or get sold, Shelby Bonnie was responsible for them having the money and time to figure it out.

Err.. I mean, fuck that guy for not paying Whiskey's way until his dying days! Grr!

How about, fuck that guy for splitting the sites. He did a shit job handling this. Two of them go to one company where they get treated like royalty, two get shipped off to some unknown company and get gutted and retooled.

He's a business man. He's in the business of making money. It's just how the world works. I would say Shelby seems way better than most.