CBS Does Indeed Scoop Up Wallstrip
Wallstrip, an online video show that takes a whimsical approach to financial news, has been bought by CBS Interactive for a price in the single-digit millions, with a multi-year commitment to continue the show and add additional financially oriented web series.
Both CBS and Wallstrip confirmed the deal, which was rumored last week, had been completed on Monday, though they said the reported price of $5 million was not correct.
Wallstrip creator Howard Lindzon said CBS bought the show in part because of its “web 2.0″ attitude towards widely syndicating and distributing its video (see panel at left). “Quincy wants to be everywhere,” he said, meaning Quincy Smith, CBS’ dealmaker and the initiator of the Wallstrip purchase. The team will be part of CBSNews.com, helping out with its video projects.
Wallstrip — like any low-budget production — also takes a liberal approach to including content from anywhere, rather than leading with business development. Says Lindzon, “We don’t mind linking out to Yahoo Finance or Google Finance for that commoditized information.”
Wallstrip star Lindsay Campbell and producers Adam Elend and Jeff Marks will become full-time employees of CBS, and Lindzon, who also makes his living as an investor, will play a consulting role.
Lindzon said among multiple bidders CBS was the best opportunity because Campbell, Elend, and Marks — none of whom have financial backgrounds — will be able to participate in a wider variety of content production.
Wallstrip had raised $600,000 from a group of angel investors including venture capitalists Fred Wilson and Brad Feld, but still had much of that money in the bank, according to Lindzon. He said Campbell, Elend, and Marks all had equity stakes in the company.
The video announcement is here.
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[...] a good start. CBS has indeed snapped up WallStrip, the iconic money show for single digit millions, reports Liz Gannes on NewTeeVee. Wallstrip star Lindsay Campbell, producers Adam Elend and Jeff Marks are now full-time employees [...]
[...] will stay on, as will the producers Adam Elend and Jeff Mars, working under the CBSNews.com banner. NewTeeVee’s got more, and founder Howard Lindzon have a post up as well. No amount have been announced, although the $5m [...]
[...] NewTeeVee disputes the $5 million purchase price. [...]
CBS Acquires WallStrip…
Whew, I can finally stop saying “no comment” to the rumors. CBS did indeed acquire WallStrip. Congrats to the entire team, especially Howard (you da man!). He has a post which covers how all of this went down, from idea to acquisition. …
[...] in WallStrip publicly confirmed Monday that the video blog has been acquired by CBS. The story was first broken by Jossip May 13 [...]
[...] sum (how substantial is still up for debate, since the original report of $5-million has apparently been denied) for what he helped to create with Wallstrip, the daily video-blog on Wall Street and finance [...]
[...] Wallstrip selling for a few million to CBS is fabulous news. How can you possibly be complaining when somebody uses technology to accomplish their goals? [...]
[...] the deal. In a NewTeeVee article by Liz Gannes, Wallstrip’s distribution and syndicaton are reported as favorable considerations in CBS’ decision to buy the show. As Wallstrip puts it: [...]
Wallstrip Cons CBS for $5 Million…
I was waiting for more on Wallstrip’s acquisition by CBS and now the deal is publicly confirmed, though not the rumored price of $5 million. However, that price is said to come from strong sources with acquisition of Wallstrip host Lindsay Campbell ke…
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[...] nothing changes with the acquisition except for the ownership because the deal comes with a multi-year commitment to continue the show and add additional financially oriented web series. So I can say that the Wallstrip team really made a nice and early fortune. Technorati tags: Video [...]
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[...] has been buying up its share of web properties lately, too. Liz confirmed last week that the company had bought online video show Wallstrip for a price in the single-digit [...]
[...] Bruno to Mountain View (YouTube) or London to New York City (Last.fm) is not a requirement. Even little Wallstrip isn’t shacking up at CBS HQ, staying at its own studio across [...]
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[...] CBS thought that a 4 million dollar aquisition was reasonable, apparently keeping that 4 million dollar show running was not. As the first big web [...]
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[...] Lindsay Campbell, one of the early faces of web video as the host of Wallstrip, which was bought by CBS in 2007 for $4 million, is back on the PC screen today with a new show, Small Business Rules for [...]
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