HitFix, Inc.
Type of businessWholly owned brand of Woven Digital
Type of site
Entertainment news
Available inEnglish
FoundedDecember 2008; 15 years ago (2008-12)
Dissolved2021; 3 years ago (2021)
Successor(s)Uproxx (pre-existing website of owner)
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
,
United States
Area servedWorldwide
URLwww.hitfix.com (defunct)

HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television.[1] In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,000,000 unique users per month milestone.[2]

HitFix had been cited as a source by Time, Los Angeles Times, HuffPost, E! Online, and The Daily Herald.

In April 2016, it became a brand of Woven Digital[3][4][5][6][7] and is now a part of the Woven Digital property Uproxx.[8] As of 2021 the HitFix web address redirects to Uproxx.[9]

Founders

HitFix was founded by ex-Reed Business Information Development executive Jen Sargent and former L.A. Times and MSN.com film editor Gregory Ellwood. Sargent and Ellwood's goal was to create a site that fit into the gap between trade publications and gossip- or celebrity-scandal-driven sites, such as TMZ, and to target an audience slightly skewed towards males – a unique approach in a female-driven industry[10] – while catering to 18- to 34-year-olds.[11]

Angel investment

HitFix received its first funding from Golden Seeds, the fourth largest angel investment group in the United States, in 2009. Since then, HitFix has twice benefited from investment from the Tech Coast Angels, one of the largest angel investment networks in Southern California.[12] The first such investment came in February 2009 in the amount of $850,000. In June 2010, the Angels added to their commitment investing an additional $1,600,000.[13] In addition to Golden Seeds and Tech Coast Angels, HitFix investors include HBS Angels, Liquid Capital, and Gordon Crawford.

Contributors

Gregory Ellwood

In addition to being one of its co-founders, Ellwood reports on movies and awards for HitFix.[10]

Drew McWeeny

Formerly known as “Moriarty”, McWeeny previously wrote for Ain't It Cool News. In addition to being a screenwriter and movie critic, McWeeny now covers the movie industry for HitFix. McWeeny announced his move to HitFix in 2008 in a review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.[14]

On September 20, 2016, McWeeny announced via Twitter that he would no longer be working for Hitfix.[15]

Alan Sepinwall

See also: Alan Sepinwall

After 14 years at The Star-Ledger, Sepinwall—also known for his blog, "What's Alan Watching"—moved to HitFix full-time in April 2010. Last spring,[when?] NBC executives went so far as to credit Sepinwall by name for his role in earning a renewal for Chuck.[16] Slate credited Sepinwall with having "changed the nature of television criticism".[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hitfix.com - HitFix - Entertainment News, Events, Exclusives & Reviews for Movies, Film, Television, Music". Site Info Tool. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  2. ^ Jones, Deborah (June 28, 2010). "Tech Coast Angels Joins $1.6m Investment in Hitfix, Unique Content-Driven Entertainment Website". Tech Coast Angels. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  3. ^ Carbone, Nick (August 14, 2011). "Groovy, Baby! Mike Myers Will Return for 'Austin Powers 4′". TIME. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  4. ^ Boucher, Geoff (December 13, 2009). "'Avatar' weekend roundup and fearless predictions". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  5. ^ "'Austin Powers 4': Mike Myers Signs For New Sequel". The Huffington Post. August 13, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  6. ^ Malkin, Marc (July 14, 2010). "The Hulk: Is Mark Ruffalo Replacing Ed Norton?". E!. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  7. ^ "Contestants? It's TV talent judges basking in fame, cash". The Daily Herald. May 17, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  8. ^ Todd Spangler (April 17, 2014). "Showbiz Site Uproxx Acquired by Guy-Focused Digital Media Firm Woven". Variety. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  9. ^ "www.hitfix.com". Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  10. ^ a b Article on Variety.com Archived November 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ socaltech.com Archived May 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "Venture Capital Totals $603.2M In Southern California In Q3". socaltech.com. October 18, 2011.
  13. ^ Tech Coast Angels Joins $1.6M Investment in HitFix, Unique Content Driven Entertainment Website Archived 2013-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ McWeeny, Drew (7 December 2008). "Moriarty Has Seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button!!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  15. ^ DrewMcWeeny [@DrewMcWeeny] (September 20, 2016). "I appreciate every one of you who reads my work. I'm not sure where you'll read it next, but it is no longer at HitFix" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Georgian, Laura (April 26, 2010). "The Star-Ledger's Alan Sepinwall Moves to HitFix.Com". Business Wire. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  17. ^ Levin, Josh (February 14, 2011). "The TV Guide". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
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