Bruce Tuchman invests in ‘Netflix of stand up comedy’

Bruce Tuchman, former president of AMC Global and Sundance Channel Global, has invested in NextUp, the stand-up comedy SVOD service, as it sees its latest investment round double.

NextUp’s last financial raise saw it valued at £1.5 million (US$2.12 million).

The target for the latest funding round on SyndicateRoom was £300,000, and is currently oversubscribed at 111%, according to the company. This means £332,00 has been raised, and due to demand a £600,000 funding round has opened.

Tuchman, who was also formerly president of MGM Networks Worldwide and a long-serving senior Nickelodeon exec, will also serve as advisor.

He said: “The team at NextUp are experts in their field with huge amounts of collective experience, as well as drive and ambition. I’m looking forward to helping them maximise their distribution channels so they can grow rapidly and dominate the comedy vertical.”

Tuchman (left) has invested in companies such as Parrot Analytics and is an advisor to Iflix. He has previously opined that niche SVOD services are the future of content distribution.

The funding round, which is open to members of the public, closes at 11pm GMT on Tuesday, March 27, 2018.

Alongside Tuchman and a raft of other experienced investors, venture capital firm Velocity has also re-invested and appointed the founder of BMB Marketing Agency, Bil Bungay, to sit on the board.

NextUp claims that it has achieved its subscriber targets with “minimal marketing” and had garnered positive feedback, receiving five-star average ratings across Android and iOS stores.

NextUp managing director and co-founder Daniel Berg added: “We’re very pleased with the success of this latest funding round, which will really help push the business to its next level of growth.

“We are also delighted to have Bruce on board. We showcase an unparalleled variety of live comedy shows and with his experience, connections and insight, we can start to distribute them further than ever and grow into the worldwide home of stand-up comedy whilst supporting acts, venues and everyone inbetween.”

The service is available worldwide via web browsers and mobile apps, the service is also distributed on Amazon Channels in the UK, US and selected stand-up featured have been featured on Virgin Atlantic’s in-flight entertainment offering.