Dropout CEO on Launching HigherPriced 'Superfan' Tier as Streamer Crosses 1 Million Subscribers (EXCLUSIVE) Jennifer MaasNovember 1, 2025 at 3:12 AM 0 Kate Elliott This week, Dropout gave fans what they asked for: a chance to pay more for the comedy streaming service. Back in April, Dropout CEO Sam Reich announced that the streaming service born out of CollegeHumor would increase its price by $1 — going from a $5.99permonth to $6.99permonth offering. While the majority of streaming service price increases go over poorly with customers, this one had a surprising effect.
- - Dropout CEO on Launching Higher-Priced 'Superfan' Tier as Streamer Crosses 1 Million Subscribers (EXCLUSIVE)
Jennifer MaasNovember 1, 2025 at 3:12 AM
0
Kate Elliott
This week, Dropout gave fans what they asked for: a chance to pay more for the comedy streaming service.
Back in April, Dropout CEO Sam Reich announced that the streaming service born out of CollegeHumor would increase its price by $1 — going from a $5.99-per-month to $6.99-per-month offering. While the majority of streaming service price increases go over poorly with customers, this one had a surprising effect. There were many, many Dropout fans offering to pay the platform even more money for no additional return, just because they want to see Dropout continue to thrive.
More from Variety
Inside Dropout's Surprise 'Game Changer' Finale: How Sam Reich Was Tricked, Attempted to Hide 'Samalamadingdong' Episode (EXCLUSIVE)
Critical Role Sets Brennan Lee Mulligan as Game Master for Next Core Campaign as He Signs New Three-Year Deal With Dropout (EXCLUSIVE)
'Game Changer' ('Crowd Control') Episode Recap: Stand-Up Comics Gianmarco Soresi, Josh Johnson and Jeff Arcuri Tackle White Shirts and Red Flags
Last week, Reich and co. said, "your wish is our command," with announcement of a higher-priced "Superfan" tier on Dropout. It costs $129.99 annually (reduced to $97.49 for your first year) compared to the $69.99 annual price of a Dropout subscription.
While Reich tells Variety the internal plan at Dropout is to try not to raise the base price of the streaming service by more than $1 each year, the extra funds that could come from these self-proclaimed superfans who seemingly just want to give Dropout more of their money will help fuel continued growth at no additional cost to the average Dropout customer. And that growth is still small, but mighty.
To date, Dropout says it boasts more than one million subscribers. From 2024 to 2025, subscribers rose by 31%. And the most recent season of "Game Changer" saw Dropout's most-watched episode ever with the Season 7 premiere, "One Year Later," reaching one million views over its first two weeks of release in April.
Currently, Dropout has a staff of approximately 40 employees and counting compared to the more than 100 staffers that worked at CollegeHumor before it was shuttered (and then quickly revived by CollegeHumor survivor Reich.)
Here, Reich speaks with Variety (with a "super gravely" voice because he had been "shooting 'Game Changer' for six out of the last eight days") about the launch of the "Superfan" tier and the future of Dropout.
When did you start talking about the idea of a "Superfan" tier? How did it relate to the price increase you announced for the main Dropout subscription in April?
Conversations about this began eight or nine months before that original price change [announcement] video, because that drum beat of fans saying, "We'd like to pay you more money," was something that we wanted to start paying attention to.
As I'm running a business, I'm not in that rapid growth mindset all the time. But over time, you do have to pay people more every year. I suppose you don't have to. I think if you're a good business, you do. I think people expect to be treated a little better over time. And we are getting more ambitious with what Dropout content is. Both the shows themselves are becoming more ambitious and we're wanting to venture into more ambitious types of programming. So at the same time as we've almost deliberately hamstrung the cost of subscription. Now, the conversation we're having internally is, let's really try not to raise it by more than a buck a year, if we can.
We are sort of an odd duck in the sense that we are one part subscription platform, like Netflix — if I'm flattering us, but maybe we're more like Shudder or Crunchyroll; a niche subscription. And on the other hand, we're also kind of Patreon, because we're a group of personalities that people love. And this idea of a higher-tier subscription was something that we were eager to try, if we could, but it wasn't clear that Vimeo, who's our tech partner, could support it. So we started talking to Vimeo, we started building out the feature, we started imagining what the "Superfan" experience would be like, and then we released the price hike video. And that was overwhelmingly the response we got to it. And then the fire really kicked in. So we had something in development, and then we're like, now we really need to see this thing through.
How did you decide what the "Superfan" tier subscribers will receive vs. the regular tier of Dropout customers?
There's a bit of a sliding scale. On one side of that scale would be stuff like exclusive video content; that would arguably be the biggest lure of all. The other side would be absolutely nothing. We've probably landed like two-thirds of the way toward nothing.
What people are getting is exclusive merch, merch related discounts. They are getting early access to live-show ticket sales, and they're getting access to this behind-the-scenes experience, which we've undersold a little bit, but is actually pretty cool and interesting. And we have new editorial support that's full time at the company to help us fulfill upon that. And we're excited about what that can become.
What's tricky about this kind of thing is it is most important for us to communicate to fans that they don't need to do this. In fact, even if they consider themselves "superfans," they don't need to do it. They're not going to miss out on video content. And video content in the sense of, the core promise we've made to Dropout fans, which is, you pay X number of dollars and you get back our video content in return, we are still fulfilling on that promise. So no video FOMO. But at the same time, we don't want the experience to be devoid of value and merely a flex for those with disposable income. It can be that, too (laughs). But we want to give them something that in return for their hard-earned dollars. And so we've settled upon this for the time being.
And, have we gotten the mix exactly right? I imagine we'll experiment a little bit more and find exactly what the right mix of value is in order to attract people to this tier without feeling like we're alienating the core subscribers. But I think it was the right way to launch.
In the "Superfan" announcement video, you hinted that this additional revenue stream will in part go towards Dropout's plans to expand into scripted and animated content. Where are you on those kinds of projects right now?
Things are in the works, things are in the works. I would say, regardless of the format, regardless of if you call it scripted or animation, or what you call it, we are just getting a little bit more ambitious with our new programming in general. And that also applies to the quote, unquote unscripted category.
Can you really call "Game Changer" and "Dimension 20" unscripted shows? They're sort of semi-scripted shows. I think the thing that we do best, arguably, as Dropout is we sort of format break. We do things that are really non-traditional. So I'm not sure that there's a world where we even do scripted or animation, and they're fully that. But the the ambition of Dropout shows is increasing as we have a little bit more budget to flex. It allows us to do some things that we think are even more novel, and that's really exciting. Forever and ever, our budgets essentially stipulated that we batch shoot unscripted in a studio space, and now we can start coloring outside the lines a little bit. The "Fool's Gold" episode of "Game Changer" was almost an example of this. It just means that we can do more outside the studio.
You announced both the "Superfan" tier and, earlier this year, the general price increase yourself via social media, rather than through a press release or telling media outlets in advance. How did you make that choice and how are you balancing Dropout's direct communication with fans vs. press as the company grows?
The direct line to fans is important, and it's partially to do with being creatures of the internet and respecting that we're creatures of the internet. We have a pulpit from which to broadcast from, but genuinely, genuinely, press is now increasingly important, too. Press is important first and foremost, as it relates to legitimacy, but then legitimacy sort of connects to this idea of scale. When we ask ourselves, what is the ceiling for Dropout and who are Dropout's customers? I'm convinced that the audience for comedy is massive, even in just the United States alone, and that our cap as a company is greater than 5x away or 10x away. I think we could grow to 5 million subscribers or 10 million subscribers. But those are people who, right now, do not see us as very legitimate, who don't see the offering as legitimate. So how do you convince those people to subscribe? And I think press is a big part of how.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Best of Variety
What's Coming to Netflix in November 2025
Oscar Predictions: 'Hamnet' and 'Rental Family' Split Middleburg as AFI Fest and SCAD Bring More Contenders
The Best Couples Costumes to Wear This Halloween: From 'Severance' to Oasis
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: October 31, 2025 at 09:45PM on Source: VOXI MAG
#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle