Rooster Teeth Acquired by Fullscreen: What Happens to its Community

Monday I opened twitter to scan through what I had missed after a morning of classes to find a simple tweet from Rooster Teeth.  It stated that the production company will be acquired by Fullscreen, Inc.

Now, after I had seen the tweet and read posts on the Rooster Teeth site from creators Matt Hullum and Burnie Burns, I rushed to my search engine to learn who really is Fullscreen.  through my research (Wikipedia and the Fullscreen site) I discovered that the company provides YouTube personalities with audience consultation and strategy, in addition to technology to those without up-to-date technology for making YouTube content.

After feeling satisfied with my research, I went on Facebook and saw the same post again.  Knowing Facebook allows commentators to say just about anything they wish, I delved into the building drama of the fan reactions.

Most fans I have seen from Twitter and on the Rooster Teeth site are supportive of the move.  Facebook users, however, were not afraid to give the post a piece of their mind.

"Ripsterteeth"

That was a common one I saw in the comments.  It was sad to see so many jsut give up on an internet content provider that has given its fans some of the most memorable videos on the internet.  Red versus Blue is one of the longest running shows on the Internet, and has now concluded its twelfth season.  The Achievement Hunter channel provides game play and a community for others to share videos of their gaming experiences.  But people are willing to jump ship because they are scared that what Rooster Teeth will do is, God forbid, CHANGE.

It is slightly scary to see.  Rooster Teeth is not exactly a YouTube channel, but they upload their content to the video site, usually within a day or a week.  Primarily, the Rooster Teeth company produces content for its own website, and has a payment plan for those who wish to see the content early and without commercials.  This means day-one uploads of their most popular shows, like RvB and RWBY (pronounced Ruby), are available a full hour ahead of of public release to sponsors.

I watch the Rooster Teeth Channel fairly regularly as well, and I am a sponsor.  I enjoy watching the Achievement Hunters because they have fun making videos of their game play experiences.  I watch other Rooster Teeth shows because it is a unique comedy, and they acknowledge their fans fairly regularly by including them in shows, contests, and live broadcasts.  I am not going to jump ship.  I have only been a member for six months, but I have been watching for about two years now.

The problem I see people having with the acquisition is they are scared that Fullscreen is taking over all aspects of the company the viewers love.  As described by Burnie, Matt, and the social media coordinator Barbara Dunkleman, the move is to allow the company to produce additional content for the fans.  Fullscreen is only going to be aiding in coordinating the popular Rooster Teeth Expo in Austin (where RT is based out of), and marketing.  In addition, Fullscreen can help Rooster Teeth provide content by giving them certain equipment, and providing market analysis of their viewers to fine-tune what they produce.

Bu I also am afraid of how far the fine tuning will go.  The Rooster Teeth content is for a very mature audience, with constant swearing, some alcohol use, and usually talk of male and female genitalia.  Censorship of such content will definitely limit the target audience, and lose fans of the company.

But above all else, Rooster Teeth is a company.  It is currently creating its first movie, Lazer Team, and is adding new shows to supplement the off-season of Red versus Blue and RWBY.  it is now experimenting with audience interaction through Twitter and online surveys.  They now have their own Twitch account so anyone in the company can play games in real time for others to watch, though currently it is mostly used by Ray (an employee of Achievement Hunter).

As the dust settles on the acquisition, I am not scared of what will happen to the company.  I wait to see what new content or ideas may come out of it.  Let me know what you think below or on my Facebook page.

Until next time