100 Thieves is making moves — just in an unexpected way. On Tuesday, the organization revealed that they tapped former Barstool Sports executive Jen Simons to become their first chief content officer. Simons becomes the first female c-suite executive for 100 Thieves although she is not the first female senior executive at the company company.
Since 2015, she has had stints as an executive producer on two incredible programs: Garbage Time with Katie Nolan and The Men in Blazer Show. She also had a two and a half year stint with Embassy Row as their VP in the sports and digital programming division. But maybe her more interesting venture was her near three year stint at the previous mentioned Barstool Sports as an EVP and Head of Production, Development and Programing.
A decision to bring in a new c-suite content executive comes as a surprise. 100 Thieves haven’t necessarily planted their stake in the original content sector. The organization grew in popularity thanks to their clothing line, earning the nickname of being a “hoodie organization.” In recent years, the org was finally able to establish their foundation in key esports titles. 2021 was arguably their most successful year with their League of Legends line-up winning the 2021 LCS Championship and representing the LCS at the 2021 World Championship and their VALORANT line-up becoming fan favorites in the region.
Most organizations in the space are also moving away from original content and are instead focusing on the benefits of partnering with streamers. By sponsoring content creators, organizations are able to build, sell and distribute sponsorship packages that all mutually beneficial.
While maintaining a relatively active social media pages, 100 Thieves has fallen into this trap as well. Despite having an impressive 1.45 million subscriber count on their YouTube page, they’ve averaging roughly 3.3 million views per month while maintaining an active posting schedule. Within the last month, their top video amassed a respectable 323,000 views. But with their channel size, it begs the question of what is going wrong. What are they missing with their audience?
It should be noted that these statistics don’t include the success of individual creator’s channel. These channels are typically filled with stream highlights and personal vlogs. When operating on their own, the content is widely successful. Its just a matter of getting it under the “umbrella” of it being a “100 Thieves production” and not just tied to the creator.
An experienced executive can help.
During her recent tenure Barstool Sports, Simons is widely credited with the improved productions operations at the company. However fans of the sports media company have been upset with her executive decision on what was greenlight. Barstools statistics for original content have varied greatly. Top creators have typically carried the weight of the content. Senior members of the company such as Dan Katz and Dave Portnoy would often be tied to successes within the company. While names such as Alex Cooper, Gillie da King and Wallo267 sky-rocketed during their time with Barstool, other content on the platform has struggled — leading to a recent announcement of a content overhaul within the company.
She will also be entering an industry that has poked holes at conventional business and entertainment theory. Constantly, creators are trying to find the right formula, the right content that matches with the values of their audience. And sometimes, great production takes away from great comedy.
What she’ll bring to the table is a different sounding board for creators to work from. Her experience in entertainment is incredibly valuable. But the growing pains that may come with the idea of original content shouldn’t be ignored. Content creators technically have a “day job” with their partnerships to their respective platforms. Some creators are very connected to gaming and being in content not around gaming may not connect to their audience.
On the other hand, an executive like Simons may inspire creators to….create. A key individual that could benefit from working with Simons is creator “AustinShow” — with is content primarily being game shows or reality shows.
Simons time with the company will be fascinating to watch. If 100 Thieves are able to make the most of their original programming and continue to build up their content portfolio, it continues to add to the incredible story that has been their rise in the space. But it also could be a decision that simply misses the mark.