Unscripted Comedy Streamer Dropout Crosses 1 Million Subscribers

We all know about Netflix and HBO Max and Hulu, but as those services duke it out for the mass audience, we’re seeing a growing trend of success with niche streamers. One of the interesting success stories in that arena is Dropout.

Dropout is a streaming service focused on unscripted comedy and game shows. The service launched in 2018 from the same team behind CollegeHumor. In 2020, CollegeHumor’s parent company fired everyone and sold the IP to CollegeHumor employee. Dropout has most of the original CollegeHumor videos, but has expanded well beyond that.

Now, Variety reports the service has crossed a pretty incredible milestone: 1 million subscribers. Dropout says from 2024 to 2025, subscribers rose by 31%.

In alignment with its popularity, Dropout raised its price by $1 in April. The service now costs $6.99/month or you can get 20% off your first year of an annual subscription ($55.99, normally $69.99).

What’s even wilder is that some Dropout fans were actually asking to pay more. So Dropout now has an optional Superfan tier for $129.99.

Those Superfans don’t get a ton of extras beyond their support of the platform. Subscribers will get some behind-the-scenes extras, 10% off most merchandise, and special access to live event tickets.

With the extra revenue, Dropout plans to get into scripted and animated content.

What Can You Watch on Dropout?

The service features original shows like “Game Changer,” the 26-season Dungeons & Dragons saga “Dimension 20,” the improvised comedy game show “Make Some Noise,” “Very Important People,” the geek trivia show “Um Actually,” “Dirty Laundry,” and “Breaking News.”

Dropout lies at the intersection of nerdy, quick-witted, and funny.

The Rise of Niche Streaming

While most people subscribe to a general entertainment streamer with Hollywood movies and original TV shows, a good chunk of the audience is looking elsewhere to satisfy its specific interests.

Many of these streaming services are powered by small-but-mighty fanbases. One of these is Beacon, which (like Dropout) has top-quality Dungeons & Dragons campaigns.

Another fan favorite is Rifftrax and its ad-free “friends” subscription. The former stars of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” make jokes as they watch goofy movies like “Samurai Cop,” “Cool as Ice,” “Sharknado,” and “Red Dawn.”

2nd Try started as an unscripted YouTube channel called “The Try Guys,” but frustrations with censorship and the YouTube algorithm led them to create their own streaming service.

According to the data analytics firm Antenna, specialty streamers have been growing rapidly. From the third quarter of 2023, those smaller streamers have been responsible for more than 20% of gross new streaming subscriptions every quarter.

Among the most popular specialty streamers are AMC+ (with Shudder‘s great horror library), Crunchyroll (the world’s best anime library), and BritBox, PBS Masterpiece, and Acorn TV (standout British series).

Amazon’s Prime Video is a key contributor to this growing ecosystem. Antenna found that Amazon was responsible for 58% of sign-ups to such services. With 130+ possible add-on subscriptions, Prime Video is a great marketplace whether you’re interested in horror, documentaries, family entertainment, international content, exercise, or specialized sports.

Considering Prime Video itself has a 30-day free trial and nearly all these micro-streamers offer free trials as well, it’s easy to see why adoption is on the rise.