Digital Entertainment Network
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Digital Entertainment Network (often abbreviated as DEN and stylized as > e n™̣) was a multimedia dot-com company[1] founded in the late-1990s by Marc Collins-Rector and his partner, Chad Shackley. Rector and Shackley had sold their ISP, Concentric Network, and used the proceeds of that sale, along with additional investor funding, to launch DEN.[2] In February 1999, Jim Ritts resigned as commissioner of the LPGA to become chairman of DEN.[3]
Company type | Privately-held |
---|---|
Industry | Internet |
Founded | 1998 (1998) |
Founders | Marc Collins-Rector and Chad Shackley |
Defunct | June 2000; 23 years ago (2000-06) |
Headquarters | Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
Key people | Marc Collins-Rector (CEO), Chad Shackley, Brock Pierce, Jim Ritts, David Neuman |
Website | Archived February 29, 2000, at the Wayback Machine |
DEN's goal was to deliver original episodic video content over the Internet aimed at niche audiences.[4] DEN was one of a crop of dot-com startups that focused on the creation and delivery of original video content online in the late 1990s[5] prior to wide adoption of broadband internet access.
In May 1999, DEN announced that their business model had earned them $26 million USD in investments from Microsoft, Dell, Chase Capital Partners, and others.[6] In September 1999, Microsoft announced that DEN was one of their partners in the Windows Media Broadband Jumpstart initiative, focusing on the creation of video and audio entertainment for the Windows Media format for high-speed connections.[7] By 1999, the company was reportedly valued at $58,500,000 USD and included former Walt Disney Television President David Neuman, Garth Ancier, David Geffen, Gary Goddard, and Bryan Singer as investors.[8][9][10]
DEN was slated for a $75 million USD IPO in October 1999 but the IPO was withdrawn[11] in the wake of allegations of sexual assault against Collins-Rector, Shackley, and fellow executive Brock Pierce. All three executives subsequently resigned.[2] Layoffs followed in February 2000.[12] While a new executive team led by former Capitol Records President Gary Gersh[11] and former Microsoft executive Greg Carpenter[13] tried to salvage the company and relaunch in May 2000,[14] DEN filed for bankruptcy and shut down in June 2000.[15][16]