Online video, VOD production company Ripe Digital shuts down

Online video and video-on-demand provider Ripe Digital Entertainment has closed its doors and is currently seeking a sale, despite raising nearly $45 million in venture funding since its founding in 2004, says paidContent.org. Ripe Digital had VOD deals with Comcast and Time Warner Cable, which both distributed Ripe Digital video shorts targeted at a coveted demographic, 18 to 34-year-old males. Ripe Digital's main investors were Hearst-Argyle and Time Warner.

Ripe Digital's demise is one in a long line of failures in the original online video space, as paidContent's Rafat Ali points out in a post on the recent decline in these companies' fortunes. A clear monetization strategy has yet to develop for original online video creators, but the entrants that still survive, such as Revision3 and FunnyOrDie, hope increased syndication efforts and more advanced VOD offerings will solve the puzzle before they meet Ripe Digital's fate.

Ripe Digital three most popular branded properties--RipeTV, OctanceTV and FlowTV--might make good acquisition targets for other original online video companies, so keep an eye out as the remaining Ripe Digital staff tries to liquidate those assets. 

For more:
- see paidContent's article on Ripe Digital's downfall here
- see paidContent's article on the overall decline in this niche here 

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