Last week, comedy website CollegeHumor announced that it will be launching Dropout, a new streaming video subscription service. The new service will be uncensored and ad-free and feature mixed-media with original programming, animation, comics and other content, reports Variety. Dropout launched last Wednesday in public beta online and in mobile browsers. An expanded launch on iOS and Android is planned for November.

During beta testing, Dropout will be available for $3.99 a month for the first three months, after a free seven-day trial. After that, Dropout will be available via tiered pricing:

• $3.99 per month when paid annually
• $4.99 per month with a six-month subscription
• $5.99 for a month-by-month subscription

According to a news release, Dropout will feature longer-form, premium programming with scripted and unscripted shows including favorite alumni from CollegeHumor, including Jake Hurwitz, Amir Blumenfeld, Josh Ruben and Elaine Carroll. Here is a sampling from the first-year line-up of shows:

• Cartoon Hell
• Dimension 20: Fantasy High
• Kingpin Katie
• Lonely and Horny
• Paranoia
• Rank Room
• Troopers
• WTF101

Comics include Gay Spy, Legend of Jared and The Continuing Adventures of King Jong Un, and chat stories will including Dating a Black Hole, Nude Pic, Pizza Terrorists and Roommate Wanted, among others.

“Our goal is to defy traditional media with unique content, whether because it’s R-rated (See Plum Run), niche (Um, Actually), or unusual in terms of format (Dimension 20: Fantasy High, comics, and chats),” said Sam Reich, CH Media’s Chief Creative Officer, in a news release. “We hope to offer users something surprising, immersive, and laugh-out-loud funny; a place they can, to plagiarize Timothy Leary: log on, tune in, and drop out.”

In addition to streaming video, Dropout will offer mobile-first digital comics like Dreadlord, Cartoon Hell Presents and Ladies Book Club and chat story content that will connect chat stories with new episodes of original shows.

“DROPOUT is a first-of-its kind offering, an SMOD service (subscription media on demand), so to speak, that breaks new ground by bringing together video, comics and chat stories into one comprehensive experience,” said Shane Rahmani, CH Media’s Chief Business Officer.

Owned by IAC, Dropout, CollegeHumor, Dorkly and Drawfee will be managed as media entity CH Media which will be managed by Reich, Rahmani and CFO Natalie Mayslich.

“CollegeHumor has historically led the vanguard of innovation in video, and now we are pushing comedy to its limits with the launch of Dropout,” said Rich Cusick, CH Media CEO. “The success of Dropout, combined with CollegeHumor’s thriving production studio and advertising business, will allow us to double down our investment into premium original content, resulting in a bigger, better, badder CollegeHumor across all platforms.”

So why did CollegeHumor start its own streaming channel? Here’s what Dropout says in its FAQs:

“We love our site and YouTube dearly. The ads, however, we do not love quite as much. Dropout will let us make what we’ve always wanted to make, the way we’ve always wanted to make it. No ads, no censors. It’s like climbing straight into our brains, but less messy.”

This doesn’t change CollegeHumor’s offerings though. The site will continue to offer the same irreverent, uncensored content that fans have grown to love. CollegeHumor might even be adding more content, but Dropout exclusive content will only be available on Dropout’s channel.

Insider Take:

It seems like OTT 2.0 is coming around. OTT 1.0 started with services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu which have become household names. Gradually, OTT services were bundled with live TV and niche services like SeeSo were born. Many of the bundled channels have continued successfully, but with adjustments to their pricing, where many niche OTT services have gone by the wayside or switched up their business model. Dropout, however, has a targeted audience and has had success with its existing content, so we can see this service making a go of it if they can churn out exclusive content at a fast enough pace to make it work the investment to fans.