NEW YORK ManiaTV, which launched in 2004 as an attempt at melding live TV and the Web, has shut down operations, according to sources.
The Web video network had pared down its staff to fewer than 10 employees in recent weeks as it publicly sought a buyer. The staff was informed of the site's closure on Monday.
The move to seek a buyer came as one of maniaTV's core investors, Comerica Bank, chose to eliminate the company's line of credit. According to sources, Comerica's decision was driven both by the worsening economic downturn and maniaTV's rapidly declining ad business.
ManiaTV made a name for itself a few years ago when comedian Tom Green, who'd previously hosted several shows on MTV, launched his own live series on the site. Soon after, the Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro launched a similar series. While Green eventually left the company, Navarro's show lasted until late 2008.
Over the past few years, maniaTV's business model frequently shifted as the online video market exploded. The site dabbled with user-generated content, which it eventually abandoned, and more recently experimented with syndication and online video technology services.
But maniaTV's core success was in original, young-male-aimed series focused on genres like comedy, music and video games. Over the years the site landed sponsorship from brands like Adidas, Nike, Doritos and Verizon. As recently as last August, the site rolled out the branded-entertainment series Midnight Rida, a spoof of NBC's Knight Rider, in conjunction with Axe. In December, the site debuted the talk show BarBeQuay With Jonah Ray, which was sponsored by AT&T.
But sources said maniaTV's ad business had recently dried up. In addition, several branded-entertainment sponsors like Axe were displeased with the results of their series and pulled out early before maniaTV could recoup its upfront investments. Midnight Rida is no longer available on the site, which currently remains live.
ManiaTV CEO Peter Hoskins could not be reached for comment as of Tuesday afternoon.
