Fusion launched one month ago today, and TVNewser has obtained an internal email network CEO Isaac Lee wrote to the staff praising while urging continuing innovation.
“Our content continues to drive a national conversation,” Lee wrote. “Fusion is already playing a prominent role in shaping our nation’s dialogue.”
Fusion, which is not in enough homes to be publicly rated by Nielsen, is depending on Web traffic. Lee’s email highlights Fusion.net’s traffic—half of which comes from mobile devices—as well as Fusion TV’s headline-grabbing interviews.
Some of those interviews Lee refers to were “Glee” star Alex Newell taking on Bill O’Reilly for calling him “dopey” and an on-air feud between hosts Alicia Menendez and Leon Krauze over who gets to interview actress Jennifer Lawrence first — neither has so far.
He also warned employees to not pat themselves on the back too much:
“We must remember we are one month into a very long journey and we cannot stop here. The challenges we faced in the days and weeks leading up to launch have not gone away, but the last month has shown me that we are more than ready to tackle them.”
Lee’s email after the jump.
From: Isaac Lee
Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 2013 10:22 AM
To: All Fusion
Subject: Happy Thanksgiving!
Hola Fusion-
We have a lot to be thankful for this year, and before the holiday, I wanted to share with all of you how grateful I am for your hard work and of all the great things we’ve accomplished together so far.
We’ve made incredible progress since we launched just one month ago –
- We are already meeting and exceeding our goals for unique website visitors. Social referral traffic, a critical metric to establishing the popularity and virality of our content, has more than doubled since launch.
- Our content continues to drive a national conversation. When we set out to start Fusion, we wanted to have a worldview that embraces the values that matter most to our audience, and Fusion is already playing a prominent role in shaping our nation’s dialogue. This influence includes headline-generating interviews from our hosts to the response we received on our El Chapo documentary during premiere week.
- Shows like No, You Shut Up! and Good Morning Today are truly unlike anything that’s ever been on TV. It is thrilling to watch them grow and catch on with a wider audience… I can’t wait for Yerd Nerp to become a household name! (Find him on Twitter @YerdNerp if you haven’t already)
- And perhaps most important to Fusion’s long-term success: nearly half the traffic to our site is driven by mobile devices. We have always known that creating good mobile content is a key to our success, and this metric shows that we are on the right track.
But before we spend too much time patting ourselves on the back, we must remember we are one month into a very long journey and we cannot stop here. The challenges we faced in the days and weeks leading up to launch have not gone away, but the last month has shown me that we are more than ready to tackle them.
We must continue to innovate – reaching beyond the conventional in our storytelling and in the ways we engage with our audience. We will come together again on Monday for a town hall to talk more about what we learned in our first month and the exciting months ahead.
I am thankful to have an opportunity to do what I love each and every day, working with all of you as we look to the future with a common goal – to establish Fusion as THE voice for a new, diverse, and digital America.
I hope you all take time over the next few days to enjoy the important things in life – friends, family, and of course some good food.
Abrazos,
Isaac