pop-culture
(7)
E! News outgrew the 11 p.m. appointment
The nightly show ended. The celebrity conversation kept going. Inside a media brand learning which parts of television belong on a phone - and which still deserve a red carpet.
Why a gin brand needed a rock band: the BNC story
Bragman Nyman Cafarelli built a business connecting Hollywood talent with consumer brands. Its history, from a cassette-era music contest to a reunion of former colleagues in 2025, shows what an agency can own - and what walks out the door.
The Loyal Subjects Turned $500 Into a Toy-Aisle Time Machine - and Found a Way to Sell Nostalgia Twice
Jonathan Cathey bootstrapped a toy company with a $500 check, learned that shelf space is scarcer than ideas, and built a licensing machine around the emotional details collectors refuse to forget.
Mighty Jaxx
Mighty Jaxx is a Singapore-based, technology-driven brand platform that designs, manufactures and distributes limited-edition art toys and 'phygital' collectibles. Founded by Jackson Aw in 2012, it pairs licensed pop-culture partnerships (Netflix, Disney, Hasbro, DC Comics, Formula 1, Toei Animation) with more than 120 artists, and embeds NFC chips into products to enable blockchain-based authentication and a digital fan journey. The company ships to collectors in 90+ countries and operates a family of brands spanning collectibles, retail (PLAYe), experiences and Web3.
GLD (The GLD Shop)
GLD (The GLD Shop) is a Miami-based direct-to-consumer jewelry brand founded by Christian Johnston in 2015. It designs classic and custom chains, pendants, watches, and accessories that blend streetwear culture with fine-jewelry craftsmanship. Backed by officially licensed partnerships with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA, and WNBA plus pop-culture collabs and celebrity fans, GLD has grown from a Pittsburgh basement into an international brand often called the 'Nike of men's jewelry.'
UPROXX
UPROXX is a Los Angeles-based digital media and entertainment company that grew from a music and pop-culture website into a connected-TV and social-video powerhouse reaching more than 160 million monthly viewers. Founded by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, it owns brands including UPROXX, HipHopDX and Dime Magazine, produces original music and culture programming, runs a content studio for brand campaigns, and - after going independent again in 2024 alongside will.i.am and Rich Antoniello - sells media across YouTube and CTV while folding AI into how it makes and monetizes content.
Fandom
Fandom is the world's largest fan platform - a sprawling network of 250,000+ community-built wikis covering movies, TV, gaming and anime, reaching about 350 million monthly visitors. Born as Wikicities in 2004 from Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and Angela Beesley, it grew into a for-profit pop-culture reference engine and, after acquiring GameSpot, Metacritic, TV Guide, GameFAQs and Giant Bomb in 2022, also one of the loudest editorial voices in entertainment.