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Linus Media Group Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryEntertainment
FoundedOctober 2, 2012; 12 years ago (2012-10-02)[1] in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
FounderLinus Sebastian
Headquarters101-18643 52nd Avenue,
Surrey, British Columbia, V3S 8E5
,
Canada
Key people
  • Linus Sebastian, CEO (2013–present)
  • Yvonne Ho, CFO
    (2013–present)
  • Luke Lafreniere, CTO (2023–present)
Divisions
  • Creator Warehouse
  • Floatplane
  • LTT Labs
Websitelinusmediagroup.com

Linus Media Group Inc. (LMG) is a privately held Canadian entertainment company founded by Linus Sebastian and Yvonne Ho in 2012. The company owns and operates several YouTube channels and podcasts that cover technology, most popularly Linus Tech Tips (LTT), serving as their production agency and distributor.[2]

As of March 2021, Linus Tech Tips is the most-watched technology channel on YouTube.[3] In 2014, Tubefilter named the channel as being within the "top 1% of Google's preferred advertising channels" on YouTube for the technology category.[4] LMG's other channels, including Techquickie, TechLinked, and ShortCircuit, have earned a total of 26.34 million subscribers and 9.16 billion video views between them.

After serving as the CEO of Linus Media Group for 10 years, Sebastian announced that he would retire from this position effective July 1, 2023, and would be taken over by Terren Tong. Sebastian and his wife, Yvonne Ho, will remain the sole shareholders in the company, and Sebastian will become Chief Vision Officer.

History

The Linus Tech Tips logo as of 2018

British Columbia native Linus Sebastian and several others launched Linus Media Group in January 2013 out of a garage,[5] while the company was incorporated in October 2012.[1] Previously Sebastian worked for the now-defunct Canadian online computer retailer NCIX and later on served as a host for the retailer's online video content.[6] Due to high costs and low viewership during the early days of the channel, Sebastian was instructed to create the Linus Tech Tips channel as a cheaper offshoot of the NCIX channel, to allow for lower production values without affecting the NCIX brand. He described TigerDirect and Newegg as competitors.[7] Linus Tech Tips was created on November 24, 2008.[8] He eventually left NCIX following a dispute regarding company management, negotiating an agreement in which he could keep the channel as long as he signed a non-compete clause.[9]

Currently, LMG is headquartered in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.[10] As of May 2023, it has over 100 full-time employees.[2]

Beside their YouTube channels, the company has started and invested in several other side ventures:

  • Since 2017, LMG has hosted an annual event known as the LTX Expo (LTX), a "convention featuring tech-focused content creators and personalities".[11]
  • Creator Warehouse is a merchandise company founded by Sebastian that creates and sells LMG branded apparel.[12]
  • Floatplane is an online streaming service founded by Sebastian that offers creators a platform to upload and monetize their content.[13] One of its main selling points is its support for higher bit rate compared to YouTube. All videos are behind a paywall.[14]
  • In 2022, Sebastian announced the creation of LTT Labs, a company dedicated to testing the validity of manufacturer claims.[15]

On May 18, 2023, Sebastian announced that he would be stepping down as Chief Executive Officer and would be transitioning into a creative role, effective July 1, 2023. Terren Tong, previously an executive of Corsair Gaming and whom Sebastian worked under during his time at NCIX, was named to replace Sebastian as CEO. In the announcement, Sebastian mentioned he had received a buyout offer for the company from an unnamed entity, valuing it at around $100 million. Sebastian declined the offer.[16][17][18]

March 2023 hack

On March 23, 2023, Linus Tech Tips, TechLinked, and Techquickie were hacked and subsequently terminated due to a security breach.[19] The hackers then changed the channel names, changing the main channel name to Tesla and started broadcasting two identical live streams which appeared to show deepfakes of Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and others having a conversation about Ethereum, GPT-4, and other topics.[20] The hackers also unlisted many videos and later re-published them as well as uploaded videos with titles that stated "DONOTUPLOAD" and subsequently changed the name to LinusTechTipsTemp to seem more legitimate.[21] Sometime before 11:51 AM UTC, all hacked channels were terminated,[22] although it is unclear if it was by the hackers or by YouTube. Around 3 PM UTC, Sebastian published a message on Floatplane, saying that he had everything "locked down" and that he is working with Google to get everything reinstated.[23] At approximately 3 AM UTC, all hacked channels were reinstated, with most unauthorized changes reverted some time later. A video was later published on the Linus Tech Tips channel about the incident explaining that an employee had downloaded a Trojan horse in the guise of a PDF file from a seemingly legitimate sponsor email.[24]

Notable videos

Sebastian in a 2013 promotional video

On January 2, 2016, Linus Tech Tips released a video demonstrating a computer capable of supporting seven individual users at once, with an estimated total cost of $30,000.[25] The video made technology news on a number of websites.[26][27][28]

In August 2017, the Linus Tech Tips channel uploaded a two part video where they were able to game at 16K resolution (15360 by 8640 pixels) using 16 4K monitors in a 4 by 4 configuration.[29]

In April 2018, the Linus Tech Tips channel uploaded a video claiming that Apple refused to repair Sebastian's iMac Pro after Linus Tech Tips staff damaged it in a product teardown,[30] a refusal that VentureBeat speculated is illegal.[31]

In December 2018, Linus Tech Tips released a four-part series detailing their experience buying a gaming PC from 6 systems integrators representing 3 different market tiers.[32] The series has gained over 12 million views and was covered in PC Gamer.[32]

In 2021, Linus Tech Tips released a three-part series showing the process of making an 18-carat gold Xbox Series X controller. The first video showed the prototyping, the second the making of the gold shells, and the third the reactions of employees at their headquarters.[33]

List of YouTube channels

Channel Description Subscribers Views Creation Date
Linus Tech Tips Flagship channel; long-form technology-related videos 15.5 million 8.06 billion November 25, 2008
Techquickie Short-form technology-related videos[32] 4.24 million 805.8 million January 15, 2012
TechLinked Technology and gaming news, produced thrice-weekly; also a podcast[34] 1.85 million 446 million May 3, 2018
ShortCircuit Technology-related unboxings[35] 2.16 million 444.07 million January 24, 2020
Channel Super Fun Miscellaneous videos and game show–esque challenges[36] 1.26 million 324.2 million May 28, 2014
LMG Clips Highlight clips from popular videos and livestreams[37] 537,000 190.6 million September 21, 2019
Mac Address Apple-related videos, hosted by Jonathan Horst[38] 542,000 88.03 million January 26, 2021
LinusCatTips Personal vlogs from Sebastian, mostly centered around his pet cats 244,000 11.1 million June 17, 2010
They're Just Movies[i] Formerly active film-related vlogcast and podcast[39] 141,000 4.34 million December 20, 2019 (ended December 30, 2022)[40]
  1. ^ They're Just Movies was formerly known as Carpool Critics.

References

  1. ^ a b "Linus Media Group Inc". OrgBook BC. Government of British Columbia. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Ovide, Shira (February 15, 2022). "This YouTube Star Is Also a Retail Empire". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  3. ^ "Top 100 YouTubers tech Channels". socialblade.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  4. ^ "Meet The Top 1% Of YouTube's "Google Preferred" Channels For Advertisers (Exclusive)". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  5. ^ "The History of Linus Media Group". Linus Media Group. Archived from the original on November 30, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  6. ^ "I'm Linus Sebastian of LinusTechTips, and This Is How I Work". LifeHacker. July 29, 2015. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  7. ^ "How I became: LinusTechTips (Linus Sebastian)". How I became. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "About". Linus Tech Tips. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ "Why Linus Left NCIX". Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ "Linus Media Group".
  11. ^ "DreamHack to Provide Festival Experience at Linus Tech Tips Expo". The Esports Observer. February 22, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  12. ^ Tait, Amelia (December 26, 2021). "Meet the 'Influpreneurs': The new breed of YouTube influencers staffing up and building business empires". GQ. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  13. ^ Tait, Amelia (December 26, 2021). "Meet the 'Influpreneurs': The new breed of YouTube influencers staffing up and building business empires". GQ. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  14. ^ Passaris, Christie. "The ultimate guide to Floatplane". Clipchamp. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  15. ^ The Future of this Channel - LTT Labs Building Tour, retrieved April 16, 2023
  16. ^ "Linus Is Stepping Down As CEO Of Linus Media Group". Kotaku. G/O Media. May 19, 2023. Archived from the original on May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  17. ^ Davis, Wes (May 19, 2023). "Linus Sebastian doesn't want to be the boss anymore". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on May 19, 2023.
  18. ^ Thubron, Rob (May 19, 2023). "Linus Sebastian is stepping down as CEO of Linus Media Group, rejects $100 million takeover offer". TechSpot. Archived from the original on May 19, 2023.
  19. ^ "Popular YouTube Channel Linus Tech Tips Pulled After Scammer Hack". Kotaku. March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  20. ^ Warren, Tom (March 23, 2023). "The Linus Tech Tips YouTube hack is the latest in a line of crypto scam breaches". The Verge. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  21. ^ Howarth, Jack (March 23, 2023). "LTT YouTube channel hacked to promote Deep Fake scam". WePC. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  22. ^ "Linus Tech Tips - YouTube". YouTube. March 23, 2023. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  23. ^ Mark Tyson (March 23, 2023). "Linus Tech Tips YouTube Channel Hacked to Promote Crypto Scams". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  24. ^ My Channel Was Deleted Last Night, retrieved March 24, 2023 – via YouTube
  25. ^ Richards, Rae Michelle. "EVER WANTED TO BUILD A$30,000 COMPUTER? BECAUSE THIS GUY DID IT!". Broken Joy Sticks. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  26. ^ Khan, Imad. "$30,000 gaming PC defies logic, lets seven people game at once". DailyDot. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  27. ^ "Youtuber gasta equivalente a R$ 120 mil para montar supercomputador" [Youtuber spend equivalent to R$ 120,000 (US$ 30,000) to build supercomputer] (in Brazilian Portuguese). UOL. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  28. ^ Utomo, Riandanu Madi. "Computer Can Be Played By 7 People Simultaneously". Metro TV News. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  29. ^ Orland, Kyle (August 3, 2017). "What kind of gaming rig can run at 16K resolution?". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  30. ^ Hanson, Matt (April 19, 2018). "YouTube channel claims Apple is refusing to fix its broken iMac Pro". TechRadar. Archived from the original on September 7, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  31. ^ Horwitz, Jeremy (April 18, 2018). "Apple refuses to fix iMac Pro damaged in YouTube teardown". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  32. ^ a b c Lilly, Paul (December 26, 2018). "Linus Tech Tips finds a range of issues in $1,500 gaming PCs". PC Gamer. Future US Inc. Archived from the original on February 27, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  33. ^ "Xbox Series X Controller Made From Solid Gold Is Very Expensive". ComicBook.com. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  34. ^ "TechLinked". Linus Media Group. Apple Podcasts. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  35. ^ Huerta, Gabriel (February 9, 2022). "Steam Deck: unboxing, release date, price and verified playable games". Diario AS. Promotora de Informaciones, S.A.
  36. ^ "Channel Super Fun: About". YouTube. May 28, 2014.
  37. ^ "LMG Clips: About". YouTube. September 20, 2019.
  38. ^ "Something's Wrong with the M2 MacBook Air – WWDC22 TalkLinked". TechLinked (But Just the Audio). June 8, 2022 – via Apple Podcasts.
  39. ^ They're Just Movies (December 30, 2022). THE FINAL EPISODE: Joker (2019). Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  40. ^ They're Just Movies (December 30, 2022). THE FINAL EPISODE: Joker (2019). Retrieved March 16, 2023.
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