YouTube star Alan Melikjanian, creator of the popular channel Captain Disillusion, has signed a first-look deal with indie streaming service Nebula. Additionally, Melikdjanian’s existing back catalog will be available to stream on Nebula.
According to Nebula, Melikjanian’s first-look deal gives Nebula Studios, the production arm of the creator-built media company, the opportunity to bring premium feature ideas to the studio for development and partnership. Variety has learned that one of the first projects in development under the deal is a scripted sci-fi series.
Once Melikjanian’s existing YouTube video catalog is delivered to Nebula, some of the videos on YouTube that were degraded in their original quality will be re-encoded before the videos “will be available for streaming in the highest quality,” the streamer said.
Financial terms of Melikjanian’s deal with Nebula were not disclosed.
With more than 2.5 million subscribers and 278 million views since first launching his YouTube channel Captain Disillusion nearly 20 years ago, Melikjanian is known for his expressive visuals, easy-to-understand facts, and debunking videos.
Founded in 2019, paid indie streamer Nebula has grown its original business in recent years with an expanded lineup of first-run shows from popular YouTube creators, including “Jet Lag: The Game” and a new series from returning internet star Tom Scott.
Melikjian told Variety that he sees the deal with Nebula as an opportunity for him to “grow as a filmmaker and take all the ambitious ideas that I’m used to as a solo creator and throw them into the ‘impossible’ pile and really pursue them. I’m going to make the most of it.”
“As a long-time fan, it’s truly a dream to be able to work with Alan on something creative,” said Nebula founder Dave Wiskus. “Captain Disillusion is your favorite creator’s favorite creator. He’s the Chapel Lawn of educational YouTube.”
“We are excited about the creative potential of Nebula,” Melikjian said. “As we see more obstacles to freedom of expression online, this platform is focused on helping creators stay true to themselves and produce their best work. And frankly, with such a great pool of talent already, we felt it was important to join to help bring the average level of talent down to a manageable level.”
