Jellysmack Acquires Dan Abrams’ Top True Crime Content Network, Law&Crime

The growing appeal of true crime content is hard to ignore. According to a recent study, half of Americans say they enjoy true crime content, with 13% declaring it their favorite genre. As a leader in digital content who has successfully partnered with true crime pioneers like Bailey Sarian, MrBallen, Kendall Rae, and Christina Randall, Jellysmack is always looking for ways to Go Bigger within this fast-growing space. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce a strategic move that will reshape the crime content landscape: our acquisition of the esteemed Law&Crime Network, founded by award-winning legal analyst and TV host Dan Abrams.

Jellysmack courts Law&Crime

Law&Crime is the leading multi-platform legal and true crime video network and production company. From live courtroom footage and headline-grabbing criminal trials, to unexpected crime events and celebrity legal encounters, millions tune into Law&Crime’s captivating content across a variety of OTT platforms and cable television networks.

Founded by renowned legal commentator Dan Abrams, Law&Crime analyzes the often complicated world of law, translating it in a way that’s easy for anyone to understand. Since its launch in 2015, the Law&Crime YouTube channel has secured its spot as the premiere platform for legal news and true crime content, earning over 3 billion views and amassing a loyal community of over 5 million subscribers.

This strategic acquisition represents Jellysmack’s commitment to diversify our digital content offerings and strengthen our growing YouTube portfolio, especially when it comes to this rising content genre. Combining our innovative AI tech and elite roster of creators with Law&Crime’s premium legal and true crime content will cement our status as one of the biggest players in true crime video production and entertainment. 

“This acquisition aligns seamlessly with our mission to provide high-quality content that resonates with global audiences across platforms. Dan Abrams’ expertise and his network’s impressive track record in legal and true crime storytelling make it a perfect fit for Jellysmack and creates exciting new synergies and opportunities for our creators.”

Sean Atkins, Jellysmack President

Dan Abrams, founder of the Law&Crime Network, comes from an esteemed media and legal background. As a top analyst for ABC News, NBC News, and MSNBC, his law expertise serves as a strong foundation for the success of Law&Crime. That, combined with Jellysmack’s tech-driven strategies for digital expansion, will take the Law&Crime brand further than ever before.

“I’m excited to join forces with a team that has demonstrated unparalleled expertise in maximizing the reach and impact of digital content. Together, we can take the Law&Crime Network to new heights, reaching a global audience that is increasingly hungry for captivating legal and true crime stories.”

Dan Abrams, Law&Crime Founder

With the acquisition, Law&Crime also intends to expand its production wing, Law&Crime Productions, which currently dominates the true crime content space across Hulu, Netflix, HBO, A+E, Discovery ID, Fox, and more. The studio’s latest HBO docuseries, “Unveiled”, was recently nominated for an Emmy. And with Jellysmack now as a trusted partner, we can’t wait to see what’s next.

True crime content takes the stand

While Jellysmack’s acquisition of Law&Crime is our biggest move yet when it comes to true crime expansion, we’re no stranger to amplifying creator’s content in the genre. In 2023 alone, Jellysmack optimized and syndicated nearly 30K true crime videos across 182 creator partner’s pages and original channels, which collectively earned an astounding 11.2 billion views. 

Among those partners are some of the internet’s top true crime storytellers. Using our AI tech and first-party data, we’ve helped creator Christina Randall amass over 1.3 million followers on Facebook and 565K on Snapchat. Year to date, her channels, including YouTube, have earned nearly 1 billion views. We also helped her expand into the OTT space with her own television series, and onto Spotify with video podcasts, where she reached #7 on the True Crime podcast charts thanks to our strategy.

MrBallen, king of all-things strange, dark, and mysterious, has also become one of the genre’s most sought-after storytellers. Jellysmack has helped him build an impressive audience across new platforms like Facebook (3.3 million followers) and Snapchat (710K followers), with over 700 million cross-platform views this year.

Audit the Audit, a channel dedicated to educating the public about the right and wrongs of police interactions, is making waves in the world of true crime. Boasting an impressive 2.2 million Facebook followers and a rapidly-growing Spotify audience, he’s an example of another creator that Jellysmack has helped stand out in this crowded content space.

In addition to our creator partners, Jellysmack’s Original channels are also becoming some of true crime’s most-watched digital destinations. Killer Bites, which features bite-sized coverage of the hottest true crime cases, reaches millions of fans across platforms and is nearing 900 million views just this year.

While true crime may already be dominating the digital content world, its expansion is far from over. This past year, Jellysmack-managed views across the genre have increased by 143% on Facebook and 324% on Snapchat. An internal study also found that true crime significantly outperforms other genres in several key metrics, including overall average view times, completion rates, and monetizable views.

With Law&Crime now a part of the Jellysmack family, a new era of true crime storytelling has begun, and together, we’re ready to Go Bigger.