Brat
New York, US · Founded 2017 · Delaware corporation · 6 known investors
Brat (ZATV) is a studio producing online TV networks and YouTube-focused content aimed at Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences, combining TV-quality production with digital distribution. It also runs agencies for creator growth, influencer talent, and monetizing movie clips, and partners with advertisers on brand campaigns.
Also known as Brat Inc. · Brat TV · ZATV
Founders & leadership
Brat was founded in 2017 by Robert Fishman.
Investors · 6
Also in the syndicate · 2
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$44.9M disclosed across 4 of 5 rounds · 2017–2020
▶$3MraisedJul 2020 · 8 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Robert B. FishmanExecutive Officer, Director
- Barclay MaconDirector
- Lachtman DarrenDirector
- Offering amount
- $3M
- Amount sold
- $3M
- First sale
- Jun 2020
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2017
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$29.5MraisedJul 2018 · 30 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Darren LachtmanDirector
- Robert FishmanExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $30M
- Amount sold
- $29.5M
- First sale
- Jul 2018
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2017
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$10MraisedNov 2017 · 37 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Robert FishmanExecutive Officer, Director
- Darren LachtmanDirector
- Offering amount
- $10M
- Amount sold
- $10M
- First sale
- Oct 2017
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2017
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$2.5MraisedMar 2017 · 21 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Robert FishmanExecutive Officer, Director, Promoter
- Offering amount
- $2.5M
- Amount sold
- $2.5M
- First sale
- Feb 2017
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2017
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Brat (Brat Inc., operating after January 2025 as ZATV) is an American digital entertainment studio that produces and distributes original series primarily on YouTube for Generation Z and Generation Alpha audiences. Founded in 2017 by Rob Fishman and Darren Lachtman, the company built its early catalog around scripted, short-form episodic teen programming featuring social media personalities and young actors, with interconnected shows set in shared fictional settings. Its longest-running and best-known series is Chicken Girls, which premiered September 5, 2017 and ran for eleven seasons through 2023; other titles include Mani, Total Eclipse, Crown Lake and Attaway General. The company also released feature-length projects such as Chicken Girls: The Movie (June 2018), Brat Holiday Spectacular (December 2018), Spring Breakaway (March 2019) and Intern-in-Chief (August 2019), and produced series for Facebook Watch and Snapchat.
Following acquisitions of Crypt TV in January 2024 and Electric Monster in January 2025, the combined business rebranded as ZATV and operates a portfolio of YouTube networks including Brat TV, React/Teens React, People vs. Food, Crypt TV, Bullseye, Kids Learning Tube, and the podcast properties Past Your Bedtime and ReactCAST. Alongside its owned channels, ZATV runs three service divisions: Little Monster, a YouTube strategy and advisory agency; Beeline Talent, an influencer and creator talent division that has partnered with Snapchat on its Collab Studio; and Now Playing, a set of YouTube channels that monetize and market film and TV studio libraries. Leadership of the combined company includes Fishman as CEO, Ian Haft (from Electric Monster) as CFO, Nuria Anson as Chief Content Officer, and Tim Jablonski continuing to run Little Monster.
Founding story
Rob Fishman launched Brat in 2017 after identifying a gap in the online market for high-quality, free teen-oriented scripted programming on digital platforms, viewing social media celebrities and their built-in audiences as an under-leveraged media property. Darren Lachtman, Fishman's co-founder at the influencer marketing company Niche — acquired by Twitter in 2015 for a reported $30 million — joined and was named co-founder in November 2017 after leaving Twitter. The network's name was inspired by the 1980s "Brat Pack" films.
Business model
The company owns and operates a network of YouTube channels producing scripted series, unscripted formats, gameshows, kids' programming and video podcasts, and sells brand partnership campaigns to advertisers that combine TV-quality production with digital distribution. It supplements owned-and-operated media with agency and services divisions: Little Monster (YouTube strategy and advisory), Beeline Talent (influencer/creator marketing) and Now Playing (monetizing film and TV library clips across YouTube pages).
Revenue comes from advertising against its YouTube channel inventory, integrated brand partnership campaigns with advertisers, licensing and distribution deals (for example, licensing the podcast The Comment Section to Spotify and distribution via Roku and Amazon), franchise extensions such as film and book deals, and fees from its agency and talent divisions. Direct YouTube ad sales began in 2019.
Traction
Brat reported 650,000 YouTube subscribers and 300,000 Instagram followers as of November 2017; the Chicken Girls debut episode passed 10 million views by 2018. Chicken Girls: The Movie exceeded 40 million views as of December 2023 and the ninth episode of Mani season one exceeded 22 million views over the same period. The company surpassed $10 million in annual revenue in 2019 and had 45 employees in 2022, later reported at 110 on LinkedIn around the January 2025 Electric Monster deal.
Latest developments
In January 2025 Brat TV acquired Electric Monster, the owner of YouTube channels including React, People vs. Food and Kids Learning Tube, for undisclosed terms, and the combined company rebranded as ZATV under CEO Rob Fishman. The group now operates Brat TV, React, People vs. Food, Crypt TV, Bullseye, Kids Learning Tube and podcast properties alongside the Little Monster, Beeline Talent and Now Playing divisions, with recent series including Couples Council, Juniors Cafe and High School Heiress in 2025.
▸Full profile — market position, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
The company describes itself as a modern studio for the YouTube era and is characterized in trade coverage as a digital entertainment studio pursuing a rollup strategy in the YouTube and social publishing space. Following the Electric Monster deal the combined group brings together channel portfolios reported at more than 33 million YouTube subscribers (Electric Monster) and over 5 million (Brat), with the Brat channel reported at about 5.48 million subscribers and more than 2 billion views as of November 2025.
Brat pairs television-style production values and franchise development with digital-native distribution and social media talent, building interconnected series set in shared fictional towns and extending hit IP such as Chicken Girls into films, books and merchandise. The post-acquisition ZATV structure combines owned YouTube networks with in-house creator, influencer and studio-library agencies.
Go-to-market
Content is distributed free on YouTube and other social platforms, with additional reach through Facebook Watch, Snapchat, Roku and Amazon, and licensing arrangements such as the Spotify deal for The Comment Section. Audience growth relies on casting established social media creators who bring their own followings, and monetization is pursued through direct brand partnerships and integrated advertiser campaigns.
Viewers in Generation Z and Generation Alpha who consume episodic video on YouTube and other social platforms, plus advertisers and brands seeking campaigns reaching those audiences, creators and influencers using its agency and talent services, and film and TV studios marketing their libraries.
Geography
United States, with offices in Los Angeles and New York.
History
Brat Inc. was incorporated on January 6, 2017 and began releasing content in mid-2017, starting with Misshaps in June and following with Mani in August and Chicken Girls in September. It raised $2.5 million in seed funding and a $10 million round led by A. Capital announced in November 2017, then a $30 million round in July 2018. In 2018 it broadened formats with the talk show Brat Chat, the competition series The Talent Show and the multi-camera sitcom Hotel Du Loone, released Chicken Girls: The Movie under a since-ended arrangement with Lionsgate's Studio L, and launched series on Facebook Watch and Snapchat. Later programming included Attaway General (2020) and continuing Chicken Girls seasons through 2023. The company acquired e-commerce platform Jemi in 2023, horror studio Crypt TV in January 2024, and Electric Monster in January 2025, after which the combined studio rebranded as ZATV.
Risks & controversies
Brat and Lionsgate ended their partnership before the release of Chicken Girls: The Movie in 2018. Sources describe differing founding details, including a March 1, 2017 founding date and a 2016 founding year alongside the January 6, 2017 incorporation date, and give conflicting accounts of the January 2025 combination's direction, with one source stating Brat TV was acquired by Electric Monster while trade coverage reports Brat acquiring Electric Monster.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 4
by search overlap
Companies competing with Brat for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 11
launches, deals, and filingsBrat TV acquired Electric Monster, owner of YouTube channels including React, People vs. Food and Kids Learning Tube, for undisclosed terms. Electric Monster had over 33 million YouTube subscribers and was backed by Metropolitan Partners Group.
Rob Fishman became CEO of the combined company; Ian Haft (Electric Monster) was named CFO, Nuria Anson Chief Content Officer, with Nicole Iizuka over creative, Shannon Wachtell over talent, Kevin Lee over production, Cade Hiser over strategy, Tim Jablonski continuing to run Little Monster, Terra Sollman and Natalie Andriano leading sales and partnerships, and Nathan Jordan heading the podcast division.
Brat launched the video podcast The Comment Section with Drew Afualo and licensed it to Spotify.
Following the Electric Monster acquisition, the combined company rebranded as ZATV, led by Rob Fishman as CEO, with divisions Little Monster, Beeline Talent and Now Playing.
Brat acquired the digital horror media company Crypt TV, adding short-form horror programming to its portfolio.
Chicken Girls: The Movie was released and became Brat's most viewed project, surpassing 40 million views by December 2023.
A film based on Chicken Girls was produced as part of a deal with Studio L, Lionsgate's digital content division; the partnership was amicably canceled before the film's release.
Brat announced a $10 million funding round led by A. Capital, with participation from The Durant Company (Kevin Durant), Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Advancit Capital and BoxGroup. Darren Lachtman, formerly of Twitter, was named co-founder at the same time.
$10M source ↗
Darren Lachtman, who previously co-founded Niche with Rob Fishman and left Twitter in July 2017, was named co-founder of Brat.
Brat premiered Chicken Girls, which became its longest-running series with eleven seasons through 2023.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structureIn the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Bratbrat.tv · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Brat do?
- Digital studio operating YouTube networks of scripted and unscripted shows for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, rebranded as ZATV.
- Who founded Brat?
- Brat was founded by Robert Fishman in 2017.
- Who are Brat's investors?
- Brat's investors include Advancit Capital, Green Meadow Ventures, The Chernin Group (TCG Crypto), Beliade.
- How much funding has Brat raised?
- Brat has disclosed $44.9M raised across 4 of its 5 known rounds.
- Where is Brat headquartered?
- Brat is headquartered in New York, US.