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PopViewers
Techstars '23New York City, US · Founded 2020 · 10 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
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PopViewers is a content platform and community for entertainment enthusiasts that provides pop culture news, reviews, and recommendations. The site helps users discover entertainment content and engage with other fans through social sharing and community features.
Also known as PopViewers Inc. · PopViewers.com
Founders & leadership
PopViewers was founded in 2020 by Chris Witherspoon.
Investors · 1
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026PopViewers is a pop culture and entertainment platform operating popviewers.com, publishing celebrity news, TV and movie coverage, reviews, interviews, listicles and industry analysis. The site is organized into sections such as Movies, TV and a "Vibes and Views" category, with bylined articles from staff and contributing writers including Chris Witherspoon, Corinna Mason, Patrick Curran and Cortney Wills.
Alongside editorial publishing, PopViewers describes itself as a community-based platform and video reaction community built to help users find what to watch next. Its product concept lets users sort through titles using swipe-based preference selection, react to what they have watched using video, GIFs and text, and engage with other users in a content-focused community. The company frames this as bringing word-of-mouth recommendation online, serving both viewers seeking recommendations and entertainment companies seeking direct insight into audience reception.
The site is wholly owned and operated by PopViewers Inc., a Delaware-registered company, and presents itself as independently owned and operated. A separate company listing describes the entity as an LLC founded in June 2019 with seven employees, headquartered in New York, NY, and at a "Full Product Ready" stage in the media and entertainment industry.
Founding story
Founder Chris Witherspoon, who had worked at CNN and theGrio, observed that press coverage of Black Hollywood productions and creators was limited and fragmented even when those shows outperformed expectations. Believing that content resonating with a community builds brand loyalty, he built PopViewers as a platform where audiences swipe right on content they love and leave reaction videos and comments, or swipe left and explain why, with the aim of connecting viewers and creators and giving studios direct insight into audience reception.
Business model
PopViewers states that its operations are funded solely through advertising revenue and that it does not use affiliate links, a model it links to maintaining editorial independence. A company profile describes a business model centered on three constituencies: contributors who create video reactions, users who watch them, and the entertainment companies whose content is being discussed.
Advertising revenue on the website; the company states it does not use affiliate links.
Traction
The founder has stated the company raised over $1.4 million from angel investors, and a company profile lists seven employees and a full product ready stage. The site publishes regular editorial content and has partnered with Prime Video, STARZ and Paramount+ on screening events attended by series talent.
Latest developments
The "Vibes & Views" event series continued with a Prime Video screening of "The CEO Club" at Soho House New York in February 2026 and a Paramount+ "Average Joe" Season 2 event with Deon Cole in New York, following a November 2025 premiere screening of "Power Book IV: Force" with Joseph Sikora and STARZ.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
PopViewers positions itself as an independent entertainment outlet emphasizing audience sentiment and word-of-mouth over professional critic scores, with a founding focus on coverage of Black Hollywood productions and creators that the founder viewed as underserved by existing media.
The company combines editorial entertainment journalism with a user-reaction and recommendation product, relying on audience sentiment rather than critic scores, and cites its independent ownership and ad-only funding as the basis for editorial independence.
Technology
The platform uses swipe-based title sorting to capture user preferences and generate viewing recommendations, and supports user reactions in video, GIF and text formats, plus community features for discovery and discussion. A mobile app download is promoted on the site.
Go-to-market
Distribution is primarily through the PopViewers website and app, complemented by branded "Vibes & Views" live screening and interview events run with studios and streamers such as Prime Video, STARZ and Paramount+, held at venues including Soho House New York and in Los Angeles. The founder has said the company received press coverage without spending on marketing.
Casual viewers and dedicated fans of film, television and celebrity culture, described as part of an audience of more than 200 million media consumers, as well as production studios and entertainment companies seeking audience sentiment data.
Geography
Headquartered in New York, NY, United States, with events held in New York City and Downtown Los Angeles and in Las Vegas coverage.
History
A company listing records a June 2019 founding in New York. By the time of that listing the team included Chris Witherspoon as Founder and CEO, Dan Woolsey as COO, Benjamin Greenberg as CPO, Howie Altman as CTO, and Vinton Vickers as financial and strategic advisor, with advisors listed including Seth Snider, Joy Reid, Angela Solk and Richard Evans. The editorial team has been led by Chris Witherspoon as Managing Editor with Patrick Curran as Editor. From 2025 the company ran a recurring "Vibes & Views" screening and interview series with talent including Brian Tyree Henry, Russell Hornsby, Maggie Q, La La Anthony, Joseph Sikora and Deon Cole.
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.
Related companies · 3
Companies working in the same space as PopViewers.
Timeline · 5
launches, deals, and filingsComedian and actor Deon Cole joined fans at Soho House in New York City for a Vibes & Views event celebrating Season 2 of his Paramount+ series "Average Joe".
PopViewers hosted a Vibes & Views screening for Prime Video's "The CEO Club" at Soho House New York.
PopViewers, actor Joseph Sikora and STARZ held a Vibes & Views premiere screening for "Power Book IV: Force".
Prime Video teamed with PopViewers for a screening event celebrating the series "Ballard" in New York City, including an interview with star Maggie Q.
Founder and CEO Chris Witherspoon said that since launching PopViewers he had raised over $1.4 million in funding from angel investors, including Joy Reid and Arthur Whitney.
$1.4M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- PopViewerspopviewers.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does PopViewers do?
- PopViewers is an entertainment media site and video-reaction community that helps audiences decide what to watch next.
- Who founded PopViewers?
- PopViewers was founded by Chris Witherspoon in 2020.
- Who are PopViewers's investors?
- PopViewers's investors include Techstars.
- Where is PopViewers headquartered?
- PopViewers is headquartered in New York City, US.