Lava Lamp Entertainment

Lava Lamp Entertainment, also referred to as Lava Lamp or LLE, is a Robloxian television company founded by WeepinnWillow; however, it has been a subsidiary of rTV Networks since September 1, 2018. The company owns a variety of television channels, such as Toonvision and Harmony; some non-television assets the company had previously owned, such as premium television service Amicable, had either been closed or sold off during the spring of 2018 (see below; Lava Sports, Blockland Premier League and Kurbo Paintball League remained under LLE ownership). The company was been a primary member of the Roblox Television Networks Group from May 1, 2017 until its acquisition by rTVN (except for a period in spring 2018, see below).

History

Early beginnings (2011-2016)

Lava Lamp's beginnings can be traced back to 2011, with the launch of Cartoon Everything (now Toonvision), Willow's first venture into Livestream broadcasting. The channel was initially part of an underground YouTube fad where people created clones of Cartoon Network, due to the real network's airing of some live-action programming at the time (in spite of the channel's name). Cartoon Everything was shut down in 2013, but was relaunched in 2016 to serve as the main children's programming brand of Lava Lamp. It is currently one of the last surviving channels that grew out of the YouTube fad, and, technically, due to its launch date, one of the oldest channels in the Robloxian television industry (even though it wasn't an "official" channel within the industry at that time). It was also the first Robloxian television network to broadcast 24 hours at launch; it remained that way until its initial closure in 2013.

Further developments of the company also came from WeepinnWillow's deal with rTV Networks to create rTV Max, a channel which Lava Lamp owned a 50% stake in. It was Willow's first official entry into the industry, and the channel served as one of the two flagship Lava Lamp channels, the other being Harmony, prior to the rTVN acquisition.

Launch as a company (2016-2017)

Lava Lamp as a company was founded on October 23, 2016, initially owning only Willow's 50% stake in rTV Max and two other channels: Joystick (now defunct) and KawaiiTV (now Anisphere). Several other channels were announced in the days after the company's launch; Sopusia (later renamed Harmony), Talker, and the Lava Sports channels. Cartoon Everything was also revived to serve as the main children's programming brand of the company. The company also created the premium television service Amicable, of which Sopusia, Talker and the Lava Sports channels were initially exclusive to (all three were later made available to other platforms, such as roTV). The company also announced their first plans; their main focuses would be placed initially on rTV Max, Sopusia, Cartoon Everything and FMC, as well as the then-upstart Amicable service. The second wave would consist of Joystick, KawaiiTV, Talker and Lava Sports. They have stated that Cartoon Everything would likely be the first launch, as "70% of the programming library is already ready to go"; the company initially projected a launch date of mid-to-late November 2016 (possibly as soon as early November). The company also expressed interest in entering the ROBLOXiwood film industry.

On November 6, 2016, Lava Lamp announced that they had settled on a final name for Sopusia (Harmony), and announced their first original production: place review show Placemania! for Harmony.

On January 22, 2017, Lava Lamp laid out their plans for their first network launches: Cartoon Everything and the Amicable service were set to launch first, followed by KawaiiTV, FMC, and Joystick. The company would then focus its attention on Harmony and Talker before rolling out the Lava Sports channels.

Rise into a major broadcaster (2017-2018)

On April 23, 2017, Lava Lamp acquired 50% of Bloxia's Cartoon Network Roblox and the Roblox Olympics Committee was established. Almost a week later, Lava Lamp acquired the former assets of Kurbo Paintball League and Blockland Premier League. On May 1, 2017, the company became a primary member of the Roblox Television Networks Group, marking the first time in three years the alliance has had four primary members.

As 2017 went on, Lava Lamp continued to expand, acquiring several channels such as the remainder of Cartoon Network Roblox it did not already own (from TheMagRBLX) and RT1 and RT2 (from SuperLol211, via the acquisition of the Robloxian Telecasting Company; since reacquired by him). They also launched multiple new channels, such as Boing and Destination Robloxia. The company also took programming control of Blox Flickz for a period of time during the summer of 2017. The company also officially entered the Roblox film industry.

On November 25, 2017, Lava Lamp Entertainment unveiled a new logo.

On January 20, 2018, after a period of inactivity, Lava Lamp owner WeepinnWillow unveiled a restructuring plan to fight the company's inactivity; it is set to primarily focus on Harmony, Cartoon Everything, YTV, Boing and FMC, with The News Network also recieving some attention.

Departure of WeepinnWillow and acquisition by rTV Networks (Early 2018)

In the spring of 2018, WeepinnWillow announced that she planned to leave the Robloxian television industry by the end of the year, in order to focus on her growing music career. On April 9, 2018, operational control of Lava Lamp Entertainment was transferred to rTV Networks, initially on a temporary basis, as WeepinnWillow was forced to take a break from the industry for a time due to mental health issues. On April 17, 2018, WeepinnWillow opted to fully exit the Robloxian television industry, thus making the temporary operational management a permanent acquisition. Lava Lamp Entertainment was from that point a fully-owned subsidiary of rTV Networks, which made rTVN full owners of both LLE's television operations as well as former joint ventures rTV Max and Nations Television. Initially, rTVN owner BenzBot stated he didn't plan to change much about the company just yet, instead focusing on navigating both companies through the upcoming Robloxian television transition. The move was a break from rTV Networks' previous strategies when it came to acquisitions; in previous mergers, such as the original acquisition of what became rTV Networks Gavent, the company sought to eliminate redundancies and overlaps with rTVN's own brands (such as through folding GN2 into rTV3 and Gavent Network News into Blox News Channel). Lava Lamp Entertainment's suite of channels directly competes with almost all of rTVN's offerings (at times intentionally, such as with Boing and Destination Robloxia, which compete with rTV Fun and rTV Life, respectively).

rTVN's initial ownership (April 2018-May 2018)

Following rTVN's acquisition of LLE, certain changes in ownership were made to streamline operation of the subsidiary: rTV Max, the companies' joint-venture series channel, and Nations Television, a separate operation ultimately owned by both companies, were both transferred outright to rTV Networks (though rTV Max had been effectively considered an rTV Networks channel since its launch). The acquisition of LLE also meant that rTV Networks now had complete ownership of the former Gavent Networks, as RMT Classic, the only channel not sold to rTVN, went to LLE during that company's closure in March 2017 (it became FMC Classic). Given the ownership changes which now had to take place concerning the channels' streaming backend, in contrast to the channels rTVN owned prior to the LLE acquisition, which operated in simulcast during the 2018 Robloxian television transition, LLE's channels were set to be flash-cut to high-definition broadcasting, and will replace their former standard-definition counterparts completely as they launch.

On May 5, 2018, plans to rebrand Lava Lamp Entertainment began, as rTV Networks intended to keep the subsidiary operational in the short-term due to its size. As part of the corporate rebrand, most channels owned by LLE were also given new logos and brand designs. Additionally during the day, rTV Networks made early considerations as to which channels could be changed, made redundant, or sold off as part of a potential incorporation of LLE's assets. An early proposal was to sell back the Robloxian Telecasting Company (which, at the time, consisted of RT1 and RT2, which LLE were using as film channels) to original owner SuperLol211 for him to operate under their initial generalist premise. Additionally, closures for Talker and Joystick (which WeepinnWillow had already been considering prior to her departure) were not out of the question, given they competed directly with rTV2 and indirectly with GTV, respectively.

Willow's return (May 2018-September 2018)

WeepinnWillow made a surprise return to the industry on May 18, 2018, taking back a 70% ownership stake of the company, with rTV Networks retaining 30% of the company as well as an option to reclaim Willow's stake in the event she resigned again. With her return, Joystick was officially shut down and the future of the Lava Sports channels went up in the air. rTVN's rebrand of the company was maintained. On May 22, 2018, the company rebranded KawaiiTV as Anisphere and Lava Sports 1 as LSN, while selling Lava Sports 2 to rTVN, who renamed the channel Blox Sports 2. On May 26, 2018, Lava Lamp acquired All Millennium Wrestling, with the intention of relaunching the federation in the future.

The company scaled back its operations and assets throughout the summer of 2018. On June 11, the RTC channels were officially sold back to SuperLol (now o_Blyzo), and on July 4, the company shut down YTV due to the limitations of the platform the company plans to migrate its IRL channels to, though the rights to the channel's programming remain with Lava Lamp.

Willow's second departure and LLE under rTVN ownership (September 2018-present)

Willow abruptly departed from the Robloxian television industry for a second time on the evening of September 1, 2018, citing "toxicity" in the Robloxian media community and worsening mental health issues as reasons for her departure. Due to this, Willow sold her 70% stake in the company back to rTV Networks; the second time rTVN would have full control of the company. rTVN has not announced many future plans for LLE, given the acquisition is so new, and in part due to owner BenzBot's own inactivity to pursue other projects during the month. The acquisition means that rTVN now owns two of its strongest former rivals (the Gavent Networks acquisition in March 2017 being the other), and a total of over 30 channels. It is expected certain existing and proposed channels, such as Talker, will be closed, but rTVN is looking to continue operating a majority of the company's channels, as they feel closing them outright would be detrimental to the industry.

On October 15, 2018, rumors began circulating that Willow was considering returning to the Robloxian television industry once again.

Assets

Lava Lamp's current assets consist of:

Television channels

Toonvision

Main article: Toonvision

Owned from: August 2011 - 2013 (as an independent channel), October 2016 - present (as part of Lava Lamp Entertainment)

Toonvision is the oldest channel owned by Lava Lamp Entertainment, being created in August 2011. It is the children's programming arm of Lava Lamp Entertainment. The channel was known as Cartoon Everything for nearly 7 years, from 2011 to 2018.

Anisphere

Main article: Anisphere

Owned from: October 2016 - present

Anisphere is focused on airing Japanese anime. Lava Lamp also stated that it could've also been home to Ninja Warrior as well (Lava Lamp later began development on a variant of the show, initially for rTV before announcing it as a Joystick original series). It was known as KawaiiTV from October 23, 2016 to May 22, 2018.

FMC

Main article: FMC

Owned from: October 2016 - present

FMC is a music-based channel primarily focusing on "alternative" music, such as metalcore and alternative rock. It also broadcasts a limited amount of late 80's to early 2000's rap, as well as classic pop and alternative music-related programming.

FMC Classic

Main article: FMC Classic

Owned from: March 2017 - present

Originally owned by Gavent Networks, Lava Lamp Entertainment acquired RMT Classic from the company on March 31, 2017 during the former company's closure, along with a license to use the RMT name from rTV Nerworks. The channel is focused on airing classic music videos from the early 1970's to late 1990's. Following the acquisition, Lava Lamp rebranded the channel as FMC Classic on April 8, 2017. On April 27, 2017, LLE effectively put the network on the back burner for the time being, saying the success of FMC would determine whether or not FMC Classic would launch.

Harmony

Main article: Harmony

Owned from: October 2016 - present

Harmony is the company's flagship channel, previously sharing the distinction with rTV Max until spring 2018. It broadcasts general entertainment programming and was initially exclusive to the company's Amicable service, until LLE allowed the channel to be carried on BBS Player. The official channel's name was announced as Harmony on November 6, 2016, along with its first program, Placemania!, a place review show.

Talker

Main article: Talker

Owned from: October 2016 - present

Talker focuses on Robloxian talk shows. It had been exclusive to the company's Amicable service, although they ultimately offered it to other providers (such as BBS Player and eventually roTV).

LSN

Main article: LSN

Owned from: April 2017 - present

The lone remaining channel owned by the company through its Lava Sports division. LSN features broadcasts of Robloxian sports as well as sports news. The network has secured broadcast deals with several leagues.

Boomerang

Main article: Boomerang

Owned from: April 2017 - present

Boomerang is a children's oriented network showing classic cartoons from the 1960's to early 1990's. It is a spinoff of Cartoon Everything and is based off of the IRL channel of the same name.

Lava Lamp confirmed the existance of Boomerang on April 14, 2017 following its addition to roTV, after it had been previously only rumored.