Smosh, a popular OG YouTube channel that’s been around since 2005, has had several reunions today. The first one is that original Smosh member and co-founder, Anthony Padilla, has rejoined the team (Shut up!) after leaving in 2017 to start his own YouTube channel after creative differences with their parent company. Second, Padilla and co-founder Ian Hecox announced that they had purchased the ownership of their original channel from Mythical Entertainment. In their announcement video, Padilla and Hecox explained that in the past year, the two old friends have reconnected and missed their sketch comedy roots. “We came up with the totally insane idea of ‘What if we bought Smosh?’†shared Hecox. “We didn’t know if this was even possible.†The duo originally sold their channel to Defy Media, a now-defunct media company, in 2011 in hopes they’d help expand opportunities for their brand. However, it only lasted for a few years and the parent company filed for bankruptcy and laid off all of their employees, leaving Smosh with very limited options and searching for a new owner. In order to save the channel, Mythical Entertainment, a.k.a. Rhett and Link, purchased Smosh from Defy Media in 2019.
Now, four years later, Padilla and Hecox are officially majority shareholders in Smosh. According to Variety, their first sketch video is set to debut on June 30 on their YouTube channel. Only time will tell if Food Battle is returning.