NBCU Sells Bluprint Crafting Subscription-Streaming Service to Marketing Firm
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NBCUniversal told members of Bluprint in May that it was planning to wind down the subscription VOD service centered on crafts and hobbies “over the next few months.”
Instead, the media company is selling the assets of Bluprint to TN Marketing, a Minneapolis-based online video subscription and streaming business. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
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Bluprint originally launched as Craftsy in 2011. The company was acquired by NBCU in 2017, which renamed it a year later as Bluprint and changed the model from selling a la carte videos to a subscription service with more than 3,000 hours of instructional videos at $15 per month.
When Bluprint CEO John Levisay, one of Cratfsy’s co-founders, notified members that the service was closing down, members grew concerned that they would lose access to classes they’ve already purchased. With the agreement, TN Marketing “has agreed to honor previous customer purchases for classes and subscriptions and will preserve your access to Bluprint content,” Levisay wrote in a message posted Wednesday on the website.
“Bluprint is a natural fit as part of TN Marketing’s portfolio of online communities,” said Cal Franklin, CEO and president of TN Marketing. Together, TN Marketing and Bluprint have sold over 17 million classes to an estimated 3.5 million customers and owns over 4,000 hours of instructional video content.
Added TN Marketing’s Jim Kopp, EVP and GM of digital business, “Our team is focused on continuing the excitement, enthusiasm and loyalty that the Bluprint community, instructors, designers and content creators enjoyed since its Craftsy days.”
With the acquisition of Bluprint, TN Marketing operates 12 online communities, including National Sewing Circle, Woodworkers Guild of America, Get Healthy U TV, Outdoor Photography Guide and RV Repair Club.
Dave Howe, former NBCU Digital Enterprises Group’s president of strategy and commercial growth, had led the acquisition of Craftsy and oversaw Bluprint before he exited in December 2019.
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