Freedom! (YouTube network)

Type

YouTube multi-channel network^[11]

Founded

December 2013^[4]

Founder

George Vanous^[11]

Gaming sub-network

MGN (headed by Dave Fracchia)^[4]

Affiliate publisher

Freedom Games (per Freedom! (tips.h.ki))^[5]

Creator platform

Heartbeat (per Chrome Web Store)^[9]

Reported channels (Oct 2016)

Over 177,000^[2][3]

Reported subscribers (Oct 2016)

211 million^[2][3]

AID Partners stake (2016)

50.01% of any.TV for US$60 million^[2][3]

Founding and operations

Freedom! launched in December 2013 as a YouTube multi-channel network focused on community engagement, transparency and gaming.^[4] It describes itself as working directly with YouTube as a technology partner for content creators.^[11]

George Vanous, the founder, is the network's chief executive; his own page covers his biography in more detail.^[11]

The gaming sub-network MGN is headed by Dave Fracchia and, according to the Centre for Digital Media, offers partners up to 95% of revenue.^[4] The Centre for Digital Media in Vancouver lists the network as an industry partner under the name "Freedom! / MGN Studios".^[4]

Freedom! says it pays partners weekly and uses an in-house Content ID system called Aegis to flag partner content.^[5]

0:05 Freedom! introduces its founder The network's own 2014 video introducing its chief executive, published shortly after launch, from where George introduces himself.

Reach (2014-2016)

In October 2016, Freedom! stated that the network had over 177,000 channel partners, 211 million subscribers and 45 billion total views worldwide.^[2] Variety reported the same month that the network claimed the same partner and subscriber figures but 46 billion total views.^[3]

According to the South China Morning Post, 16% of the network's views in October 2016 came from the United States, which generated 47% of partner revenue, while Chinese-language markets accounted for 2.2% of viewership.^[2] AID Partners said viewership grew 50.2% in the 12 months to June 2016 and that estimated partner revenue was up 43.6% year-to-date.^[2]

AID Partners investment

On 13 October 2016, the South China Morning Post and Variety reported that AID Partners Technology Holdings would pay US$60 million (HK$468 million) for a 50.01% controlling interest in any.TV, Freedom!'s parent company.^[2][3]

AID Partners said it was investing because it saw advertising shifting toward video platforms in the Asia-Pacific region, and its chief executive, Gilbert Ho Chi-hang, said the firm hoped to give Freedom! larger resources to help it grow.^[2] Freedom! planned to use the funding to broaden its content beyond gaming into music, beauty and youth-oriented programming.^[2] George Vanous publicly welcomed the investment, saying it would fuel the network's growth.^[2]

Freedom Games

Freedom Games, founded in 2020 according to Freedom!, is an affiliated indie game publisher.^[5] Before November 2022 it had released the indie games Coromon, Dreamscaper, Dark Deity, Cat Cafe Manager and Symphony of War, and in 2022 it said it had sold "hundreds of thousands of copies" of its published titles.^[6]

In November 2022, Freedom Games announced a US$10 million funding round led by Play Ventures, with participation from Nashville Capital Network and GFR Fund.^[6] An 80.lv report on the round quoted Ben Robinson as the company's chief operating officer and co-founder.^[6] Freedom Games said it would use the money to expand its staff, develop its community platform wiki.gg and grow its catalog of indie games.^[6]

Heartbeat platform

Heartbeat is a multi-format publishing platform built by Freedom! that, according to its Chrome Web Store listing, pays creators for content even when it receives no views.^[9] Its Chrome extension lets users press the H key while watching a YouTube video to save selected moments to their Heartbeat channel; the listing names Freedom! Family Limited as the developer and showed version 2.108.0 as of 23 June 2026.^[9]

Freedom! claims to pay a 110% revenue share, 10% more than YouTube's standard share, on videos about games it publishes, even to channels outside the YouTube Partner Program.^[5] It says its Heartbeat Moments product lets creators turn YouTube videos into monetized blogs under a program called OVOB, short for "one video, one blog".^[5] Freedom! also states that it helps reinstate hacked, terminated, YouTube Partner Program-suspended or demonetized YouTube channels, usually within a few days, when the problem was caused by YouTube's automated systems or human review.^[5]

0:19 Heartbeat Moments explained Chapter of Freedom!'s own video introducing Heartbeat Moments, from "let me show you how it works".

8:48 Heartbeat Photos Chapter of the network's own video covering Heartbeat Photos.

9:24 Heartbeat Viki Chapter of the network's own video covering Heartbeat Viki.

10:34 BHAG: Big Hairy Audacious Goal Chapter of the network's own video in which the team outlines its long-term goal.

1. 2013-12-01 According to Centre for Digital Media, Vancouver, Freedom! is launched as a YouTube multi-channel network.^[4]
2. 2014-06-01 According to Freedom!, Freedom! publishes a video introducing founder and chief executive George Vanous.^[11]
3. 2016-10-13 AID Partners Technology Holdings agrees to acquire a 50.01% controlling stake in any.TV for US$60 million.^[2][3]
4. 2020 According to Freedom! (tips.h.ki), Freedom Games is founded.^[5]
5. 2022-11-07 Freedom Games announces a US$10 million funding round led by Play Ventures.^[6]