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HitFix CEO, Jennifer Sargent was interviewed by SoCalTech. Read the full interview, "Interview with Jennifer Sargent, HitFix". 

Los Angeles, Calif., February 25th, 2011 – Entertainment news and events site HitFix.com unveiled a new game today for fans of “American Idol” inspired by Fantasy Sports. HitFix’s Fantasy Reality TV League for “American Idol” will allow fans of the country’s most popular television program to compete against each other in predicting this year’s “Idol” champion.

Although American Idol has been underway for several weeks, HitFix's Fantasy League (http://www.hitfix.com/AmericanIdol) has been designed to start when the show announces the top 24 contestants on Thursday, Feb. 24. At that time, players will be able to create their own private leagues or join site wide-open leagues. The player with the highest score across all leagues will be crowned the 2011 HitFix Fantasy American Idol Champion.

In an added bonus for “Idol” fans, former Idol veterans Phil Stacey and Melinda Doolittle, who finished 6th and 3rd respectively in season six, have signed on to also test their skills in predicting who the nation will crown the next “American Idol.”

HitFix made it a priority to ensure Fantasy Idol has a broad appeal. HitFix CEO Jennifer Sargent explained, “We wanted to create a game that would be fun and engaging for casual fans of the show as well as diehard ‘Idol’ lovers. After examining dozens of formats and scoring models we’ve come up with a game that’s easy to play and understand, but has enough depth to be interesting.”

The game play itself is fairly straightforward. Players will “drag and drop” pictures of the Idol contestants to rank them from best to worst. When a contestant is eliminated, players will score points based on where that contestant fell in their rankings. As the show eliminates different contestants, fantasy players will be able to revise their rankings every week.

HitFix Editor-in-Chief Gregory Ellwood commented, “Fantasy Football or Basketball is great if you love sports, but what if reality TV is your passion? We wanted to give people who might not be into sports a chance to compete against each other in an arena that’s familiar to them.”

Along with Stacey and Doolittle, HitFix Executive Editor and veteran “Idol” blogger Dan Fienberg, Yahoo Music Managing editor Lyndsey Parker and reality TV blogger Rickey Yaneza will also participate in the league. The American Idol contestant rankings of all five featured players will be made public so all Fantasy Idol players can benefit from the knowledge of the experts.

HitFix’s Fantasy Reality TV League for “American Idol” will end in mid-May when the nation crowns the show’s 10th winner.

For more info visit HitFix.com/AmericanIdol

About HitFix

Profiled in BusinessWeek as one of “America’s Most Promising Start-ups,” HitFix is the ultimate destination for 18-34 year olds to discover what’s next in entertainment news and events. HitFix is led by experienced Hollywood insiders and journalists whose insightful, timely editorial content complements the HitFix Forecast.  The site is updated hourly and reaches over 1.5 million unique visitors per month.

For more information visit www.hitfix.com, www.facebook.com/hitfix,www.twitter.com/hitfix or www.youtube.com/hitfix.

HitFix's Alan Sepinwall is featured in Slate.  Read the full story,  Alan Sepinwall changed the nature of television criticism. But can you be both a rabid fan and a thoughtful reviewer?

HitFix is happy to announce that a new mobile version of our website is now available for browsing on iPhone/iTouch and Android capable phones. 

You can access it on your phone by typing the same handy URL: HitFix.com.

Whether it''s the latest "Mad Men" post on Alan Sepinwall's What's Alan Watching blog or breaking movie news on Drew McWeeny's Motion Captured blog, HitFix fans can stay up to date with the conversation wherever their phone takes them.  You can also easily find the same news and analysis, photo galleries and popular features such as our groundbreaking event calendar just a few clicks away for when you are on the go.

The new mobile site joins HitFix's acclaimed iPhone app which can be downloaded here.  

Now, we know what you're asking, "When is an Android app and Blackberry version of the site coming?"  Patient HitFix fans.  They are on the way.  Moreover, get ready for a whole new homepage and site design for HitFix over the next month.  We've heard your suggestions and have taken them to heart in our new look.  You'll also be seeing other new features such as instant alerts and more.

In the meantime, check out the brand new HitFix mobile site today!

If you have any questions or comments about the new mobile site, please contact HitFix at support@hitfix.com.
 

IRVINE, Calif., June 28, 2010 -  Tech Coast Angels (TCA), the nation’s largest angel investment network, today announced that it has joined the investment of a total second round funding of $1.6M in the unique entertainment journalism online resource, HitFix. According to lead TCA investor, Yuri Pikover, “HitFix has such a compelling mix of authoritative and original journalistic content, audience reach, and technology, it perfectly matched our TCA investment ‘sweet spot’.”  The company, which went live in December of 2008 and generated revenue from its first day, will receive ongoing support and involvement from TCA including the addition of Pikover to the board of directors.

Unlike many entertainment sites and programs that focus primarily on celebrity news and gossip, HitFix calls on the talents of renowned entertainment commentators and journalists such as Alan Sepinwall, Drew McWeeny, Daniel Fienberg and Melinda Newman to produce wide-ranging news, interviews and commentary on all aspects of entertainment. The HitFix site also offers the unique Event Forecast, a localized calendar that allows users to track major events in all categories within their geographic region, sort them by interest, set reminders and download to their calendar, both through the site and iPhone application.

HitFix was founded by industry veterans, Jennifer Sargent, CEO, and Greg Ellwood, Editor-In-Chief. The site is designed for an 18-34 year old demographic and attracts about equal numbers of men and women, unusual in an industry often dominated by female viewers. The company generates revenue through advertising, as well as the syndication of content. It recently hit the major milestone of over one million monthly unique users.

Jennifer Sargent commented, “It was refreshing to get in front of so many savvy investors at once. TCA members understood our content-driven business model immediately. The investment process was fast and efficient, which allowed me to get back to running my business quickly. I’m looking forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”

About Tech Coast Angels
Tech Coast Angels,  is the largest angel investor group in the United States. Its members provide funding and guidance to more early-stage, high-growth companies in Southern California than any other investment group. TCA members invest in companies in a wide range of industries, including the life sciences, biotech, IT, services, retail, Internet, financial, software, media, consumer products and tech startups. TCA members give companies more than just capital; they also provide counsel, mentoring and access to an extensive network of potential investors, customers, strategic partners and management talent. TCA has more than 250 members, including its venture capital affiliates, in five networks in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Westlake/Santa Barbara and the Inland Empire. More information on investment with Tech Coast Angels can be found at
http://www.techcoastangels.com
http://www.facebook.com/techcoastangels
http://www.twitter.com/techcoastangels.com

NY Observer interviews HitFix CEO, Jen Sargent, to get the scoop on Alan Sepinwall. Read the full story, On Heels of Sepinwall Hire, HitFix Closes in on Second Round of Funding at www.observer.com

LOS ANGELES - April 26, 2010 - HitFix.com, one of the fastest growing film, TV and entertainment sites online, announced today that noted Television writer Alan Sepinwall is joining its stable of award-winning writers and editors.
 
The television critic for the Star-Ledger for the past 14 years, Alan Sepinwall has become a must-read for TV fans and industry professionals alike.   Expanding on his work for the Star-Ledger, Sepinwall has spent the past five years developing a large and loyal following on his private blog What's Alan Watching.  That blog will be incorporated into HitFix.com allowing Sepinwall's fans access to HitFix's proprietary event calendar and planning tools as they search for their entertainment fix.
 
"My career began with me writing about TV online," says Sepinwall, "so it feels right to get back to doing that full-time - particularly at a website like HitFix with a stable of talented writers and a mission I respect."
 

Wired's Jim Hopkinson does a podcast with HitFix CEO, Jen Sargent. Read the full post and listen to the podcast; Episode 94: Avatar, The Hurt ‘Lockergate,’ and Spiderman – Jim talks movies and marketing with Jennifer Sargent, CEO of Hitfix.com at thehopkinsonreport.com