Colin Petrie-Norris is the founder of Xumo and pioneered the free advertising-supported TV (fast) space. Now, he hopes to make claims on the future of AI Entertainment.

Petrie-Norris' new company is Fairground Entertainment, a studio and streaming distribution service dedicated to AI-generated TV series. He raised $4 million in seed rounds from a group of investors led by Viant Technology, one of Xumo’s founding partners next to Panasonic.

According to Petrie-Norris, Fairground plans to debut its first wave of its original show in the third quarter of 2025. The initial project will feature a “reimagined” public domain story, Petrie-Norris said, first based on the characters of Dracula and Robin Hood. He said he was also discussing with Studios about formally licensing the famous IP to turn it into an AI-based series. He added that certain genres borrowed from AI-generated material, including animation, children's content, horror and science fiction.

The company’s mission: to empower creators by combining original storytelling and human creativity with generated AI technology, Petrie-Norris said. In its first project, Fairground is funding a group of hand-picked AI creators using a variety of generated AI platforms and tools. According to Petrie-Norris, the startup has more than a dozen AI-powered TV shows at all production stages.

“The entertainment industry is at a critical moment, driven by the rapid development of AI technology that promises to redefine content creation,” Petrie-Norris said.

He said, “Consumers will have a curious click because it’s AI, but if it’s not good, they won’t come back. Ultimately, we’re looking for quality entertainment.”

Petrie-Norris previously founded Xumo in 2011, which offers dozens of free streaming channels. He reportedly sold Xumo TV to Comcast in 2020, worth over $100 million; two years later, Comcast and Charter Communications were the name of their streaming joint venture through Xumo, which includes a fast service now known as Xumo Play.

Fairground, located in Laguna Beach, California, currently has five employees, Petrie-Norris said.

"Fairground Entertainment shares our vision of innovation in streaming entertainment, focusing on AI. Viant Technology's transformational capabilities have built Xumo with Colin, so we know first-hand that he is a skilled entrepreneur. "

Vanderhook was formerly the CEO of Myspace. Time Inc. purchased Viant (Myspace’s parent) in 2016. He and his brother Chris Vanderhook have acquired ownership stake in Viant, owned by Meredith (which has acquired Time Inc.), which they will make the company public in 2021.