A buyer with ties to a comedy content video platform is leveling up from rented stages to a studio of its own, purchasing a facility in one of Los Angeles’ most established media hubs that lets the streamer run its show from a single address.
A company affiliated with Dropout — a production firm that makes improvised comedy shows such as "Game Changer" — has acquired the former XRM Media studio in Burbank, California, for $18.5 million from Canada-based investor Ken Kalopsis, property records show.
Kalopsis, a movie producer and entrepreneur, acquired the 27,600-square-foot property from Rexford Industrial Realty for $17.3 million in 2021, according to CoStar data.
The transaction highlights how niche entertainment users are still competing for a limited pool of owner-user properties that can support filming, technology infrastructure and office operations in a single location, according to Jeff McGuire, principal at Los Angeles-based MJ Real Estate Investors, who represented the seller in the deal. The new studio will let Dropout film and run its business under the same roof.
“There just aren’t many studio properties of this size that have had such advanced technological advances on the market, and there aren’t a lot of buyers currently in the market,” McGuire told CoStar News. “For them it was a perfect fit, a place where they can write, film, edit and run their company all together under one roof.”
Built in 1977, the recently renovated property includes two sound stages, offices and a screening room near several major Burbank studios like the Warner Brothers filming hub. It's also near Hollywood Burbank Airport.
During the seller’s ownership, the facility underwent a full renovation that included upgraded fiber infrastructure and communications systems to bring the building to current production standards. Previous tenants have included major entertainment users like Disney, which is based elsewhere in Burbank.
Dropout launched in 2018 as a subscription streaming service spun out of CollegeHumor and, after nearly folding, was acquired and relaunched by longtime creative Sam Reich in 2020 with a leaner team.
The firm makes unscripted originals like "Game Changer," a fast‑paced comedy competition built around constantly shifting rules, and "Dimension 20," a tabletop role‑playing series that blends long‑form storytelling with competitive gameplay.
It has more than 1 million subscribers and a growing slate of live tours and series, with plans to expand into new formats, live events and eventually scripted content.
Modern soundstages
This studio sale takes place as the Los Angeles entertainment real estate market is cautiously stabilizing after several years of disruption. Expanded California tax credits are starting to pull television productions back to local soundstages, even though overall filming and stage occupancy remain well below pre‑pandemic levels.
With stage occupancy hovering around the low‑60% range and competition intensifying from other states and countries, buyers and operators are positioning themselves for a gradual rebound rather than a full recovery, betting on incentives, clustered studio hubs and long‑term demand for modern production space.
Burbank’s office market is soft, with vacancies at a record 20.4% as of the first quarter — about 400 basis points above the metro average — leaving roughly 3.6 million square feet available and limiting landlord leverage despite average asking rents of about $47 per square foot and minimal new supply, according to CoStar data.
But Burbank’s long-standing role as a production cluster continues to make it attractive for companies that want proximity to talent, vendors and industry infrastructure without the congestion often associated with Hollywood, McGuire said.
Long dubbed the “Media Capital of the World,” Burbank is home to more than 1,000 media and entertainment companies, including legacy studio headquarters like The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., as well as major production and animation operations such as Netflix Animation, Cartoon Network and Deluxe Media.
“Burbank has an edge because it’s easier to access,” McGuire said. “Hollywood is important, too, but being centrally located in Burbank makes operations simpler for a lot of users.”
For the record
Cushman & Wakefield's Josh Bernstein represented the buyer in the deal.