Studio MKBHD is the production company behind MKBHD, the technology-review brand built by Marques Brownlee. What began in 2008 as one person filming reviews at home in New Jersey has grown into a small studio that produces some of the most-watched and most-cited technology content on the internet, across video, audio, and its own product line.
What Studio MKBHD does
The studio produces the MKBHD YouTube channel, the flagship property, along with a set of connected content and commerce operations. Its core output is long-form technology reviews and short-form video, shot and edited to a production standard that the industry widely treats as the benchmark for the category. The team handles filming, editing, set design, and the high-end studio work that distinguishes the brand from a typical creator operation.
Around that core sit several other properties. The studio produces the Waveform podcast, runs a second channel for behind-the-scenes and studio content, and operates the MKBHD merchandise business through the shop.mkbhd.com store. Each property shares the same audience and editorial identity, which lets the studio move viewers between video, audio, and physical products.
How the business is structured
Studio MKBHD runs on a few connected revenue streams that all depend on audience trust. YouTube advertising pays a share of ad inventory against the channel's views. Brand sponsorships, disclosed in-video under FTC guidelines, pay the studio to feature a product the audience will weigh on the strength of the brand's credibility.
Two more streams complete the model. Affiliate-attributed retail links in video descriptions earn a commission when viewers buy a reviewed product through the tracked link, and the in-house merchandise operation captures direct margin on branded apparel and accessories. The result is a business that earns when its audience acts, not merely when it watches.
Standards and standing
The studio is known for a hard standard on production quality and editorial independence. Reviews are built to be trusted rather than to please sponsors, and the brand has guarded that reputation carefully as it has grown. That independence is the reason senior executives, including the chief executives of Apple, Google, Meta, and Tesla, have agreed to sit for interviews on the channel.
Industry press regularly characterizes the studio's output as setting the bar for technology reviews on YouTube. Its founder was named to Time's TIME100 Most Influential People in AI in 2024, a reflection of the editorial standing the studio has built over more than fifteen years of work.
Leadership
Studio MKBHD was founded and is led by Marques Brownlee, who continues to host and produce its flagship content. A graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology, he started the channel as a teenager and grew it into a full-time studio with a team supporting production, editing, and the merchandise and podcast operations.
You can read more about his background, business model, and press coverage on his founder profile.
Frequently asked questions
What is Studio MKBHD?
Studio MKBHD is the production company behind the MKBHD technology-review brand founded by Marques Brownlee. It produces the MKBHD YouTube channel, the Waveform podcast, a second studio channel, and the MKBHD merchandise line.
Who founded Studio MKBHD?
The studio grew out of the MKBHD YouTube channel that Marques Brownlee launched in 2008. He founded and leads the studio and continues to host and produce its flagship content.
How does Studio MKBHD make money?
It runs on YouTube ad revenue, brand sponsorships disclosed under FTC guidelines, affiliate-attributed retail commissions on reviewed products, and direct sales of its own branded merchandise.
What content does Studio MKBHD produce?
Its main output is the MKBHD YouTube channel of long-form and short-form technology reviews. It also produces the Waveform podcast, a behind-the-scenes studio channel, and operates the MKBHD online store.
Why is Studio MKBHD well known?
The studio is widely regarded as setting the standard for technology-review production and editorial independence on YouTube, which has brought major technology executives onto the channel for interviews.