Cinedigm said it agreed to acquire Digital Media Rights, which will add 10 new channels and additional content to Cinedigm’s growing streaming stable.
Financial terms were not disclosed. A source familiar with the deal said the pricetag was in the $20 million to $25 million range, with DMR generating a profit on about $10 million in annual revenues
The addition of DMR’s assets will give Cinedigm 30 subscription and free streaming services that accumulate 40 million monthly viewers and more than 4 billion views.
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The acquisition also takes Cinedigm into the ad network business. DMR’s Ad Network & Marketplace scores more than 100 million connected TV impressions a month, the companies said.
“DMR’s top-notch management team, high-quality channels and film & TV library perfectly complement our own strengths and our mission of serving enthusiast audiences,” said Chris McGurk, chairman and CEO at Cinedigm.
“When you consider the other key additive components from this deal, including the global reach of DMR’s expansive social media efforts, we are well-positioned to not only reach a rapidly growing new audience in the short-term but also to expand the scale of a larger Cinedigm umbrella channel strategy in the long run. We expect this acquisition to be immediately accretive, and the leverage of Cinedigm’s technological efficiencies and expansive portfolio of assets will spur significant additional growth,” McGurk said.
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The deal will increase the size of Cinedigm's content library to more than 46,000 hours of films and TV episodes. Much of the content is Asian and anime, which are becoming increasingly popular and valuable.
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DMR's streaming networks are AsianCrush, Midnight Pulp, RetroCrush, Cinehouse, Cocoro and KMTV. DMR's social media unit's channels are C-Crush, Cinehouse Romance, K-Crush and QTTV.
"The strong synergy between Cinedigm and DMR is readily apparent, and by working together, we can continue to deliver and further scale our top-notch, curated streaming channels to our audiences in a way that builds a true sense of community,” said David Chu, co-founder and CEO of DMR.
“The team at DMR is proud to have built an impressive lineup of channels and offer content that can meet the rising demands of audiences around the world, including fans of incredibly popular Korean dramas, Japanese anime, and Chinese TV, as well as arthouse, romance and horror movies,” said Chu. “It's why we're thrilled to align with this key industry player and are looking forward to a future with even more expansion opportunities."■
