In a move that will see it add ten new channels and 7,500 titles from more than 30 streaming services, Cinedigm has reached an agreement to acquire Digital Media Rights (DMR), a specialty streaming, advertising and company.
Founded more than a decade ago by media industry veterans Michael Hong and David Chu, DMR focuses on four key streaming businesses. It is a global distributor of feature films and television series for the streaming ecosystem, with more than 7,500 titles under distribution with significant expertise in building audiences for global content in North America. It has also developed and operated ten channels focused on enthusiast audiences. Six of these proprietary streaming services are available as free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels and/or video-on-demand apps (all apps have ad-supported VOD and premium, subscription VOD options).
Key channels include AsianCrush, a one-stop portal to the latest Asian entertainment featuring premium movies and shows; Midnight Pulp which is a late-night channel to end all boredom, offering an expertly curated selection of cult programming with a twist of millennial irreverence; RetroCrush, dedicated to the Golden Age of anime; and Cinehouse, both a standalone channel with apps available across all major devices, as well as a linear TV streaming bundle, curating niche, enthusiast channels focused on the best movies and TV shows from around the world; Cocoro, a destination for kid-friendly shows designed to educate and entertain; and KMTV featuring all things K-Pop, from music videos of the newest releases to variety show highlights, to all things in between.
DMR also curates social video channels for most of the above brands, as well as four others, with more in development: C-Crush: A community for fans of the best Chinese TV and movies; Cinehouse Romance, a curated selection of romance-focused movie clips from DMR’s library of arthouse and indie films; K-Crush, a community for Korean cinema, TV and pop culture addicts; queer cinema community QTTV.
DMR’s Ad Network and Marketplace generated more than 100 million connected TV impressions a month against long-form, premium movies and television shows across their owned-and-operated and selected partner channels with an average ad completion rate of over 95%.
Upon completion of the deal, Cinedigm will increase its library to more than 46,000 hours of premium film and television content, with an estimated over 40 million monthly viewers, 18.5 million social subscribers, 4 billion views, and 13 billion minutes viewed annually. With the addition of the seven new owned, proprietary channels, the company will have 15 wholly-owned streaming services, which now comprises more than 50% of its 28 channels in operation.
In particular, the deal will see Cinedigm’s content portfolio aims to meet growing consumer demand for Asian-influenced media, such as Japanese anime and Korean dramas. Cinedigm plans on using the new content portfolio to enhance and broaden its existing streaming services.
Cinedigm also plans to further expand DMR’s Advertising Network, which has long-standing customers and direct partnerships with key advertising partners, with the Company’s robust programmatic ad sales infrastructure. In conjunction with Cinedigm’s continued investment in technology and supply-chain automation via the company’s proprietary Matchpoint platform, reducing DMR’s operating costs and strengthening its revenue growth.
Finally, Cinedigm plans to leverage DMR’s first-class social media division to grow engagement and followers of Cinedigm’s streaming channels on the leading social media platforms. DMR Social has a footprint of more than 17 million subscribers and followers on YouTube and Facebook alone, across eight brands that are collectively averaging 284 million video views per month -- and more than 8 million hours watched -- over the past year.
“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 Cinedigm chairman and CEO Chris McGurk commenting on the deal. “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.”
"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,” added David Chu, co-founder and CEO of DMR. “The team at DMR is proud to have built an impressive line-up 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 “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."
Key channels include AsianCrush, a one-stop portal to the latest Asian entertainment featuring premium movies and shows; Midnight Pulp which is a late-night channel to end all boredom, offering an expertly curated selection of cult programming with a twist of millennial irreverence; RetroCrush, dedicated to the Golden Age of anime; and Cinehouse, both a standalone channel with apps available across all major devices, as well as a linear TV streaming bundle, curating niche, enthusiast channels focused on the best movies and TV shows from around the world; Cocoro, a destination for kid-friendly shows designed to educate and entertain; and KMTV featuring all things K-Pop, from music videos of the newest releases to variety show highlights, to all things in between.
DMR also curates social video channels for most of the above brands, as well as four others, with more in development: C-Crush: A community for fans of the best Chinese TV and movies; Cinehouse Romance, a curated selection of romance-focused movie clips from DMR’s library of arthouse and indie films; K-Crush, a community for Korean cinema, TV and pop culture addicts; queer cinema community QTTV.
DMR’s Ad Network and Marketplace generated more than 100 million connected TV impressions a month against long-form, premium movies and television shows across their owned-and-operated and selected partner channels with an average ad completion rate of over 95%.
Upon completion of the deal, Cinedigm will increase its library to more than 46,000 hours of premium film and television content, with an estimated over 40 million monthly viewers, 18.5 million social subscribers, 4 billion views, and 13 billion minutes viewed annually. With the addition of the seven new owned, proprietary channels, the company will have 15 wholly-owned streaming services, which now comprises more than 50% of its 28 channels in operation.
In particular, the deal will see Cinedigm’s content portfolio aims to meet growing consumer demand for Asian-influenced media, such as Japanese anime and Korean dramas. Cinedigm plans on using the new content portfolio to enhance and broaden its existing streaming services.
Cinedigm also plans to further expand DMR’s Advertising Network, which has long-standing customers and direct partnerships with key advertising partners, with the Company’s robust programmatic ad sales infrastructure. In conjunction with Cinedigm’s continued investment in technology and supply-chain automation via the company’s proprietary Matchpoint platform, reducing DMR’s operating costs and strengthening its revenue growth.
Finally, Cinedigm plans to leverage DMR’s first-class social media division to grow engagement and followers of Cinedigm’s streaming channels on the leading social media platforms. DMR Social has a footprint of more than 17 million subscribers and followers on YouTube and Facebook alone, across eight brands that are collectively averaging 284 million video views per month -- and more than 8 million hours watched -- over the past year.
“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 Cinedigm chairman and CEO Chris McGurk commenting on the deal. “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.”
"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,” added David Chu, co-founder and CEO of DMR. “The team at DMR is proud to have built an impressive line-up 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 “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."
