Cinedigm Closes Acquisition of Global VOD Service Viewster And Its Subsidiary Platform Viewster Anime
February 05 2019 - 09:15AM
Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM) announced today the acquisition of the
global VOD service Viewster and its subsidiary platform Viewster
Anime, in a landmark move that further bolsters Cinedigm’s
extensive OTT content portfolio, while adding an established and
well-known property with a massive homegrown consumer base. The
Company will immediately take over ownership and management of all
Viewster and Viewster Anime content, augmenting the platforms’
roster of fandom and Anime offerings into Cinedigm’s library of
channels and content, with select programming debuting on the
Company’s popular fandom lifestyle network CONtv.
As part of the move, Cinedigm will also be
overseeing the operation of all content, applications, and social
assets belonging to both platforms. Ad sales will be handled
in-house and through Cinedigm’s network of partners. Viewster Anime
will continue to exist as a subscription channel on Amazon Channels
as well as the recently announced Roku Channel. Cinedigm also plans
to bring ad-supported, linear and subscription offerings of
Viewster to additional OEM, cable, telco and digital partners over
the next several quarters.
Founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 2007, Viewster
has quickly emerged as a competitive force in the global Video On
Demand industry—delivering more thousands of hours of new digital
content, and establishing a strong branded presence in over 30
international markets that includes a combined total of over
256,000 subscribers across YouTube and Amazon Prime Video, as well
as more than 1.1 million monthly active viewers around the globe.
The acquisition will expand Cinedigm’s already sizeable customer
base, which achieved over 370 percent year-over-year growth in
ad-supported user base across linear and ad-supported VOD platforms
in 2018 alone.
Cinedigm plans to make Viewster a core part of
its ad-based content strategy, integrating the platform’s eclectic
entertainment library featuring over 6,000 films and series.
Viewster offerings span a wide array of genres, putting the
spotlight on animation, anime, comedy, documentaries, drama and
horror.
Cinedigm will continue to distribute Viewster
Anime as a standalone brand, which boasts an impressive selection
of acclaimed Anime films and series, ranging from classic favorites
to fresh simulcasts delivered straight from Japan, providing
viewers with instant access to top-tier premium full-length
content. Acquired content highlights include hit films such
as Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Fist Of The North Star, and
Galaxy Express 999, Street Fighter II: The Animated
Movie and Night On The Galactic Railroad, as well as
popular series such as Street Fighter II: The Animated
Series, Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact!, Gunslinger Girl,
GATE, and Food Wars, among many others. The platform offers
programming in a wide variety of languages, with new content added
every week.
“Viewster and Viewster Anime are perfect
complements to our growing base of premium content networks,” said
Erick Opeka, President of Cinedigm Digital Networks. “The
acquisition of Viewster strengthens our market position in the
fandom space, dramatically increases our global footprint, and
greatly accelerates our plans to grow our ad-supported
businesses.”
ABOUT CINEDIGMSince inception, Cinedigm
has been a leader at the forefront of the digital transformation of
content distribution. Adjusting to the rapidly transforming
business needs of today’s entertainment landscape, Cinedigm remains
a change-centric player focused on providing content, channels and
services to the world’s largest media, technology and retail
companies. Cinedigm’s Content and Networks groups provide original
and aggregated programming, channels and services that entertain
consumers globally across hundreds of millions of devices. For more
information, visit www.cinedigm.com.
Press Contact for CIDM:Cindy
Ronzonicronzoni@cinedigm.com
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