The Global Movies and Entertainment Market Grows With New Marketing Techniques
FinancialBuzz.com News Commentary
NEW YORK, December 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
The movie and entertainment market is a major global industry, but last year, sales began to slip within major regions like the U.S. and Europe. Despite declining sales in box offices, movie production companies began to look to leverage new marketing strategies to bolster sales. Regional expansion and distribution partnerships have allowed companies to tap into new markets as well as reach a wider audience. Primarily, social media is being used within the industry to reach audiences prior to the film's release, generating exposure and attention. According to data compiled Grand View Research, the global movies and entertainment market was valued at USD 80.98 Billion in 2016 and is estimated to reach USD 114.93 Billion by 2025. Introduction to newer marketing and distribution platforms such as IPTV, digital newspapers, DTH, digital cable and online sales are projected to boost the industry. The Wonderfilm Media Corporation (OTC: WDRFF), Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB), AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX)
Social media is becoming a go-to marketing strategy for film and television companies, allowing audiences to engage with the film or movie before it goes live in theaters. By publishing trailers on the internet, movie producers are engaging with a large audience. Companies can receive feedback from their audience, which can create a stronger connection with viewers. Feedback received from viewers can allow companies to reach different audiences while at the same time appealing to new tastes. "Social media and how it should be deployed has become the singular most important element that filmmakers need to be addressed," said Elliot Grove, Founder of Raindance Film Festival and British Independent Film Awards. "Filmmakers who understand and utilise social media can give their films a 'lift' that could well mean the difference between commercial success and oblivion. Getting a film off the ground is a daunting task. Understanding and using social media to advantage is one way filmmakers can short cut the perilous path to commercial success."
The Wonderfilm Media Corporation (OTC: WDRFF) is also listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol (TSX-V: WNDR). Earlier last week, the Company announced breaking news that, "on November 19, 2018 it has entered into a letter of intent to acquire 100% of Starbury Media ("Starbury") from Sun Seven Stars Investments Group ("SSSI"), 34% of Grapevine Logic Inc. ("Grapevine") and a slate of over twenty-five movie production script packages from WOL Productions Inc.("Production Packages") in an arm's length transaction for CAD$30,000,000 (the "Transaction").
Starbury, the sporting brand and media company co-founded by Dr.Bruno Wu and Stephan Marbury, provides immediate access to a network of elite, high profile athletes and sports personalities who aim to capitalize on and transcend their sporting success by developing their personal brand through acting roles, branding services, merchandising and events.
Starbury's Fighting Group, a fighting sports digital asset operation company and division of Starbury Media, will kickstart fighters and action stars by working together in media, led by its recently appointed Chairman and legendary Canadian & British boxing champion Lennox Lewis.
Grapevine, the world's leading end-to-end social media influencer marketing platform, will leverage Wonderfilm's original content and pursue monetization strategies with celebrity influencers by penetrating the loyalty management market exclusively for motion pictures, TV production and sports media. Grapevine now has the production outlet necessary to bring their 4,700 corporate brands into broader media channels, while Wonderfilm has direct advertising, marketing, analytics and alternative distribution channels for its own original content.
Additionally, a slate of over twenty-five movie and TV series (English and Chinese language) production script packages will be provided by WOL Productions Inc. (majority owned by SSSI), which includes the action thriller, "Ana", starring Gong Li with Martin Campbell attached as the Director. Given that some of these assets are already fully packaged, Wonderfilm is able to immediately begin the pre-selling process.
Combining Starbury, Grapevine and the Production Packages with Wonderfilm's worldwide film & television production strength, increases the Company's vertical and horizontal integration into the wider entertainment industry. Wonderfilm's new subscription video on demand ("SVOD") digital channels will be among the first beneficiaries of the unified companies, immediately gaining top tier access to the sports market, significant social media coverage, corporate advertising, sponsorship revenues and exclusive Grapevine content.
'We are executing Wonderfilm's strategy of becoming an entertainment and media innovator by combining social media, film & TV production, online applications and new branding sources to integrate viewers and fans to their media through continuous online engagement and cross-pollination of media consumers through branded Apps, AI and cutting-edge interactive features that seamlessly blend online interaction with premier broadcasts on the digital channel, which includes the launch of Wonderfilm's new digital movie channel expected in 2019,' stated Kirk Shaw, CEO of Wonderfilm.
Dr.Bruno Wu, co-chairman and CEO of SSSI remarked, 'We believe that the combination of these platforms, which include our asset digitization and artificial intelligence teams, will differentiate us in the marketing and advertising business. Global sport is increasing in unison with the entertainment and media space, so it is natural for us to join these arms and create synergies that are extremely beneficial for all involved to provide a truly unique, scalable and superior offering to the market.'
About The Wonderfilm Media Corporation: Wonderfilm is a leading publicly traded (TSX Venture Exchange: WNDR) entertainment company with production offices in Los Angeles, corporate offices in Vancouver BC and its Asian distribution office in Seoul, South Korea. The Company's core business is producing market-driven independent feature films and quality television series for multi-platform global exploitation. Current productions include the feature films, Moose (staring John Travolta) and Primal (starring Nicolas Cage.) The Company's guiding philosophy is bringing new financing solutions to an entertainment industry increasingly looking for funding and co-production alternatives. Wonderfilm is a producer and distributor only for the projects disclosed. The legal ownership of movie productions are held in a special purpose legal entity held at arm's length to the Company to facilitate for the qualification of various levels of domestic and foreign government tax credit incentives that are customary in the film and production business."
Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) the Company's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. Facebook has 1.49 billion daily active users on average for September 2018 and 2.27 billion monthly active users as of September 30th, 2018. According to The Wall Street Journal, the social medial company is willing to spend as much as USD 1 Billion to cultivate original shows for its platform, citing people familiar with matter. "The investment would far outpace Facebook's previous outlays on video content, including its live-video deals last year. It also signals Facebook's readiness to spend more than before to become what Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg calls a "video-first" platform," WSJ reported.
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), together with its subsidiaries, is a diversified worldwide entertainment company with operations in four business segments. Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. and The Walt Disney Company recently announced that, at separate special meetings, stockholders of the two companies approved all proposals related to Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox. 21st Century Fox is one of the world's leading portfolios of cable, broadcast, film, pay TV and satellite assets spanning six continents across the globe. The proposals included the adoption by 21st Century Fox stockholders of the merger agreement with Disney and the distribution merger agreement for the spin-off of new "Fox." Disney stockholders approved the issuance of new common stock that will be distributed to 21st Century Fox stockholders as part of the acquisition. "We're incredibly pleased that shareholders of both companies have granted approval for us to move forward, and are confident in our ability to create significant long-term value through this acquisition of Fox's premier assets," said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. "We remain grateful to Rupert Murdoch and to the rest of the 21st Century Fox board for entrusting us with the future of these extraordinary businesses, and look forward to welcoming 21st Century Fox's stellar talent to Disney and ultimately integrating our businesses to provide consumers around the world with more appealing content and entertainment options."
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB) is based in San Francisco with offices in over 20 countries around the globe. Dolby Laboratories, Inc. and Wanying Cinema Line (Shenzhen) Company Limited, the high-end cinema exhibitor wholly owned by China Resources Land Limited with the brand MIXCINE, recently announced a partnership to extend the spectacular Dolby Cinema® experience to more moviegoers in China. With the partnership, the first location is expected to be open at Wanying's flagship site in Shenzhen with more locations to come in Southeast China in the following two years. The MIXCINE is a domestic high-end film center invested, constructed and operated by Wanying Cinema Line. With the "Efficient Use of Optics and Acoustics" as the core element of the building, and "All for the film-watching service" as the main service principle, it will create a high-end movie theater with excellent experience for film fans. "Since we opened our first site in China two years ago, we have witnessed moviegoers' growing passion for the dramatic and immersive Dolby Cinema experience," said Doug Darrow, Senior Vice President, Cinema Business Group, Dolby Laboratories. "The partnership with Wanying Cinema Line will allow us to bring the highly acclaimed Dolby Cinema experience to even more cities across China."
AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) owns and operates several of cable television's most recognized brands delivering high quality content to audiences and a valuable platform to distributors and advertisers. AMC Networks Inc. recently announced that it completed the acquisition of RLJ Entertainment, Inc. after RLJ Entertainment's stockholders approved the transaction at a special meeting on October 31st, 2018. RLJ Entertainment has created two rapidly growing subscription streaming services: Acorn TV, known for its high-quality British and international mysteries and dramas; and UMC, which offers films, documentaries, original series and comedy for African-American and urban audiences. In addition, RLJ Entertainment owns a majority stake in Agatha Christie Ltd., which represents an exceptionally popular world-class franchise. "This acquisition furthers AMC Networks' direct-to-consumer strategy and accelerates our interests in subscription video-on-demand services that we own and control," said Josh Sapan, AMC Networks President and Chief Executive Officer. "We have tremendous respect for RLJ Entertainment's management team, who have done an exceptional job growing this business and creating powerful direct-to-consumer streaming services in Acorn TV and UMC that reach highly-targeted audiences with popular content, and are now approaching one million subscribers."
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