In keeping with our mission to provide comprehensive advertising analysis, MediaRadar puts together a report of the most important mergers and acquisitions news each week. Stay in the loop, whether you sell advertising space or focus on business development.
This week, Roku gained TV’s cornerstone home improvement program, iHeartMedia is spending more on podcast technology, and Hemisphere Media Group finalized a deal to gain the remaining stake in Pantaya.
Roku buys all of This Old House
Roku has made a move to acquire This Old House International Holdings, LLC from TZP Group in a deal that includes the digital assets, production studio, and more than 1,500 episodes and a combined 60 seasons of the TV show This Old House and its companion series Ask This Old House.
Viewers can now watch past seasons on the Roku Channel, and episodes from the current seasons of the two shows will become available after first airing on PBS.
According to VP of programming at Roku, Rob Holms, the show has broad appeal across national audiences, and has “created the television home improvement genre… beloved by millions of fans, and we could not be more excited to help grow the brand for an entire new generation of home improvement enthusiasts.”
The deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions that includes Nielsen’s Advanced Video Advertising unit. In an era that has people spending more time at home, Roku is investing in programming that has helped many viewers improve their most valuable asset—their home.
iHeartMedia invests more in podcasts by purchasing Triton Digital
iHeartMedia Inc. has acquired Triton Digital from E.W. Scripps for $230 million in a deal that gives the radio giant greater audio advertising technology and measurement capabilities to integrate into its expanding podcast business.
iHeart is the largest U.S. radio broadcaster, and the move will help the company keep pace with rapid acquisitions made by competitors such as Spotify and Apple.
Podcasting has grown rapidly over the past few years, and players in the market are vying for listeners as they seek to increase revenues through advertising. The medium currently attracts more than 100 million monthly active listeners according to Edison Research.
iHeartMedia’s app is currently the most popular place for Internet streaming of broadcast stations, and the number 2 biggest Internet radio app overall, behind Pandora.
Hemisphere Media Group acquires remaining stake in Pantaya
U.S. Hispanic and Latin American market-focused media company Hemisphere Media Group has finalized a $124 million deal to acquire the remaining 75% stake in Pantaya, a U.S. Hispanic Subscription video-on-demand service which has about 900,000 paying subscribers.
The service starts at $5.99 per month. Pantaya launched in 2017 through a joint venture with Hemisphere and Lionsgate. Pantaya’s subscriber base is expected to expand to 3 million in the next 4 years.
Under the terms of the deal, Hemisphere will continue its strategic content relationship with Lionsgate, its international premium subscription service Starzplay. In addition, Pantaya will continue licensing Spanish-language content from Lionsgate’s 17,000-title film and TV library.
Hemisphere plans to increase investment in Panataya’s content by expanding the release of TV series and movies.
In Other News
What else is happening this week?
- Specialty food producer Stonewall Kitchen has announced its acquisition of organic coffee brand Vermont coffee Company.
- News Corp, the mass media company headed by Rupert Merdoch has struck an agreement to acquire Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s books and media division in a deal valued at $349 million in cash.
- Paris-based eyewear group EssilorLuxottica announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire U.S.-based lab network Walman.
- Investment company Go Global Retail announced that it is acquiring Janie and Jack from Gap Inc.
- Daily fantasy sports contest and sports betting operator DraftKings announced that it is acquiring sports betting broadcast company Vegas Sports Information Network (VSiN).
- CarMax, Inc., the nation’s largest used car retailer, announced that it is acquiring Edmunds, an online resource for automotive information, for $404 million.
- According to Bloomberg, private equity firm Apollo Global Management is mulling a sale of its portfolio company McGraw-Hill Education, a textbook publisher and education technology company, for $5 – $6 billion, including debt.
- According to Reuters, chemicals group Bayer AG is preparing to launch an auction of its Bayer Environmental Science (BSE) pest control unit in the coming months.
- Office-sharing start-up WeWork announced that it has agreed to merge with BowX Acquisition Corp.
