FremantleMedia has increased its stake in Divimove to make it the majority shareholder. The MCN and the global production company have been working together since late 2013 when FremantleMedia initially took shares in the company.
Over the last 18 months, Divimove has experienced major growth, becoming the leading MCN in Europe with 900 million views per month, the company reports. Its 1,700 partner channels attract 80 million subscribers and include the top YouTubers in Spain (Elrubius, 9.8 million subscribers), Italy (FavijTV, 1.5 million subscribers) and the Netherlands (Enzo Knol, 550,000 subscribers).
The partnership has resulted in the launch of Shootrs, a talent programme which combines the production expertise of FremantleMedia with Divimove’s content creators and online video expertise.
Brian Ruhe, CEO, Divimove, commented, “For us, the development and support of talent is at the centre of our business and we’re delighted that we have found a partner who has the same values. Working with FremantleMedia has given us the opportunity to invest even more in our creators and develop new ways to grow their careers. We will continue to do so as we expand our relationship.”
Keith Hindle, CEO digital and branded entertainment, FremantleMedia added, “Divimove’s amazing growth is a result of an exceptional team and a great roster of content creators. Divimove work with really exciting emerging talent across multiple markets, which fits our global TV production business well, and we look forward to working with them even more.”
The deal builds on FremantleMedia’s success in the digital space. They are YouTube’s biggest independent TV production partner, with 216 channels, more than 20 million subscribers and 9 billion annual video views. Its properties have more than 145 million fans on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube combined and it has also worked on award-winning second screen activities, such as interactive voting on talent shows.
