Ted Leonsis' SnagFilms Goes to Cable and Video on Demand
On the second anniversary of its launch, DC-based SnagFilms, the documentary film site, announced a major expansion of its film distribution. SnagFilms has inked video-on-demand agreements with Comcast and Verizon Fios.
By Dave Liss | July 20, 2010
On the second anniversary of its launch, DC-based
SnagFilms, the documentary film site founded two years ago by AOL vice chair emeritus Ted Leonsis, on Monday announced a major expansion of its film distribution. SnagFilms has inked video-on-demand agreements with Comcast and Verizon Fios.
Overall, the just announced deals will increase the size of the company’s library and also bring the titles to an array of outlets instead of relying just on the Internet. Notably, the move highlights a shift away from an entirely free model for accessing some documentary features and shorts.
The pay VOD offerings will include special selections from SnagFilms' library, with new titles made available on a monthly basis. In addition SnagFilms' content will also be available for purchase on iTunes and as rentals on YouTube. The company is also supporting free and for-purchase content for the iPad.
SnagFilms is also working on a mobile angle via A3 Media Network with two unnamed mobile phone carriers that will initially reach 6 million subscribers.
Lastly, SnagFilms is extending its library to Internet-connected TVs, Blu-ray players, gaming consoles and set-top boxes this fall. Snag is also working on a deal to put its films on Netflix. Negotiations with Netflix are ongoing.
Plans are also underway for the launch of SnagLearning, a site that will be made available to educators in time for the new school year, with over 100 films available to educators for grade and subject, to which supplemental study materials will be added.
SnagFilms has become the web’s largest home for non-fiction films, with more than 1,500 documentaries streamed free to consumers on 90,000 websites and Web pages.
Mr. Leonsis founded SnagFilms in 2008 with about $10 million in backing from an investment group that includes himself; Steve Case, with whom he worked at AOL; and, among others, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, a nonprofit group that was attracted by Mr. Leonsis’s plan to build a company with what he calls "a double bottom line."
Essentially, that means doing well by doing good.
In the case of SnagFilms, the public service element has to do with finding viewers and revenue for at least some of the thousands of documentaries that are produced annually by professional as well as amateur filmmakers, few of whom will ever see their pictures play in theaters or on television networks.
"We’ve brought a global audience to see films that may never have been shown in their local theaters, increased the engagement of audiences with powerful documentary films, and genuinely encourage philanthropic activity in support of causes important to passionate filmmakers," said SnagFilms CEO Rick Allen in a press release announcing the expansion.
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