LONDON: Future plc has announced the acquisition of CinemaBlend, a premium digital entertainment publisher.

CinemaBlend, based in the US, is a high-growth digital brand focused on the TV, film and entertainment market. Through its website, podcast series, social media channels and newsletters, CinemaBlend provides a platform for enthusiasts and casual fans to discover, explore and discuss films and TV shows, both on streaming services such as Netflix and linear TV such as HBO.

The brand’s website, Cinemablend.com, reached 19.4m monthly unique visitors over the first six months of 2020, representing growth of 118% year-on-year. CinemaBlend generated revenue of $3.1m in the year to 31 December 2019, up from $2.7m in the previous year, and has seen significant online growth since the start of 2019.

In 2020 CinemaBlend continued to perform well with the impact of Covid-19 increasing appetite for advice on what to watch on TV, resulting in 28m sessions in June 2020 alone.

The acquisition will:

• Expand Future’s reach of 46m online users in its TV & Film and Games & Entertainment verticals, particularly in the US.
• Provide an opportunity to accelerate the development of Future’s recently launched website Whattowatch.com by establishing a strong market position from which to grow both online brands, as well as benefiting from collaboration, content sharing and new expertise.
• Present opportunities for Future to further diversify the brand’s online revenue streams by deploying Future’s proprietary technology platform, including Hawk – Future’s price comparison technology that helps consumers find the best deals in the market – and Hybrid – Future’s leading advertising technology.

Zillah Byng-Thorne, CEO of Future, said: “We are delighted to be adding CinemaBlend to our portfolio of leading entertainment brands. CinemaBlend is a great cultural fit for Future, producing content we are passionate about.

“The acquisition materially expands our market share within the TV & Film and Games & Entertainment verticals in the US, and provides us with a range of opportunities to continue to drive the brand’s growth organically by leveraging our proprietary technology platform.”

Future Plc is a global platform business for specialist media with diversified revenue streams. Its content reaches 1 in 3 adults in both the UK and the US.

The Media division is high-growth with three complementary revenue streams: eCommerce, events and digital advertising including advertising within newsletters. It operates in a number of sectors including technology, games & entertainment, music, home & gardens, sports, TV & film, real life, women’s lifestyle and B2B, and its brands include TechRadar, PC Gamer, Tom’s Guide, Android Central, Truly, Digital Camera World, Homebuilding & Renovating Show, GamesRadar+, The Photography Show, Top Ten Reviews, Marie Claire, Live Science, Guitar World, MusicRadar, Space.com, What to Watch, Gardening Etc, Advnture and Tom’s Hardware.

The Magazine division focuses on publishing specialist content, with a combined global circulation of over 3 million delivered through more than 130 publications. The portfolio spans technology, games & entertainment, sports, music, photography & design, homes & garden, country lifestyle, TV & film and B2B. Its titles include Country Life, Wallpaper*, Woman & Home, Classic Rock, Decanter, Guitar Player, FourFourTwo, Homebuilding & Renovating, Digital Camera, Guitarist, How It Works, Total Film, What Hi-Fi? and Music Week.

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