Southern Cross Austereo to buy Authentic Entertainment
Regional media player Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) has finalised a deal to buy-out troubled branded content company Authentic Entertainment.
News that the parties were in talks emerged earlier the week, with SCA understood to be very close to finalising a deal to buy the company known for producing syndicated national radio programs Take 40, My Generation and Planet Vevo.
SCA confirmed it had completed the deal today, saying it would become the exclusive representative for Vevo in Australia and its syndicated programs, giving it all advertising for the region and talent integration for its clients.
SCA will take all production of the syndicated programs in house and has pledged to take on a number of staff from Authentic.
Grant Blackley, CEO of SCA, said the deal would give the broadcaster access to valuable advertising inventory.
Blackley: “It makes sense to take production of our shows in-house and I welcome our new employees who are coming across from Authentic”
“The Vevo contract is an important addition to our stable of media businesses, particularly our digital business,” Blackley said.
“We will now have unprecedented access to advertising inventory on an extremely high-demand video platform, giving us the ability to offer even more effective brand solutions for our clients.
“It makes sense to take production of our shows back in-house and I welcome our new employees who are coming across from Authentic.”
Vevo is a joint-venture operation between Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group and is the largest premium video publisher in Australia – it achieved 175 million views in July and a reach of more than a quarter of adults who are online.
Authentic Entertainment has experienced a troubled time of late with the company undergoing a major shake-up in May of 2015, with a number of senior management leaving the business, resulting in founder, Tony McGinn, returning to lead its media arm.
In October of last year Authentic chief executive, John Wardley, left the business following the formal launch of the firm’s new, full-service creative division, Authentic Creative Lab.
This was after the wider group announced losses of $2.8m for the 2014-15 financial year.
Nic Jones, chief revenue officer of Vevo said joining SCA would create new opportunities. “We’re excited to partner with SCA and extend the reach of Vevo as we look to drive new growth opportunities in Australia,” Jones said.
“SCA’s strong local expertise and music orientation make them ideally suited to help us realise the full potential and power of premium music videos in this growing market.”
End of an era.
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