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Tag: Marc DeBevoise

  • Bending Spoons acquires streaming tech firm Brightcove

    Bending Spoons acquires streaming tech firm Brightcove

    MUMBAI: Streaming technology firm Brightcove today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an Italian mobile technology  company  Bending Spoons, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $233 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Brightcove shareholders will receive $4.45 per share in cash for each share of Brightcove common stock that they own. The per share purchase price represents a 90 per cent  premium over Brightcove’s 60-day volume weighted average share price as of the close on 22 November 2024, says a company press release.  

    The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals, including approval by Brightcove’s stockholders, and the receipt of required regulatory approvals. Upon the completion of the transaction, Brightcove will become a privately held company and its common stock will no longer be listed on any public stock exchange. 

    “We are pleased to have entered into this definitive agreement with Bending Spoons, which represents the culmination of a comprehensive strategic review process led by our board of directors and with the support of our management team and advisors,” said Brightcove chairman Diane Hessan. “As the board considered the long-term path for Brightcove, we unanimously determined that this transaction represents the best opportunity to maximize the value of the business and deliver compelling, certain, and immediate cash value to our stockholders.” 

    Brightcove chief executive officer &  director Marc DeBevoise added: “Brightcove is a storied and successful enterprise SaaS leader with 20 years of history, 12 of them as a public company. We have been a pioneer and innovator in the streaming market, from the early days of video player technologies to the leading video-powered engagement platform we are today. Today’s announcement will enable Brightcove to leverage the technology and market expertise of Bending Spoons and best position Brightcove to continue to thrive in the streaming and engagement technology market.” 

    Bending Spoons CEO &  co-founder Luca Ferrari said, “We’re delighted to welcome Brightcove into the Bending Spoons portfolio. Brightcove is a trusted and respected name in the streaming technology space, and we look forward to serving its large global customer base. When Bending Spoons acquires a business, we do so with the intention of owning and operating it indefinitely. With this in mind, we’re excited about building on the strong work of the current team, and ensuring Brightcove thrives for many years to come.” 

    BrightcoveBrightcove provides customers  with the a scalable, and secure platform to deliver video.  It also provides  video interactivity to take audiences from passive to active, and beautiful live or on-demand experiences and insights  fueled by analytics that provide customers  clear and effective instruction on how to maintain, grow, and better engage  their audiences.

    Bending Spoons already owns products such as Meetup, EverNote, Remini, Splice, StreamYard, Issuu and WeTransfer which it has acquired over the past couple of years. It also has some celebrity investors such as Andre Agassi, Andrew Traggart, Chloe Zhao, Dude Perfect, Eric Shcmidt, Kerry Trainor, Maluma, Gabrielle Union, among many others. It claims to have 200 million monthly active users. 

    The company is also known to right size companies which it has acquired, according to online tech publication SiliconAngle. Reports are that Evernote laid off 129 of its 400 workforce, relocating the entire workforce to Europe. Bending Spoons also handed pink slips to 75 per cent of WeTransfer’s employees a few months after acquiring it.  

  • Brightcove appoints David Beck as chief strategy and corporate development officer

    Brightcove appoints David Beck as chief strategy and corporate development officer

    Mumbai: Brightcove announced the appointment of David Beck as its chief strategy and corporate development officer. Beck will lead strategy, business development and corporate development for the company.

    Working closely with Brightcove CEO Marc DeBevoise, Beck will be focused on developing strategies that enhance current offerings and create opportunities to expand Brightcove’s existing businesses. His broad remit will also focus on enabling Brightcove to expand into new markets and lines of business utilizing its market-leading software platform.

    “We are excited to bolster our executive team with the appointment of David Beck as chief strategy and corporate development officer,” said Brightcove chief executive officer Marc DeBevoise. “David is an exceptional strategist and operator with deep industry experience and a proven track record of architecting innovative strategies and initiatives for world-class companies and brands. I’m excited to get to work with David and have him help us realize our vision and crystalize our continued growth strategy.”

    Beck brings two decades of experience in strategy, operations, and business development at elite digital brands, most recently having served as the executive vice president, head of content strategy and business operations at AMC.

    At AMC, Beck led the strategy to accelerate AMC’s streaming business model transformation, including its integrated linear, subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) (AMC+), and advertising video-on-demand/ free ad-supported streaming television (AVOD/FAST) services and partnerships for business-to-business (B2B) and direct-to-consumer (DTC) distribution.

    He also drove the modernization of its core operations across AMC, BBC America, Sundance TV, IFC, and WE TV. Prior to his time at AMC, David served as the EVP, corporate strategy and operations at WarnerMedia, and chief strategy officer of TNT and TBS. He is also the co-founder of advisory and investment firm BRAVE Ventures, acquired by Turner (now Warner Bros. Discovery).

    “Brightcove is an innovator and trailblazer in the video communications space, and I’m both energized and honoured to join the company at such an exciting time,” said Beck. “With a new CEO developing a focused vision, a fantastic team with building enthusiasm and ready to act, and a best-in-class technology platform to build on, I am incredibly excited to go after the opportunities ahead of us.”

  • Tom Ryan takes charge as ViacomCBS Streaming president & CEO

    Tom Ryan takes charge as ViacomCBS Streaming president & CEO

    MUMBAI: ViacomCBS has restructured its global leadership, with the biggest change-up coming in the form of Pluto TV CEO Tom Ryan being appointed president and CEO of Streaming.

    In his new role, Ryan will overlook CBS All Access, which will relaunch as Paramount+ in early 2021. He will continue to hold on to his remit at Pluto TV while also taking charge of the company’s global streaming strategy.

    Marc DeBevoise will step down from his roles as ViacomCBS’s chief digital officer and president-CEO of ViacomCBS Digital. He will serve in an advisory capacity for the remainder of the year.

    ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) COO Kelly Day will take on an expanded role as president of streaming for VCNI, overseeing all non-US digital and streaming platforms.

    The media conglomerate also announced that Pierluigi Gazzolo will step down from his position as president, streaming and studios, at VCNI.

    ViacomCBS president and CEO Bob Bakish said, “ViacomCBS has a unique opportunity to combine the best of our brands in a seamless ecosystem of must-watch, direct-to-consumer services for audiences around the world. As we plan for the launch of Paramount+, bringing together the leaders of our streaming platforms to create a unified global organization will enable us to execute a holistic strategy across both free and pay.”

    As president and CEO of ViacomCBS Streaming, Ryan will lead the company’s effort to further accelerate the growth of its free and paid streaming services. He will now work closely with the team on programming strategy, platform development and marketing.

    “I couldn’t be more excited to work with this talented team and build on their momentum, especially as we approach the launch of Paramount+,” Ryan further added. “Together, we will leverage ViacomCBS’s beloved portfolio of brands, strong content pipeline and an extensive network of partners to deliver must-watch on-demand, live and exclusive original programming to viewers everywhere.”

    The ViacomCBS reshuffling comes after Disney, WarnerMedia, and ZEE have similarly moved to restructure their organizations with the aim of accelerating direct-to-consumer streaming strategies.

  • ViacomCBS to rebrand CBS All Access to Paramount + for early 2021 launch

    ViacomCBS to rebrand CBS All Access to Paramount + for early 2021 launch

    MUMBAI: Paramount+ is the brand name of the new global streaming service that ViacomCBS will be rolling out in Australia, Latin America and the Nordics in early 2021. This was revealed by the company’s president & CEO Bob Bakish who had announced in June 2020 that its subscription video on demand CBS All Access will be rebooted and relaunched with additional premium programming.  

    Said Bakish: “Paramount is an iconic and storied brand beloved by consumers all over the world, and it is synonymous with quality, integrity and world-class storytelling. With Paramount+, we’re excited to establish one global streaming brand in the broad-pay segment that will draw on the sheer breadth and depth of the ViacomCBS portfolio to offer an extraordinary collection of content for everyone to enjoy.”

    Read more news on Paramount 

    Bakish also announced a slate of fresh shows and series which would be available to subscribers of Paramount+:

    .  The  Offer, a scripted limited event series from Paramount Television Studios, based on Oscar-winning producer Al Ruddy’s extraordinary, never-revealed experiences of making The Godfather. The 10-episode event series is written and executive produced by Michael Tolkin (Escape at Dannemora and The Player). Ruddy will also serve as executive producer, and Emmy-winning producer Leslie Greif (Hatfields & McCoys) will executive produce and be a writer on the series.

    .  Lioness, a spy drama created by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone) with Sheridan, Jill Wagner, David Glasser, David Hutkin, and Bob Yari set to executive produce. Based on a real-life CIA program, Lioness follows a young Marine recruited to befriend the daughter of a terrorist to bring the organization down from within. The series is produced by Paramount Network and 101 Studios.

    Read more news on ViacomCBS

    .  A reimagination of the Emmy®-nominated series Behind the Music entitled MTV’s Behind The Music – The Top 40, which will unlock MTV’s vault from the past 40 years for a unique and intimate look at the 40 biggest artists of all time, through their voices and their eyes. The series will be produced by Creature Films and MTV Studios.

    .  The Real Criminal Minds, a true crime docuseries based on the hit CBS Television series, and produced by XG Productions in association with CBS Television Studios and ABC Signature.

    .  The service is also developing a revival of The Game  as part of BET’s programming on Paramount +  from CBS Television Studios and Grammnet Productions.

    The new original series announced today join the service’s previously announced plans for Kamp Koral, a new original children’s series from Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob Squarepants, and the service’s role as the exclusive SVOD home to The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run in early 2021. Additional new original content will be announced ahead of launch.

    This programming will join  CBS All Access’  robust existing offering of more than 20,000 episodes and movies from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and more, as well as exclusive original series including  The Good Fight, The Twilight Zone, Tooning out on The News, No Activity, Why Women Kill, Interrogation, The Thomas John Experience, and Tell Me A Story, The Stand, The Man Who Fell to Earth,, The Harper House, Guilty Party, Star Trek: Discovery Star Trek: Picard, animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Strange New World.

    Since the transformation of  CBS All Access  began in late July, the service has experienced significant growth and engagement. With the addition of a diverse mix of content, including UEFA, Big Brother Live Feeds, star Trek: Lower Decks, and more than 3,500 episodes from across ViacomCBS’ brands, the service broke a new record for total monthly streams in August and experienced one of its best months ever in terms of new subscriber sign-ups. In addition, the average age of new subscribers in August was measurably younger than the service’s overall average subscriber age, due in large part to the addition of UEFA and the newly added content from various ViacomCBS brands.

    Leading up to the early 2021 rebrand to Paramount + ,  CBS All Access  will expand its content offering to more than 30,000 episodes and movies and continue to develop additional original series across brands including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and more, transforming it into a diversified super service for the ViacomCBS portfolio.

    “The response from consumers in just the early weeks of the service’s expansion already illustrates the tremendous opportunity ahead of us in bringing these phenomenal ViacomCBS brands together in one premium streaming home under the new Paramount +  name,” said ViacomCBS chief digital officer & ViacomCBS Digital CEO Marc DeBevoise. “With the addition of even more content from across the portfolio as well as the new exclusive originals we are announcing today, we look forward to the early 2021 rebrand and bringing existing and new subscribers more of the compelling, genre-spanning live sports, breaking news and mountain of entertainment ViacomCBS has to offer.”

    Earlier this month ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) president & CEO David Lynn had said that the super streamer would not be launched in India as it already has successful streaming operations in Voot and Voot Select in partnership with Viacom18 and Reliance.