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Upstart video streaming service Loop Media buys 30-year-old ScreenPlay

L.A. Biz

A week after emerging from stealth, Loop Media Inc. has announced its first acquisition.

The Burbank, California-based startup, which provides premium short-form streaming to venues, has acquired Seattle-based ScreenPlay Inc., a company that has operated for three decades in the same space.

Terms of deal — a combination of cash and stock — were not disclosed.

With this acquisition, Loop gains a library of and licensing rights to more than 200,000 music videos and trailers for movies, games and TV shows, as well as millions of dollars in annual revenue and a built-in client base of thousands of public places.

“Not only does ScreenPlay fast-forward Loop’s business with its vast library of treasures — including vintage performances by major label and independent artists — it brings us a customer base in a digital out-of-home market that will grow as we deliver more powerful, slimmer and connected solutions,” said Loop co-founder and CEO Jon Niermann in a statement.

ScreenPlay services such venues as Hard Rock Café, Norwegian Cruise Line, Yard House, Buffalo Wild Wings and Margaritaville. Current clients will continue to receive uninterrupted service as Loop develops and rolls out complementary services throughout the year. ScreenPlay also provides videos to hundreds of websites and businesses such as IMDb, Amazon and Best Buy, accounting for hundreds of millions of views per month.

ScreenPlay founder and Chairman Mark Vrieling will join Loop as chief content officer, leading content acquisition and licensing, and Pete MacKenzie, ScreenPlay’s second-longest tenured employee and COO, will become president to oversee day-to-day operations. The rest of the ScreenPlay team will continue operations at Loop’s Seattle office.

“Over the past two years, our relationship has grown from partners, to Loop’s investment in ScreenPlay, to realizing the formidable power we’d have as one company,” added Vrieling.

News of the move follows Loop’s launch out of stealth last week with nearly $10 million in seed funding. The company aims to release a consumer app later this year.

Original Article