Otter Media

Otter Media Holdings, LLC is an American digital media company owned by the Global Distribution division of AT&T's WarnerMedia.[7] It owns Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Studios, VRV, Fullscreen, and Rooster Teeth, and holds ownership stakes in Hello Sunshine and Gunpowder & Sky.[8][9][10][11]

Otter Media Holdings, LLC
Subsidiary
IndustryMass media
FoundedApril 22, 2014 (2014-04-22)
HeadquartersSanta Monica, California, U.S.
Key people
Tony Goncalves (CEO)[1]
Andy Forssell (COO)
ProductsOTT Services
Digital Networks
Film Production
Film Distribution
Online Television Programming
Events
$500 million (2014)[2]
Number of employees
1,400 (2018)
ParentWarnerMedia Global Distribution Group
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.ottermedia.com

History

In April 2014, AT&T and the Chernin Group established Otter Media as the 50:50 joint venture to offer OTT services.

In January 2016, Otter Media invested in Van Toffler (former CEO of Viacom Media Networks Music Group) and Floris Bauer's Gunpowder & Sky, a digital content company which eventually merged with FilmBuff.[12]

In November 2016, Otter Media and actress Reese Witherspoon formed Hello Sunshine, a joint venture focused on telling female-driven stories on film, TV, and digital platforms.[5] In July 2017, AT&T was reportedly looking to acquire full ownership of the company along with other joint ventures inherited in its acquisition of satellite TV provider DirecTV. The company if it were to be fully acquired by AT&T will cost a valuation of $1 billion.[13] Since February 2018, its CEO is Tony Goncalves (who was an AT&T Digital executive).

In January 2018, Otter Media bought the remaining stake in Ellation, the owner of VRV and Crunchyroll, and integrated it as Otter Media's Consumer Division.[10]

On June 20, 2018, Recode reported that AT&T was close to buying out Chernin's stake in Otter Media, on the heel of its acquisition of Time Warner (whose digital media holdings included Machinima).[14] On August 7, 2018, AT&T announced their acquisition of Chernin Group's stake in Otter Media for an undisclosed amount, believed to be around $1 billion.[15]

On August 22, 2018, Ellation formed Ellation Studios, a production studio with facilities in both the U.S. and Japan, to produce original content for Crunchyroll and VRV.[3][16]

On December 4, 2018, Otter announced a broad restructuring that would result in the layoff of about ten percent of its staff. As part of the reorganization, Machinima, which had been part of Warner Bros. Digital Networks, was re-organized under Otter Media. Ellation will now house Rooster Teeth, Crunchyroll, and VRV, while Machinima became a unit of Fullscreen.[17][18][19]

On March 4, 2019, following the reconstruction of WarnerMedia's businesses, Otter Media became part of Warner Bros. Entertainment.[20] However, on May 31, it was transferred to the WarnerMedia Entertainment division in order to oversee HBO Max.[21]

On September 2019, Crunchyroll announced it had acquired a majority stake in Viz Media Europe from Hitotsubashi Group,[22] and later rebranded Viz Media Europe as Crunchyroll SAS.[23][24] As a result, the Ellation name was moved from being Otter Media's Consumer Division to Crunchyroll's subsidiary in Moldova,[25] and VRV was made a brand of Crunchyroll.[26]

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References
  1. "AT&T Digital Executive Named CEO of Otter Media". hollywoodreporter.com.
  2. Spangler, Todd (22 April 2014). "AT&T, Chernin Group Invest $500 Million in Over-the-Top Video Venture". Variety.com. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  3. Roettgers, Janko (22 August 2018). "AT&T's Ellation Launches Studios in Burbank and Tokyo to Produce Crunchyroll Originals". variety.com.
  4. "Marge Dean Brings Anime and Inclusion Together at Crunchyroll Studios". Animation World Network.
  5. Busch, Anita (November 21, 2016). "Reese Witherspoon, Otter Media Pact For New Company Hello Sunshine". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 15, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  6. "About Us - Gunpowder & Sky". Gunpowder & Sky. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  7. "WarnerMedia Organization Update". August 7, 2020.
  8. Roettgers, Janko (3 August 2015). "Chernin, AT&T Set Brand for New Online Video Venture: Ellation (Exclusive)". Variety.com. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  9. Roettgers, Janko (4 November 2015). "Chernin's Otter Media Aims for More Than $200M Revenue This Year". Variety.com. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  10. Roettgers, Janko (2018-01-24). "AT&T-Chernin J.V. Otter Media Buys Out Remaining Fullscreen, Crunchyroll Owners". Variety. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  11. "Otter Media Buys Remainder of Its Digital Businesses Fullscreen, Ellation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
  12. Spangler, Todd (January 13, 2016). "Van Toffler Launches Digital Studio Backed by Chernin Group, AT&T". Variety. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  13. "Here's the chart that explains why CBS and Viacom want to merge". www.recode.net. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  14. "AT&T is getting ready to acquire all of Otter Media, the streaming video company it co-owns with Peter Chernin". Recode. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  15. Spangler, Todd (2018-08-07). "AT&T Buys Out Chernin Group's Stake in Otter Media". Variety. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  16. "Deeper Dive—AT&T has extra SVOD gems in Crunchyroll and VRV". www.fiercevideo.com.
  17. Spangler, Todd (2018-12-04). "AT&T's Otter Media Lays Off 10% of Staff, Will Absorb Machinima in Reorg". Variety. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  18. Weiss, Geoff (2019-01-22). "After Porting Its Creator Network To Fullscreen, Machinima Wipes Seminal YouTube Channel". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  19. Alexander, Julia (2019-01-19). "Machinima, one of YouTube's biggest and oldest channels, goes dark". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  20. Feiner, Lauren (March 4, 2019). "WarnerMedia reorganizes its leadership team after AT&T acquisition". CNBC. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  21. Spangler, Todd (May 31, 2019). "WarnerMedia Reorg Gives Otter Media's Tony Goncalves Oversight of Streaming Service Development". Variety. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  22. Coats, Cayla (September 6, 2019). "Crunchyroll and VIZ Media Europe Group Enter a New Relationship". Crunchyroll. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  23. Mateo, Alex (April 2, 2020). "Viz Media Europe SAS Changes Name to Crunchyroll SAS". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  24. "JAPANESE ENTERTAINMENT EMEA LEADER VIZ MEDIA EUROPE REBRANDS AS CRUNCHYROLL". Crunchyroll SAS. April 2, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  25. "Ellation". LinkedIn. Retrieved April 3, 2020. Ellation (a Crunchyroll company) was formerly the Consumer Division of WarnerMedia's Otter Media, which included industry leading brands Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, and VRV. We are transitioning the Ellation company name to focus on our team in Chișinău, Moldova.
  26. "Crunchyroll | About". Crunchyroll. Retrieved April 4, 2020. VRV (U.S.) and Eye See Movies (Germany) are also Crunchyroll brands.
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