Recent Time Warner spinoff Aol has purchased video production company StudioNow for $36.5 million in cash and stock with the goal of soon creating original online programming. Aol said it will be folding StudioNow into its Seed.com offering, expanding the suite to cover creation, storage and management of writing, photo and video content.
StudioNow was launched to bring video to every Web site, its founder David Mason said. That will be useful to Aol because of the 80 sites it owns, covering topics from gadgets and technology to sports and politics.
StudioNow is composed of a network of video editors - mostly freelance - and it produces videos at around $3,000 per piece of content; the company said its competition averages around $15,000 per piece of content. StudioNow has a long list of clients with big video appetites and successes, including Maxim magazine, Playboy, CBS Radio, the Clear Channel radio chain, Sony Music, Athlon Sports and publisher Simon & Schuster.
StudioNow has also developed a Web-based tracking system that, like FedEx, shows the exact status of a video as it makes its way through the production cycle.
The investment marks a significant move to Aol, not only in pushing video but rebranding itself as an entertainment hub accessible to more than just the users who remember its chatrooms. |
