Warner Bros. Makes Big Digital Push by Buying Flixster, Rotten Tomatoes
If Warner Bros. Home Entertainment testing Facebook movie rentals was the equivalent of dipping a toe into the digital waters, the company has now opted for a much bigger splash by announcing it has entered into an agreement to acquire Flixster, a highly popular movie discovery application company with over 25 million worldwide users per month. This acquisition means Warner Bros also nabs Rotten Tomatoes, a top website devoted to film reviews, information and news.
Under the agreement, both Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes will continue to operate independently, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group will utilize the powerful Flixster brand and technical expertise to launch initiatives designed to grow digital content ownership. This includes the recently announced consumer application “Digital Everywhere,” which Warner Bros. hopes will be the ultimate destination for consumers to organize and access their entire digital library from anywhere on the device of their choice, as well as to share recommendations and discover new content.
Additionally, Warner Bros. is a founding member of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), which is launching UltraViolet this year, which will provide cloud-based storage and give consumers the ability to watch digital entertainment across multiple platforms such as connected TVs, PCs, game consoles and smartphones. Taken together, all these recent moves means Warner Bros. wants to be a serious player in the digital content arena. According to Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and Office of the President, Warner Bros. Entertainment, “Driving the growth of digital ownership is a central, strategic focus for Warner Bros. The acquisition of Flixster will allow us to advance that strategy and promote initiatives that will help grow digital ownership.”
What do you think of Warner Bros. buying Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes? Will it affect how you use the sites?
