GoDigital

GoDigital is a full service digital and video-on-demand (VOD) distribution company.[1] Launched in 2008, the Beverly Hills-based company now has a library of over 1000 films ranging from independent cinema to award-winning documentaries and foreign films.[2] GoDigital has direct deals with a number of primary VOD services, including iTunes, Netflix, Amazon.com, Hulu and YouTube.[3]

GoDigital was incubated by GoDigital Media Group[4] and spun out in 2012 as more fully detailed below.[5] Co-founder Logan Mulvey was appointed the company’s CEO.[6] Mulvey was featured in The Hollywood Reporter’s “Next Gen 2012: Hollywood’s Fastest-Rising Stars” and IndieWire's Anne Thompson calls him a "wunderkind” within the digital space.[6] Mulvey is on the board of directors of the Entrepreneurs Organization and on the board of advisors of the San Diego Film Festival.[7] He is a mentor at SXSW and a frequent speaker at digital entertainment conferences, including Variety’s BRIC Summit, Digital Hollywood, Variety’s Film Finance Summit, and the New York Film Commission at the Sundance Film Festival.[7]

Ed Ojdana, founder of FreeCreditReport.com and former CEO of Experian Interactive, serves as the chairman of GoDigital’s board of directors.[8] Chris Kelly, former Facebook Chief Privacy Officer and founder of Kelly Investments also serves on the board of directors alongside Logan Mulvey.[2]

History

Founding

GoDigital was initially launched as a music distribution service,[9] co-founded by Jason Peterson (CEO), Logan Mulvey (CMO), and Dave Lindsay (CTO) [10] through Santa Monica based digital media incubator GoDigital Media Group.[4]

2008 Reorganization

GoDigital switched to its current model in 2008 after the technology for digitally distributing movies became more readily available.[11] GoDigital announced the restructuring of their executive team, with Mulvey assuming the role of president.[12] He had realized as Chief Marketing Officer that CDs and DVDs would soon prove obsolete and that the emerging digital market had a strong future.[10] Early investment into the business gave GoDigital an advantage,[13] allowing the company to become a full-service distributor of premium, independent content to digital and Video on Demand (VOD) retailers. [11] In late 2011, Go Digital Media Group was involved in several false copyright claims against YouTube uploaders posting their own original content. This, among many reasons, was the catalyst for YouTube restructuring its Content ID matching system.

2012 Rapid Expansion

In January, GoDigital acquired VOD rival Might Entertainment, absorbing both their library and output arrangements.[11] Jason Beck, the former VP of acquisitions at Image Entertainment who co-founded Might, is now chief content officer at GoDigital.[14]

In February, GoDigital acquired all VOD, electronic-sell-through (EST), and pay-per-view (PPV) rights to Latin Anywhere's Spanish language film catalogue.[15] The deal included more than 1,000 films from Mexico and marked the first time Latin Anywhere’s content was available for digital distribution.[16] In addition to expanding their library, this acquisition gave GoDigital access to the rapidly growing Hispanic demographic in the US.[15]

In Fall of 2012, GoDigital received an investment from Preferred Ventures for a specialized focus on audience and consumer-community growth and identification.[2][3] Preferred Ventures, a digital media investment firm, was launched by Ed Ojdana and Chris Kelly, who consequently joined GoDigital’s Board.[2] The investment was described as “a meeting of minds between the tech and movie worlds.”[3]

In October, GoDigital partnered with Toronto-based 108 Media, acquiring the digital rights to eight 108 titles.[17] Each film will see a theatrical release through 108 Media’s partnership with Mark Urman’s Paladin,[18] which will include both traditional releases as well as day-and-date theatrical and VOD. GoDigital will be handling digital distribution for all titles.[17]

Recent Developments

In early 2014, GoDigital hired former Focus Features executive Kent Sanderson as Executive Vice President of Distribution and Merchandising.[19] Sanderson will be attending Sundance Film Festival 2014 in an acquisitions capacity and will have oversight of the company’s cable, satellite and digital platform relationships.[20] While at Focus, he worked on acquisition, distribution and marketing of Alex Gibney’s “We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks,” “The Lifeguard” starring Kristen Bell, “C.O.G.,” “The World’s End,” “The Place Beyond the Pines,” and “Moonrise Kingdom.”[21]

Just before Sundance 2014, GoDigital announced that it was merging with Variance Films to form an all rights distribution company under the banner Amplify.[22] GoDigital CEO Logan Mulvey is Amplify’s new CEO.[23] GoDigital continues to exist as a label under the Amplify umbrella, remaining a major player in the digital distribution space.[24]

Partnerships

Broadband: iTunes,[1] Netflix,[1] Amazon,[1] Hulu,[1] PlayStation,[1] Xbox,[1] Vudu,[1] YouTube,[25] Fandor,[26] Bigstar,[27] CinemaNow[28]

MSO's: Avail-TVN,[2] Dish,[29] InDemand[1]

Notable Recent Films

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "GoDigital". MUBI. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Fernandez, Jay A. (2013-04-22). "GoDigital Secures New Funding From Preferred Ventures". IndieWire. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ha, Anthony. "FreeCreditReport’s Ed Ojdana And Facebook’s Chris Kelly Back Movie Distribution Startup GoDigital". TechCrunch. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://www.godigitalmg.com
  5. ↑ http://www.linkedin.com/pub/logan-mulvey/2/453/984
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Miller, Daniel. "Next Gen 2012: Hollywood's Fastest-Rising Stars". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Mentors: Digital Media". SXSW Schedule. SXSW Inc. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  8. ↑ Kaufman, Alexander C. "GoDigital to Expand Distribution With Investment From Former Facebook, Experian Execs". Movies. The Wrap. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  9. ↑ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/GoDigital+Licenses+Content+to+Qtrax%3b+Next+Generation+Record+Label...-a0151620717
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Puza, Kay. "reward-and-risk-digital-niche". LMU. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Kung, Michelle (11 January 2012). "GoDigital Ramps Up Digital Distribution Plans". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  12. ↑ "GoDigital-media-group-makes-changes-on-top;-promotes-logan-mulvey-to-president". PRNewswire. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  13. ↑ Kay, Jeremy. "Logan Mulvey, GoDigital". Screen Daily. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  14. ↑ Kay, Jeremy. "Logan Mulvey, GoDigital". Screen Daily. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Dickey, Josh. "GoDigital nabs VOD rights to Latin Anywhere". Variety. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  16. ↑ Kay, Jeremy. "GoDigital snaps up Latin Anywhere's Spanish-language film library". Screen Daily. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Finke, Nikki. "GoDigital To Handle Digital Distribution For 108 Media Pics". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  18. ↑ Vlessing, Etan. "Toronto 2012: Paladin and 108 Media Partner for North American Distribution (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  19. ↑ "GoDigital Snares Former Focus Features Exec Kent Sanderson For EVP Post". Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  20. ↑ Kit, Borys. "GoDigital Hires Former Focus Exec as Executive VP Distribution and Merchandising". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  21. ↑ McNary, Dave. "GoDigital Taps Former Focus Exec Kent Sanderson". Variety. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  22. ↑ "Sundance: GoDigital & Variance Films Merging, Re-Branding As Amplify". Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  23. ↑ Kit, Borys. "GoDigital and Variance Films Merge to Form Amplify". Variety. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  24. ↑ Berstein, Paula. "GoDigital, Inc and Variance Films Merge to Form Amplify, New Film Distribution Company". Variety. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  25. ↑ Faconi, Julie. "GoDigital to Deliver thousands of Hours of Movie & TV Programming to YouTube". Coolest Gadgets.
  26. ↑ "GoDigital". Fandor. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  27. ↑ "GoDigital Media Group Strikes Agreement with Worldwide Distribution Network". GoDigital. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  28. ↑ "Annoucing the release of sci-fi fantasy hit Age of the Dragons starring Danny Glover and Vinnie Jones, another film distributed by KOAN and GoDigital Media Group". GoDigital. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  29. ↑ Dickey, Josh. "GoDigital scoops up 4 titles". Variety. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  30. ↑ "Holiday-season movie releases". Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  31. ↑ CIPRIANI, CASEY. "Exclusive: GoDigital Acquires Digital Rights to 'Away From Here' Starring Nick Stahl". Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 "GoDigital". IMDb. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  33. ↑ Yamato, Jen. "SXSW: GoDigital Acquires ‘The Punk Syndrome’, Fandango Debuts Fanticipation". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  34. ↑ "Audience Award Winners Announced!". SXSW. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  35. ↑ Finke, Nikki. "Toronto: GoDigital Nabs Doc ‘Sons Of The Clouds: The Last Colony’". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  36. ↑ Sridhar, Srimathi. "Visit Films Partners with GoDigital to Release Documentary 'Ben Lee: Catch My Disease' on VOD". IndieWire. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  37. ↑ McNary, Dave. "Go Digital acquires ‘Unraveled’". Variety. Retrieved 22 April 2013.