West World Media of Ridgefield, an entertainment data and marketing company that has grown to become the world”™s leading provider of showtime listings, movie-related data and theater marketing services, has been sold to French digital publishing giant Webedia.
The sale price was not revealed, but operations at the Ridgefield office will continue with no changes in headcount for the more than 80 employees who currently work there, said chief administrative officer Susan Rich, who has been with the company since 1996.
“We look for that number to be steady,” she said.
David Stonehill, West World”™s chief operating and technology officer, said that with the acquisition, a new focus will be put on expanding relationships with theater partners and could result in the need for expansion in the future.
“As we increase our product line and projects, I am sure over time we will have more people over here in Ridgefield,” he said. “The Webedia folks are committed to keeping the folks here in Ridgefield.”
Expanding partnerships with cinema exhibitors will be a key component of the company”™s future development plans and bolsters the company’s current U.S. presence, said Julien Marcel, the new CEO of West World under Webedia”™s U.S. cinema operations.
“With innovation being our top priority, our newly established presence on the West Coast will allow us to work more closely with studios and our technology partners in Silicon Valley,” he said.
With this transaction, Webedia will employ more than 100 professionals in Los Angeles, New York, and Ridgefield, according to a company statement.
Marcel takes over from Brett West who founded West World in 1995 by providing movie listings to print media such as the New York Times and the Daily News.
“That was the need at the time,” said Stonehill, who has been with the company since 1995. “We have managed to really grow and become this global player by continually evolving with the technology and with the needs of our customers. Over time and very quickly after that, we really had to pivot and become a data provider for Microsoft and Yahoo and any other of other major portals at the time.”
The acquisition comes as Webedia continues a rapid global expansion with a particular emphasis on increasing its presence into the U.S. market.
The Wrap reports Webedia acquired BoxOffice Media (parent of BoxOffice.com) in April, then led a $16 million round of financing for Moviepilot.com to fuel the fan-centric media website”™s expansion into gaming content and social video production. Webedia also purchased the German website moviepilot.de for $20 million in June 2014.
According to Webedia, the recent acquisition marks the next stage for the group”™s international expansion, which now reaches an audience of 80 million unique visitors a month around the globe.
“This acquisition will accelerate our growth in the United States,” said Véronique Morali, president of Webedia”™s board of directors in a statement. “Webedia has already reached leadership positions in the cinema industry in Europe and South America. The U.S. market is now a priority for us, and this move will allow us to further grow our global presence, currently the second largest cinema audience in the world.”
West World operates several databases serving the entertainment industry, most notably its showtimes platform CinemaSource (covering 80 countries and produced in 24 languages) and live-event listing service EventSource.
The company aggregates nearly 100 U.S. cinema circuits through its MovieGoer Network brand, generating a combined traffic of more than 6 million unique visitors per month, primarily consisting of consumers looking to buy a ticket to the movies.
The company also focuses on providing digital marketing services (websites, mobile apps and social media management) to a significant number of U.S. cinema circuits.
“There is nobody who does what we do,” said Stonehill. “We are the only people who provide soup-to-nuts every single showtime, every single theater, apps, websites, mobile sites. ”¦ I think we are going to be essential to their operations here in the U.S.
