Discovery buys stake in CMC-backed VS Media
US media company Discovery Communications has acquired a minority stake in VS Media Group, a Hong Kong-based multi-channel network (MCN) that counts China’s CMC Holdings among its investors.
The size of the transaction was not disclosed. As part of the deal, VS Media has set up a $4 million content development fund. The vehicle will support original content ideas, which will be produced by VS Media's consumer brand VS ME. It has already invested in five projects.
Founded in 2013, VS Media is said to be the first and largest MCN focusing on creators of Chinese content. Over the last three years, the company has recruited more than 500 content creators, proving them with production facilities and funding, as well as marketing solutions in order to monetize their output. VS Media has more than 55 million subscribers in Greater China with 320 million video views every month.
"As Discovery looks to build deeper traction in the Chinese-speaking markets, VS Media's robust following is incredibly valuable to us. Through their advanced analytics, we can get fully plugged in to the Chinese millennial zeitgeist," Arthur Bastings, president and managing director of Discovery Networks Asia, said in a statement.
Last month, VS Media received an undisclosed sum of funding from CMC Holdings, an investment platform launched by Ruigang Li, founder of media-focused PE firm CMC Capital Partners.
Previously CMC formed a joint venture with Warner Brothers to co-produce Chinese movies. It also established a film fund with US theatre operator IMAC Corporation that produces Chinese-language movies, either as original content or as co-financed projects with other studios.
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