Cinedigm, a leader in the digital distribution revolution (NASDAQ:CIDM), and Mondo Media ("Mondo"), the Internet's leading multi-platform distributor of animation for teens and young adults, have entered into a strategic content distribution partnership. Cinedigm will offer Mondo additional monetization opportunities outside of its successful YouTube channel, including theatres, VOD, home video and transactional digital outlets. The properties slated for distribution in 2013 include the entire Happy Tree Friends web and television series franchise as well as the ground-breaking animated feature film Aachi & Ssipak.
Happy Tree Friends: Hundreds of episodes and a billion views later, the daily adventures of these cute, cuddly animals still end up going horribly wrong. This will be the first time that the entire Happy Tree Friends franchise is made available for the program's rabid fans. Cinedigm's releases will include the 13×30 min television series, the 75 short films as well as never-before-seen episodes and bonus materials. Happy Tree Friends, which has aired on TV in dozens of countries and on MTV and G4 in the US, is by far the web's #1 most viewed animated series of all-time.
Aachi & Ssipak: The eye-popping insanity never stops in this 76-minute, high-octane, epic, animated, feature film. Aachi & Ssipak takes us on a warped journey to a beautifully rendered, post-apocalyptic world with an even more stunningly outrageous story. A frenetic assault on the senses, the film dives head first into the worlds of cross-dressing, break-dancing, decapitations, mind-altering popsicles, mutant smurf-like drone armies, and lots and lots of poop. Breaking the traditional release window rules, Cinedigm/Mondo will begin releasing the film this winter on Mondo's YouTube channel, in theatres, VOD, home video and transactional digital outlets.
On the backs of mega-hits Happy Tree Friends and Dick Figures, Mondo has racked up over 1.7 billion views and 2.3 million subscribers cumulatively on YouTube and recently hit the #1 spot on AdAge.com's YouTube Original Channel Tracker.
"Cinedigm has a history of working with new media content creators and developing ground-breaking revenue opportunities across all platforms and marketing the properties via non-traditional windowing strategies," said Chris McGurk, Chairman and CEO of Cinedigm. "From our work with Felicia Day and The Guild to Red vs. Blue, we know a successful property needs to be accessible to its fans across all platforms and devices. We are certain the 2.3 million subscribers that clamor to see the latest Mondo offerings online will be equally enthusiastic to see them — curated with new, original content — across all platforms."
John Evershed, Mondo's CEO, observed that "Long form extensions of our properties, accessing new platforms that will find audiences beyond our core fan base, and creatively repackaging off-YouTube offerings of our best YouTube content are three key aspects of Mondo's business going forward. Cinedigm has demonstrated success with taking niche online-first properties and marketing them to mainstream audiences via both DVD and digital platform distribution."
Currently, Cinedigm is the largest digital aggregator of independent content in the world, with a library exceeding 20,000 programs and over 40,000 hours.
Cinedigm™ and Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp™ are trademarks of Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp www.cinedigm.com. [CIDM-G]