The Walt Disney Company rachète Maker Studios

The Walt Disney Company vient de communiquer sur son intention de racheter Maker Studios. Un accord a été trouvé et la transaction sera effective d'ici la fin de l'année :

Disney to Acquire Maker Studios, the Leading Network of Online Video Content

Furthering its goal of bringing content to consumers on all the platforms they prefer, The Walt Disney Company has agreed to acquire Maker Studios, the leading network of online video content on YouTube.

Maker Studios shareholders will receive total consideration of $500 million, and a performance-linked earn-out of up to $450 million if the strong performance targets are met.

With more than 55,000 channels, 380 million subscribers and 5.5 billion views per month on YouTube, Maker has established itself as the top online video network for Millennials.

By acquiring Maker Studios, Disney will gain advanced technology and business intelligence capability regarding consumers’ discovery and interaction with short-form online videos, including Disney content.

“Short-form online video is growing at an astonishing pace and with Maker Studios, Disney will now be at the center of this dynamic industry with an unmatched combination of advanced technology and programming expertise and capabilities,” Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger says.

“Disney is synonymous with the best entertainment and is the ideal partner for us, strengthening our position as the leading player in online video,” Ynon Kreiz, executive chairman and CEO of Maker Studios, says .  

Maker Studios will report to Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo. Maker Studios will remain headquartered in Culver City, California, with operations in New York and London.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory clearances, is expected to close in Disney’s third fiscal quarter.

The Walt Disney Company - 24 mars 2014.

Merci pour le partage de cette info.

Disney confirme donc sa stratégie en misant de plus en plus sur les contenus en ligne à consulter sur toutes plateformes. Après les jeux vidéos (Playdom, Tapulous), les réseaux sociaux (Togetherville), voilà que Disney s'affirme dans les vidéos en ligne.

Notez que Disney avait aussi acheté SpotMixer, une société qui crée des vidéos publicitaires courtes sur Internet et qui a créé l'application One True Media qui permet de créer des vidéos soi-même (souvenirs, photos...).

L'an dernier, Disney s'était associé à Vevo pour la publication de vidéos du catalogue Vevo sur Disney.com.

Bref, l'achat de Maker Studios est la cerise sur le gâteau.


Maker Studios est un éditeur de vidéos courtes sur Internet principalement destinées à YouTube.

Maker Studios se subdivise en six réseaux de chaînes aux cibles différentes :
- Polaris (chaîne pour les hommes geeks)
- The Platform (chaîne mode et beauté pour les femmes)
- Cartoonium (chaîne de dessins animés pour enfants)
- The Mom's View (chaîne pour les mères de famille)
- Maker Music (chaîne de musique branchée ado)
- Animonster (chaîne de cartoons plutôt déjantés)

Maker Studios possède également deux filiales :
- RPM Network
- Social Blade (un site permettant de suivre les statistiques de pages YouTube).

NAAAAN pas les Bisounours !!

Très bonne chose ce label a était créé par de nombreuses personnes doué dans la création pour le web notamment Shay Carl un youtubers qui filme depuis 5ans sa famille et lui dans leur vie quotidienne pas si ordinaire. Il a d'ailleurs fait de nombreuses vidéos dans les resort disney ! C'est en quelques sorte une consécration de filmer disney et d'être racheter par disney.

Pour découvrir ou re-découvrir les "Shaytards" c'est par ici https://www.youtube.com/user/SHAYTARDS  

Enfin Dash pour être plus précis il s'agit de 55 000 chaînes sur Youtube que possède Maker Studio !

Quelle est la différence entre les 6 chaînes que j'ai citées et les milliers d'autres ?
Les 6 que j'ai citées sont présentées sur le site officiel de Maker Studios, il doit bien y avoir une différence.

Comment peut-on reconnaître une chaîne de Maker Studios sur YouTube ?

Bob Iger et son équipe à Maker Studios :

Suite au rachat par Disney, Canal+ sort du capital de Maker Studios :
http://www.lesechos.fr/entreprises-secteurs/medias/actu/0203406139093-canal-sort-du-capital-de-maker-studios-660907.php

Comment peut-on reconnaître une chaîne de Maker Studios sur YouTube ?

La question est difficile à répondre car en soit il n'y a concrètement pas de symbole ou de groupe sur youtube qui dit clairement que cette chaîne appartient à Maker Studios... Mais sur leur site il y a un "annuaire" de toutes leurs chaînes par catégories : http://www.makerstudios.com/programming#

Petit contretemps pour Disney :

Ex-Maker Studios CEO Lawsuit Seeks to Halt Disney Sale

A California judge is asked to enjoin a merger vote, scheduled for next week at the digital media company.

Disney's proposed acquisition of digital video studio Maker Studios isn't going off without a hitch.

In response to the $500 million acquisition announced last month, Maker co-founder and former chief executive Danny Zappin is asking a California judge for a restraining order to delay a vote on the sale.

Zappin is involved in a power struggle for the company after being deposed as chief executive in favor of Ynon Kreiz. Maker argues that the handoff was consensual, but last June, Zappin filed a lawsuit that alleges a conspiracy and a breach of fiduciary duties among the company's board members.

Maker's shareholders are scheduled to vote next Tuesday on whether to approve the Disney deal, which includes performance targets that would raise the valuation up to $950 million and make it Disney's biggest deal since acquiring Lucasfilm.

In an application for a temporary restraining order in advance of an injunction motion, Zappin's attorneys make the case that a judge should delay a vote because notice of the merger agreement is "defective and mispresent(s) and omit(s) material facts necessary for Maker's shareholders to make an informed Merger vote." It's a reasonable assumption that Disney conducted due diligence about Zappin's lawsuit before entering into a merger agreement.

Nevertheless, Zappin wants the vote delayed -- and possibly halted -- because shareholders aren't being given information about the lawsuit. The plaintiff believes that the powers-that-be who are running Maker at the moment "seek to deprive Maker shareholders the right to a return of illegally vested and accelerated shares and a higher Merger consideration."

More specifically, Zappin (and a couple of others with much smaller interest in the company) allege that Maker's top brass "issued stock to one another, accelerated vesting of other stock, and entered into a series of agreements with one another using Maker Studio Inc.'s assets so they could wrest control of Maker's board for Maker's Common Stock shareholders in order to create a liquidity event for themselves."

Hollywood Reporter - 10 avril 2014


Danny Zappin Sues to Block Maker Studios Shareholder Vote on Disney Acquisition

Maker Studios co-founder and ex-CEO Danny Zappin and three other former execs have filed a lawsuit seeking to block a shareholder vote on The Walt Disney Co.’s $500 million-plus acquisition of the YouTube multichannel network operator.

A rep for Maker Studios did not provide comment on the suit. Disney, which announced the deal to buy Maker last month in a deal worth up to $950 million, is not named in the suit; a Disney rep did not respond to a request for comment.

Zappin and the three others — former Maker execs Scott Katz, Derek Jones and Will Watkin — last summer sued Maker Studios, alleging breach of contract and fraud over Zappin’s “ousting” as chief executive. The MCN had previously said the lawsuit is without merit and that the allegations are baseless.

In the new lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Superior Court for the State of California in Los Angeles, Zappin and the others allege that the deal terms provided by Maker about the Disney transaction to shareholders were “defective and misrepresent and omit material facts necessary for Maker’s shareholders to make an informed merger vote,” which is scheduled for April 15.

According to the request by Zappin and the three others for a temporary restraining order to block the shareholder vote, Maker did not provide material information about their previous lawsuit.

In that lawsuit, filed in June 2013, they alleged Maker Studios board members and officers “illegally issued shares to themselves and diluted the common stock for their own financial gain to the detriment of other Maker shareholders and take control Makers’ board so that they could ‘rapidly create a “liquidity event”‘ so that they could sell Maker and obtain significant returns on their investments irrespective of the best interests of Maker and to the detriment of Maker and its shareholders.”

The plaintiffs note that they are “in favor of a merger that will benefit all shareholders,” but allege that Maker Studios must provide information about the “illegally vested and accelerated shares” in dispute in the prior lawsuit.

The complaint was filed under seal and a redacted version became public Thursday. The lawsuit names as defendants the same ones as in the previous suit: Maker Studios CEO Ynon Kreiz, Ben Donovan, Lisa Donovan, Mark Suster, Dana Settle, Rachel Lam, Michael DiSanto, GRP Partners, Mida Holdings California, Angulo Investors and Maker Studios itself.

Last May, Maker Studios announced that Kreiz would become executive chairman with Zappin stepping out of the CEO role to become a special adviser to Kreiz. In the June 2013 lawsuit, Zappin and others claimed concealment of secrets, breach of fiduciary duty and constructive fraud. According to that suit, Maker Studio’s new board diluted the common stock in favor of preferred stock, including to regulate the common stock to minority status, for the purpose of electing director seats and “ousting Zappin as Maker CEO.”

Variety - 10 avril 2014.

Relativity Media a fait une contre-offre :
http://bourse.lesechos.fr/infos-conseils-boursiers/infos-conseils-valeurs/infos/relativity-media-fait-une-contre-offre-sur-maker-studios-presse-964995.php

Le Los Angeles Times a annoncé lundi des licenciements chez Maker Studios :

Maker Studios to lay off 10% of staff

Maker Studios, the online video network recently bought by Walt Disney Co., is reducing its head count.

The Culver City firm behind many YouTube stars will lay off about 10% of its 380 employees, a person close to the digital media company said on Monday.

Disney in March agreed to buy Maker for $500 million in cash, plus as much as $450 million more, depending on Maker's performance after the acquisition.

A spokesperson for Maker declined to comment on the cuts beyond a statement issued to media outlets.

"Maker’s business is constantly evolving, and we routinely reassess our internal resources and make strategic adjustments, reducing staff in some areas while actively hiring in others," the Maker representative said in a statement.

Maker, founded in 2009, is best known for its videos aimed at millennial viewers, who increasingly venture online for video entertainment. Its successes include the video series "Epic Rap Battles of History" and YouTube personality PewDiePie.

Los Angeles Times - 2 juin 2014.

Le ménage commence !

Nouvelle vague de licenciements du côté des Maker Studios :

Citation :

Disney’s Maker Studios Set for Round of Big Layoffs

Maker Studios is gearing up for some major cutbacks in personnel as Disney looks streamline its digital-video division to operate more efficiently — and produce bigger, more bankable digital stars, Variety has confirmed.

Reps for Maker and Disney did not respond to requests for comment.

It’s not clear how sizable the layoffs will be, but according to an industry source familiar with Maker one of the key factors is that it is now integrated into the Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media (DCPI) group, which is overseen by Jimmy Pitaro. “They don’t have a need for the entire team,” the source said. Maker is “not a self-contained unit anymore.”

Sources said the layoffs are separate from Maker’s decision earlier this week to sever ties with PewDiePie — the biggest YouTube creator on the platform and Maker’s single largest talent — over his prank videos involving anti-Semitic rhetoric. That said, Maker has employed a team dedicated solely to PewDiePie, as well as managing the Revelmode gaming and content joint venture with him.

The Maker cutbacks also come after a complete change-out of its senior executive ranks. In December, Disney put Maker Studios under the leadership of Andrew Sugerman, executive VP of DCPI’s Content & Media area. Courtney Holt, who had previously been running Maker (after former CEO Ynon Kreiz left in December 2015), has moved into a role at Disney corporate as executive VP of media and strategy reporting to Kevin Mayer, senior EVP and chief strategy officer.

Maker — which has touted its network as once encompassing some 60,000 individual creators — will be focusing its efforts around the most popular talent. Top creators in the Maker network include Bratayley, CaptainSparklez, Cartoonium, Epic Rap Battles of History, EvanTubeHD, Game Grumps, HobbyKidsTV, Shay Carl, Strawburry17, the Gregory Brothers and Timothy DeLaGhetto.

For Disney, an objective is to boost the intellectual property that Maker Studios generates and to take content and talent across multiple platforms. Since the deal closed, “Maker and Disney haven’t been able to produce a breakout digital star,” said a source.

Disney bought Culver City, Calif.-based Maker Studios in 2014, ultimately paying $675 million (less than the $950 million maximum potential price tag). Last summer, Maker laid off about 30 employees in what it called a “strategic adjustment” of resources.

Variety - 15 février 2017.

Sur ce coup, Disney ne semble pas avoir été très perspicace. Le montant déboursé pour l'achat des studios s'élève finalement à 675 millions de dollars et son avenir s'annonce incertain :  

Citation :

Inside Disney’s troubled $675 mil. Maker Studios acquisition

It wasn’t one thing that transformed Maker Studios from a Disney princess to a pumpkin — there were a whole lot of many things.

Times were better for the YouTube network in March 2014, when Disney had decided to buy the company for $500 million. With various performance-related revenue targets included in the contract, the final price tag could have been as high as $950 million.

“I was excited to be there — I thought it was going to be the next big thing,” said one former Maker exec, who joined the company following the acquisition. “But when you started to poke around, it was obvious there wasn’t much there.”

Disney ended up paying only $675 million for Maker, which is reportedly bracing for layoffs as the company plans to shrink the size of its YouTube network from tens of thousands of creators to roughly 300. What Disney learned — and what many have long criticized the YouTube multi-channel network ecosystem for — is that it’s virtually impossible to build a business on YouTube. Then there was the internal dysfunction at Maker, including multiple leadership changes, an inability to meet admittedly aggressive growth targets and difficulties in creating original content. The following account is based on interviews with five former executives at Maker and Disney.

Scale at any cost

Maker was by no stretch a small operation. Last year, the company did $370 million in ad revenue, including $70 million from direct sales, according to sources. The rest of the revenue was delivered by YouTube — but YouTube pre-rolls and branded content take you only so far, especially after YouTube and the creators take their share of revenue.

Bulking up by adding tens of thousands of YouTube channels might give off the appearance of scale, but Maker had very little ownership of that content, sources said. For instance, Maker takes a cut of all ad revenue generated on videos made by Markiplier — a top star in its network — but Maker doesn’t own all of those videos. It can’t sell them to other platforms in later windows or do anything but collect YouTube advertising checks.

“It’s the epitome of the colossal failure of the MCN business,” said one former Maker employee. “Every all-hands meeting was led off with the number of views we were doing — 10 billion views, 11 billion views, 12 billion views — that was the outward-facing success story. But the reason the views were growing was because the network kept growing and we were just adding more and more channels.”

Like other YouTube networks, Maker would sign social media stars by offering them upfront guarantees — even if these stars were on revenue-starved platforms like Vine. “We were signing these top Viners to mid-six figure minimum guarantees,” said another former Maker exec. “By the time I left, there were still tens of millions of dollars of minimum guarantee payments that we hadn’t made.”

Investing in original content

For Maker to grow, it needed to do what other YouTube networks have also been investing in: original content, made and sold (and therefore monetized and re-monetized) by Maker. Fullscreen, for instance, now has a video streaming app that it makes original short- and longer-form series for. AwesomenessTV, another YouTube rival, has built a studio business that includes making shows and movies for digital platforms like Go90 and iTunes and then finding additional revenue in later windows.

To be sure, Maker has been active in this area, too. Last fall, when the company relaunched its gaming and comedy verticals, it announced more than a dozen original short-form series, which would first air on Maker’s channel on Dish’s Sling TV service before coming to YouTube and Facebook. The company has also been involved in higher-end projects like the reality show “Scare PewDiePie,” which was airing on YouTube Red until the recent controversy surrounding the gaming star forced both YouTube and Maker to cut business ties.

Disney was also committed enough to Maker early on to spend a few million dollars building a new LA-based production facility, which opened last August. And Maker itself was actively developing show ideas — through a program called “Spark by Maker” — which would be made for TV and streaming platforms.

Trouble is, none of these efforts ever amounted to much.

Even when Maker was able to take advantage of Disney’s deep bench of characters and other intellectual property, there were problems. According to one source, Maker produced a “Star Wars”-related show, consisting of about a dozen episodes that cost “hundreds of thousands” to make, but it won’t ever see the light of day because Maker didn’t go through the proper channels at Disney.

“They just took liberties with the ‘Star Wars,’” said the source. “It’s a lot of money just sitting on a shelf somewhere.”

By 2016, Disney wasn’t as keen on making the type of investment required to do original content at scale. (Maker’s decision to have a small, advertiser-only NewFronts event last year, instead of a massive presentation and party, was cited by sources as evidence of Disney’s declining interest.) Disney still sees value in Maker as a marketing and distribution engine for its existing assets, sources said, but the company isn’t as interested in creating a digital studio business the way Maker rivals like AwesomenessTV have.

“Doing programming that shows you have real momentum in the marketplace — it’s not an overnight business,” said one former Maker exec. “It takes time for advertisers to see you have a cadence with programming that consumers are gravitating to.”

A revolving door with no direction

Maker’s struggles came at a time when Disney itself was going through some leadership and business changes. Jay Rasulo, Disney’s CFO at the time of the Maker acquisition and the man responsible for making the deal happen in the first place, left in June 2015 after losing out on the COO gig to Thomas Staggs. Staggs later also left the company in April 2016. Around this time, Disney cash cow ESPN started losing TV subscribers. “The company overall wanted to lower its risk scenario,” said a former Maker exec.

Maker itself saw plenty of leadership leave following the acquisition, including CEO Ynon Kreiz, chief content officer Erin McPherson and chief audience officer Chris Williams. This left many departments in need of leadership and direction — and many employees with “nothing to do,” multiple sources said.

In this environment, aggressive growth targets — some departments were tasked with tripling or quadrupling revenue from 2015 to 2016, sources said — were impossible to meet.

Under pressure, there was also very little collaboration between departments. For instance, sources said it was common for Maker’s content, programming and creator teams to all be developing their own shows. “Everyone was trying to do the right thing, which was to go build some IP,” one source said. “But there was no coordination. No one said, ‘we’ve got a great idea, let’s get everyone on the same page.’ Everyone had revenue goals to hit so it didn’t make sense to help anyone else since you’re competing for the same real estate.”

An unclear future

At the end of 2016, Disney folded Maker into its Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media division, which oversees the company’s short-form video, digital platforms, social content and publishing businesses. This division is responsible for managing and growing Disney’s content brands across platforms. This can include everything from original short-form shows made for Disney apps and social channels to comic books and even branded content utilizing popular Disney characters.

With plans to shrink Maker’s creator business down, the company is focusing on influencer marketing and doing original content. Both are incredibly competitive businesses these days, which lead some former employees to predict that Maker will primarily function as a digital and social marketing arm for Disney going forward.

“Disney saw the MCN gold rush, went prospecting and said, ‘we’re going to buy the biggest, shiniest one. If this becomes something, it’s worth having the biggest,’” said a former Maker exec. “I don’t think they knew what they were buying. And quite honestly, I don’t think there was much to buy.”

Digiday - 22 février 2017.