Hollywood.com acquires Media By Numbers
The acquisition is part of a plan by Hollywood.com to bolster its offerings in a fiercely competitive space. Will the film industry use the data to forecast individual films' performance?
Hollywood.com announced on Monday that it has officially completed its acquisition of Media By Numbers, a site that specializes in delivering box office numbers and analysis on the latest movies to hit theaters. Financial details were not disclosed.
"The synergies that exist within Hollywood.com and Media by Numbers create an extremely powerful combination that will allow us to realize our full potential and better showcase our services," Media by Numbers President Paul Dergarabedian said.
The Media By Numbers acquisition is part of a bigger plan on the part of Hollywood.com. Obviously feeling the heat from its competitors, the company wants to use Media By Numbers' box office performance and forecasting services to bolster its offerings and become a place where moviegoers will find well-researched information. More importantly, Hollywood.com hopes that the film industry itself will use the Media By Numbers data it now owns to forecast individual film performance before release.
But the main issue Hollywood.com faces is that it's fighting in a fiercely competitive space. Although billed as one of the best sources to find the best movies and TV shows to watch, it has competition in sites such as Hollywood Reporter, CNET's TV.com, and countless others that provide the same basic service. That has proven troublesome for the company. Evidently, Hollywood.com believes that Media By Numbers will help it buck that trend.
Media By Numbers data and services will remain a separate entity, and so far, Hollywood.com has no plans to integrate it into its site.