Warner Bros. to buy Flixster, Rotten Tomatoes
Movie studio says Flixster will operate independently but expand its services to "digital content ownership and delivery." Deal also includes the Flixster-owned Rotten Tomatoes.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced today that it has agreed to acquire movie discovery service Flixster for an undisclosed sum.
The studio said that it will allow Flixster to operate independently, but it plans to expand Flixster's services beyond movie discovery to "digital content ownership and delivery across any connected digital device." As part of the deal, Warner Bros. also will get Flixster-owned movie news and reviews site Rotten Tomatoes. That site will operate independently following the acquisition.
Warner Bros. has made a series of moves recently surrounding the distribution of digital content. The company recently announced a new application, called Digital Everywhere, which will allow users to organize and access digital copies of movies from any device the program is running on.
The studio is also a founding member of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, which plans to launch a new platform called UltraViolet later this year. Netflix and Microsoft, among others, are also part of the group. The service will offer cloud-based storage of movies that can be accessed via televisions, PCs, smartphones, and video game consoles, the company says.
In addition, Warner Bros. recently launched movie rentals on Facebook, allowing that site's users to rent films with Facebook Credits right from the site.
"Driving the growth of digital ownership is a central, strategic focus for Warner Bros.," Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, said in a statement. "The acquisition of Flixster will allow us to advance that strategy and promote initiatives that will help grow digital ownership."
Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to a request for information on the terms of the Flixster acquisition.