Media Vets Launch Digital Entertaiment-Focused Agility Studios; Gets Funding
This story was written by Rafat Ali.
A new digital studio called Agility Studios, started by three online vets, has launched today. The company, based in Los Angeles, has been founded by Scott Ehrlich, former VP of media at *RealNetworks*, who will serve as the company's CEO; Larry Tanz, till recently the President and CEO of LivePlanet, and will be the President and COO; and Keith Quinn, recently SVP of Production & Development for LivePlanet, who will oversee programming and production as the company's Chief Creative Officer.
The company has also received funding from Colorado-based Mantucket Capital, which usually invests as a PE firm or provides distressed capital. The amount was not disclosed, but it "several millions", Ehrlich told me. The reason he went outside the traditional VC route was because he believes creative development requires a different kind of capital from VC money, with a longer term horizon.
The studio will work with content creators to provide with infrastructure services that include business and creative development, financing, distribution, sponsorship and advertising sales, operations, business affairs and back office support. The programs or shows its develops would be distributed through various partnerships online, and then look at other platforms like mobile and TV. No clients have been announced, but Ehrlich tells me they will announce some in the next few weeks. To help achieve its goals, the company has also hired other execs from the entertainment industry: Shannon Pruitt (formerly of Fremantle and Mark Burnett Productions) as SVP of Integrated Sales & Sponsorships, Zev Suissa (formerly of DigWorks), as VP of Production & Development and Jason Turner (formerly of Fremantle) as VP of Distribution & Sales. Some more details in the release.
Of course the competition in the space is heavy, with all kinds of digital studios from startups (Deca, NextNew, 60Frames, Vuguru, Break and others) to bigger media companies incubating their own projects (*Disney*, NBC and others). Then there is the consumer adoption factor for original shows online, a nut no one has been able to crack from a business model perspective yet. Ehrlich hopes his connection and his team, the long term money, and with lessons learned from the first-gen digital studios, gives them a better chance of figuring out the business, well, long term. It will focus on being a B2B company and also won't get into the distribution game itself (via its own video portal, for example), something Ehrlich thinks has tripped up some of the other companies in the space who try to do everything along the value chain.
Meanwhile, this new company begs a question: what is happening with LivePlanet, the once hyped digital studio founded by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Chris Moore? The two senior execs above have joined Agility, the others listed here on LP's website have left as well. It still has a bunch of projects going on. I have been hearing rumors about the company's potential sale for a while, but Tanz wouldn't comment on it when I asked. More when I find out....
By Rafat Ali