Multichannel networks have been getting a bad rap this past week as a result of a Recode report that Maker Studios' earn-out from its M&A megadeal with Disney might be less than half the maximum $450 million, which would still give Maker execs and investors a nice little $700 million-plus win. Not bad.
The haters, however, are using this news as the central exhibit in their case slamming the value of MCNs - more accurately known as MPNs these days - and what they say are inappropriately lofty valuations to date for relevant acquisitions. That includes Otter Media/Ellation's acquisition of Fullscreen for up to $300 million, RTL Entertainment's acquisition of StyleHaul which valued the company at up to $200 million, and ProSieben's recent acquisition of Collective Digital Studio, which valued the overall package at about $240 million.
But as someone immersed in the overall video ecosystem (yet hasn't been involved in any of these deals), I strongly disagree. They are completely missing the fundamental point and justification for those deals. I remain bullish. Very.
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