Cinedigm Buys Video Network

Cinedigm Corp. has added to its streaming footprint with the acquisition of a Northern California video-on-demand channel network. Cinedigm of Sherman Oaks is buying Future Today Inc. in Menlo Park for $45 million in cash and $15 million in common shares. Future Today owns and operates more than 700 content channels and manages more than 200,000 film, television and digital content assets that currently receive more than 85 million video views per month. Chief Executive Chris McGurk said the acquisition of Future Today will make Cinedigm one of the world’s largest providers of premium ad-supported video-on-demand content. “Future Today’s low-cost production assets combined with our low-risk, co-production model will enable us to provide exclusive, original premium content more quickly and with less risk than our competitors,” McGurk said in a statement. The two companies will have a combined 7.6 million monthly active users, predominantly on connected devices and televisions. Alok Ranjan and Vikrant Mathur, co-founders of Future Today, will continue to lead and operate the company as co-presidents and will sign long-term employment agreements with Cinedigm upon deal closing. Shares in Cinedigm (CIDM) closed up 19 cents, or nearly 12 percent, to $1.82 on the Nasdaq.