As big media continues to zero in on digital and on-demand properties, Disney is leading the pack with its recent Web TV deal with Dish, and now with a possible acquisition of YouTube content creator Maker Studios.
The deal is reported to be worth $500 million, possibly up to $900 million, according to the Financial Times. The YouTube multichannel network, aimed at Millennials, boasts more than 5 billion monthly views, according to Variety, and around 380 million subscribers, one of its most popular channels being PewDiePie, which alone has almost 25 million subscribers.
Another YouTube property was also recently snatched up by big media, when male-skewing network Machinima was bought by Warner Bros.
Read more at Variety and Financial Times.
Brief Take: Just one week after Disney Interactive announced it would have to cut 700 jobs, The Walt Disney Co.‘s deal with Maker Studios signals a change of course with the company’s involvement in the digital world.
[Image courtesy of Maker Studios]
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