SoftBank is acquiring streaming service DramaFever, the companies announced Tuesday.
DramaFever, which offers content on both a free ad-supported and $9.99/month subscription basis, has deals with more than 70 major broadcasters and studios throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas. The company has negotiated both same- or next-day distribution deals, and dipped its toe into original programming, including a Korean co-pro announced last week. DramaFever also has a syndication partnership with Hulu.
Terms of the SoftBank deal were not disclosed.
“In five short years since going live, DramaFever has built an impressive internet-based streaming video business operating at scale,” Nikesh Arora, vice chairman of SoftBank Corp. and CEO of SoftBank Internet & Media (also known as SIMI, a division that oversees the company’s internet, telecom and media investments), said in a statement. “(Co-founders) Seung Bak and Suk Park have a proven business model in a dynamic industry, and we look forward to helping them bring their highly popular video content to an even larger global audience.”
Morrison & Foerster acted as legal advisor to the SoftBank Group. The Raine Group acted as financial advisor and Gunderson Dettmer acted as legal advisor to DramaFever.
SoftBank, an international Tokyo-headquartered media and communications giant, also recently invested $250M into Legendary Entertainment with the intention to exploit IP rights via both traditional and digital platforms.