Leading Video Platform for the Convergence of TV & Digital Video Advertising Adds Scale to its Integrated Talent and Rights Management Offering
Extreme Reach, Inc., the leading provider of TV and digital video advertising delivery and management solutions, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Talent Partners from The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) and other minority shareholders. The Carlyle Equity Opportunity Fund will retain an ownership position in the combined company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Extreme Reach provides an enterprise-class, cloud-based video platform that enables a single workflow and unified measurement for TV and digital video advertising, including fully integrated talent and rights management capabilities that automate processes and solve compliance issues for video advertising across every screen.
Talent Partners, for decades, has been the leading provider of business affairs solutions for advertisers and agencies, including the management of talent contracts and payment and the handling of rights and royalties for commercials across TV and digital video advertising. In 2014 Talent Partners served more than 750 agencies and production company clients worldwide, representing more than 1,500 brands, and made payments to more than 75,000 actors and other commercial talent totaling more than $1 billion in transactions. Talent Partners operates offices in five markets across North America and the United Kingdom, with 250+ employees and $60 million in 2014 revenue. Its offices and personnel will be immediately integrated into Extreme Reach. With this acquisition, Extreme Reach now has 1,000 employees.
Today, digital video is one of the fastest growing advertising formats. And as video media and audiences have become more and more fragmented, critical talent and rights processes have broken down, leading to inefficiencies and significant unexpected costs. Specifically, when utilizing TV ads in the digital environment, advertisers need to ensure that the contracts established with featured talent such as actors, announcers and music licensors include Internet use permissions. Otherwise, unexpected contract costs and penalties can ensue.
Tim Hale, Chief Talent Officer at Extreme Reach, noted, “In the digital video advertising realm, more than a third of all ads do not follow legal contracts for talent and rights. This could lead to millions of dollars in unexpected costs across the industry. By acquiring Talent Partners, we have a unique opportunity to move the industry forward. Our leading talent and rights solution is fully integrated with our TV and digital video advertising platform, and each step in the advertising process is seamlessly connected to the next.”
In announcing the acquisition, John Roland, CEO of Extreme Reach, added, “TV commercials are being shown across every screen and device. In fact, nearly 90% of the video ads used in digital video advertising campaigns are commercials that were created for TV, which has increased the complexity of talent rights management. By adding Talent Partners’ scale to our video platform, nearly all of the Ad Age 100 largest advertisers will benefit from our state-of-the-art ad technology.”
Nils Larsen, Senior Operating Advisor for the Carlyle Equity Opportunity Fund, who has been involved with Carlyle’s investment in Talent Partners since its acquisition in 2014, will be on the board of Extreme Reach. Mr. Larsen stated, “This transaction is a natural outgrowth of the work we have done to help expand the range of services Talent Partners provides its clients. Extreme Reach complements our service offerings, and we look forward to our continued involvement in the combined business – including further extending the depth and breadth of what we can provide to our clients.”
The acquisition was financed by a combination of equity and debt financing. Rockdale Partners acted as the exclusive financial advisor and Pierce Atwood LLP acted as legal advisor to Extreme Reach in the transaction. Goodwin Procter LLP acted as legal advisor to Talent Partners. J.P. Morgan and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey acted as joint lead arrangers for the debt facility.
About Extreme Reach
Extreme Reach is the leading provider of video advertising management and distribution solutions that span TV, Digital and Mobile. It offers the leading Talent & Rights solution suite that is fully integrated with video ad delivery and measurement. Thousands of brands and agencies, including nearly all of the Ad Age 100, look to Extreme Reach to activate, measure and optimize video advertising campaigns across screens and devices. The Extreme Reach enterprise platform brings traditional TV and digital video advertising together, simplifying workflows and unifying analytics. Extreme Reach is headquartered in Needham, Mass., with offices in 18 cities across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. extremereach.com
About Talent Partners
In its nearly 50-year history, Talent Partners has grown from a specialty payroll company focused on commercial talent to a powerhouse provider of more than 125 essential services, including talent negotiations and business affairs, traffic and clearance, rights and royalty management, signatory services, and more. The firm’s 750+ client roster includes 1,500 brands and 95 of the top 100 global advertisers. Each year, Talent Partners supports thousands of campaigns, accounting for over $1 billion in transactions. The company’s 250+ person staff provides round-the-clock services from offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London and Toronto. www.talentpartners.com
Extreme Reach
Bryan Darrow
Public Relations Manager
Extreme Reach, Inc.
Contact Bryan via email
W: 646.437.3754
Simian Gets An Evolutionary Boost For Collaboration, Reveals “Teams”
Simian, the showreel-building, review & approval, and production asset management platform used globally by creative leaders, is kicking off this fall season with a substantial leap forward for collaboration and project management – with more updates on the way during the holidays!
The new feature, aptly dubbed “Teams”, makes it easier than ever for users to give project responsibilities to team members and clients alike. “You can never have too many options when it comes to permission levels,” says Jay Brooks, Simian’s Chief Technology Officer. “Teams provides a streamlined way to assign multiple users to a project at once.”
“Teams are very powerful, but creating one is effortless,” Brian Atton, Simian’s Chief Operating Officer explains. “Simply enter a Team name, add members, and then apply the newly made Team to any desired project. You can even invite temporary guests without changing settings for other projects or needing to create a new Team.”
“We love helping our clients by providing efficient tools to improve their workflow, and this has been a frequently requested feature as of late,” shares Kellie Atton, Head of Sales at Simian. “It feels great to get Teams out into the wild because I know it’s going to be tremendously helpful to everyone who uses it”.
Teams is now available exclusively to Simian’s enterprise clients. Simian plans to release more product upgrades and enhancements during Q4 2024 and 2025 for enterprise and non-enterprise users, continuing its ongoing evolution as the industry’s leading production asset management solution.
For more information on Simian upgrades and features, visit https://www.gosimian.com/
About Simian
Simian (