Bell Media has picked up a majority stake in Sphere Abacus, with the outfit becoming the primary international distributor of the Canadian company’s original content.
The U.K.-based outfit continues to be led by Jonathan Ford as managing director. Following the transaction, the business will be home to some 5,500 hours of content.
“Late last year, we set the expansion of our global content distribution business as a core strategic priority,” said Sean Cohan, the president of Bell Media. “It’s gratifying to see that vision realized through our partnership with Sphere Media and Sphere Abacus. We look forward to continued collaboration with Bruno, Jonathan and their teams to further grow Sphere Abacus with compelling, global, and profitable storytelling. We’re just getting started.”
“The arrival of Bell Media will enable Sphere Abacus to significantly accelerate its vision of international expansion in content acquisition and exploitation, with the aim of positioning the company among the industry leaders,” said Bruno Dubé, CEO of Sphere Media.
Ford added, “Sphere Abacus prides itself on listening carefully to our customers to understand their changing program needs, and the support of Bell Media will help us to further invest to service these. Accelerating the acquisition of high-quality content from Canada and other territories, and broadening our relationships with more creators and producers will allow us to offer an even greater range of premium programming.”
