eOne Buys into Canadian Interactive Agency

TORONTO/LONDON: Entertainment One (eOne) is building up its digital business through an equity investment in the Canadian interactive agency Secret Location.

The company was launched in 2009 by James Milward and partners Pietro Gagliano and Ryan Andal. Secret Location creates interactive experiences to launch content through storytelling for brands, advertising agencies, producers and broadcasters. Secret Location will operate independently and continue to innovate through work with existing clients, including eOne. Secret Location will remain in separate office facilities, and has plans to open a Los Angeles office in the near future.

“We are thrilled to join James, Pietro, Ryan and the talented Secret Location team and welcome them into the eOne family. We’ve long admired and recognized their innovative work and are delighted to now be able to invest in their success,” said Darren Throop, the president and CEO of Entertainment One. “Secret Location will accelerate our abilities to service our international broadcast partners with the most innovative digital portfolio to complement our productions and third-party content acquisitions. This deal will increase opportunities across all platforms for both companies. While eOne has been increasingly active in digital development, we recognize the commercial potential for digital content in the international marketplace.”

Milward, the president, executive producer and founder of Secret Location, added, “As we continue to grow, Secret Location is excited to be collaborating with eOne’s talented team in order to build new content formats, original technology platforms and to help digitally extend its huge portfolio of amazing properties. This is an incredible opportunity to invent the future of media and entertainment together and we truly believe our existing clients will benefit from the scale and access we will achieve.”