FilmRise and Shout Factory, two studios that provide a significant amount of content to streaming services, are merging and will rebrand to Radial Entertainment, the companies announced on Tuesday.
The merger comes after Shout Studios was acquired by Oaktree Capital, which decided to change the name of the holding company on Tuesday.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Radial will merge previously acquired Shout with FilmRise to create an indie film and TV distributor with more than 70,000 titles. Garson Foos, CEO and co-founder of Shout, will become CEO of Radial Entertainment, while Danny Fisher, CEO and co-founder of FilmRise, will become executive chairman.
“We have long admired the FilmRise business and its executives, and have held a steadfast belief that a strategic transaction between the companies would create an entertainment business of exciting scale,” Foos said in a statement. “This is a highly additive merger between two very complementary organizations, and we have strong conviction in the incremental value that Radial will bring to our partners and dedicated consumer fan base. We will ensure that the spirit and soul of Shout will flourish in this new organization, and are thrilled to collaborate with the FilmRise team in taking the combined business to the next level.”
Founded in 2012, FilmRise cut its teeth acquiring and distributing catalog content such as “Forensic Files” and “Unsolved Mysteries,” among others. The company holds a footprint across FAST and AVOD as well as a library of more than 30,000 movies and episodes across genres, including drama, action, classic television, true crime, British, horror, sci-fi, comedy, and holiday.
FilmRise original co-productions include “Bloodline Detectives Hosted by Nancy Grace,” “Statute of Limitations Hosted by Mike Sorrentino,” and “The Interrogation Room Hosted by Vivica A. Fox.” The distributor has also produced PBS doc series, “Icon: Music Through the Lens,” among other content.
“I believe that by bringing together FilmRise with Shout Studios, Radial is destined to become a media powerhouse,” added Fisher. “With an incredible leadership team and steadfast support from Oaktree Capital Management, we have exciting new opportunities to leverage our extensive content libraries and combined operational resources to drive future growth.”
