AwesomenessTV and Endemol Shine close an international strategic agreement

The multi-year agreement between the digital network of the Endemol Shine group and AwesomenessTV will allow the international expansion of this reference brand in content for teenagers.

Endemol Shine, a global content producer, creator and distributor, and AwesomenessTV, a company specialized in multiplatform content aimed at young millennials and teenagers, have announced at MIPCOM 2015 in Cannes that they have concluded a strategic agreement to expand the international reach of the AwesomenessTV (ATV) brand.

Under this multi-year agreement, Endemol Shine Group's premium content network, Endemol Beyond, will launch local language channels produced by Awesomeness TV outside the United States. The agreement includes the launch in France, Germany, UK, Brazil and Spain, where Endemol Beyond already operates with the leading network Tuiwok Estudios.

In addition, Endemol Beyond will support and drive the growth of creators who are currently part of AwesomenessTV, identifying new talents and verticals that contribute to the growth of the brand.

The strategic agreement will benefit the expansion of ATV's original video formats as well as the development of such successful franchises as the docu-reality series Cheerleaders and the interview format IMO.

The new original content created under the agreement will also include long formats and series for digital distribution and television.

The Endemol Shine Group and AwesomenessTV will work together in the distribution of formats and series for digital platforms and television, as is the case of the successful comedy sketch series AwesomenessTV broadcast on the Nickelodeon television channel. They will also combine their capabilities to distribute locally developed formats and series worldwide.

Brian Robbins, CEO and founder of AwesomenessTV, highlights that "the alliance with Endemol Shine Group will allow us to expand our brand to reach the teenage audience in their local language, with content produced especially for them. In addition, we will be able to offer new local creative talent the same opportunities that our creators have in the United States, including agreements with brands, marketing support and professional production capabilities."

For his part, George Ramme, Managing Director, International of Endemol Beyond, highlights that "AwesomenessTV and the Endemol Shine group coincide in being two companies oriented by creativity, both operate digital content networks that have broken with the traditional MCN (Multichannel Network) model. AwesomenessTV has experienced explosive growth in recent years by building a powerful global brand that already has a large fan base around the world outside the United States. This agreement amplifies the relevance of both networks and "At the same time, it will allow the launch of new talents and very seductive content for brands, available both on digital platforms and on television throughout the world."

Pilar Blasco, CEO of Endemol Shine Iberia, has pointed out that "at the ESI group we are increasingly aware of the need to build formats that live on all platforms, capable of entertaining all types of audiences. An example of this is the launch of Tuiwok Estudios. Thinking about younger and digitalized audiences, ATV and its formats come to optimally complete the catalog that Endemol Shine already has."

For Francisco Asensi, Managing Director of Endemol Beyond Iberia, "we live in a unique moment in the audiovisual entertainment revolution in which multiple distribution models coexist and where creativity and talent emerge on the Internet. There is full correspondence in how we understand both ATV and Endemol Beyond this phenomenon. Our alliance at the local level will allow us to launch many more high-quality digital formats and offer new opportunities to local talent that they have not had until now."

Endemol Shine, an entertainment giant

The Endemol Shine group maintains operations in 30 markets, with a varied portfolio of nearly 600 active titles, covering fiction and non-fiction genres, along with digital activities, gaming and distribution.

In November 2013, the company launched Endemol Beyond, the first Premium Content Network (PCN) on the market with operations in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain as well as hubs in Asia, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe.

Endemol Beyond currently produces and distributes premium quality online content generating approximately 1.8 billion views per month, including international formats such as Legends of Gaming, Rule'm Sports and the lifestyle content brand ICON, which are also being produced and adapted in different local markets.

Endemol Beyond includes such influential talents as Pitbull, Michelle Phan, Brittany Furlan, KSI, Drea De Matteo and Andy Milonakis in its digital network, covering lifestyle, humor, reality and music content. In Spain, Tuiwok Estudios has some of the best-known creators on the internet such as Luzu, JPelirrojo, Ro en la Red, MisterJagger and RushSmith among many others.

The Endemol Shine group also includes Endemol Shine International, its format distribution arm, which has a catalog of approximately 38,000 hours of programming between its own and third-party production, both fiction and non-fiction. Endemol Shine International has regional distribution hubs in London, Los Angeles, Paris, Sydney, Miami, Moscow, Singapore and Bombay that serve the different broadcasters and platforms in each market.

Beyond its origins as a multi-channel network, AwesomenessTV has become a multi-platform entertainment company that produces successful series for Nickelodeon and Netflix, films like Expelled, which became the film with the greatest impact on social networks in 2014, and 180 hours of original content for Verizon.