Webedia continues its expansion into the United States through the acquisition of West World Media, a global leader in cinema data syndication and a digital marketing partner of numerous cinema circuits across the United States. This operation marks the next stage for the French group’s international expansion, which now reaches an audience of 80 million unique visitors a month around the globe.
West World Media operates several databases serving the entertainment industry, most notably its showtimes platform CinemaSource (covering 80 countries in 24 languages) and live-event listing service EventSource. These solutions make the company a trusted partner of some of the largest media groups in the United States and around the world.
The company also focuses on providing digital marketing services (websites, mobile apps and social media management) to a significant number of U.S. cinema circuits. West World Media aggregates nearly a hundred U.S. cinema circuits through its MovieGoer Network brand, generating a combined traffic of more than 6 million unique visitors per month, primarily consisting of consumers looking to buy a ticket to the movies.
With this transaction, the Webedia group reinforces its presence in the American market, where it currently employs more than 100 professionals in Los Angeles, New York, and Ridgefield, Connecticut. This move follows Webedia’s April 2015 acquisition of BoxOffice Media and the October 2015 capital investment in MoviePilot.com, one of the leading cinema websites in the United States.
“This acquisition will accelerate our growth in the United States,” said Véronique Morali, president of Webedia’s board of directors. “Webedia has already reached leadership positions in the cinema industry in Europe and South America. The U.S. market is now a priority for us, and this move will allow us to further grow our global presence, currently the second largest cinema audience in the world.”
Julien Marcel, CEO of Webedia U.S. cinema operations (West World Media and BoxOffice Media), added, “We believe our partnerships with cinema exhibitors should be a key component of our future development plans. With innovation being our top priority, our newly established presence on the West Coast will allow us to work more closely with studios and our technology partners in Silicon Valley.”