Anthem Sports & Entertainment has signed an agreement to acquire independent Canadian broadcaster Hollywood Suite.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal will add Hollywood Suite’s four linear networks and associated on-demand services to a group that also includes Game TV, Game+, Fight Network and AXS TV. Anthem also operates the movie cable channel HDNet Movies and owns film distribution company Gravitas Ventures.
Hollywood Suite launched in 2011 and serves over 10 million homes through providers like Rogers, Bell and Prime Video, calling itself “Canada’s largest pure play movie service.” The network includes HS70, HS80, HS90 and HS00, all of which air movies from their corresponding decades, as well as series like Slasher, Wreck, Blumhouse Encyclopedia of Horror and, somewhat surprisingly, Mr. Bates vs. the Post Office.
If the deal goes through, Hollywood Suites president and co-founder David Caines would continue to run the business. The deal still needs approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
“Anthem is committed to delivering fresh and unique content to a broad, diverse and passionate fan base, and the acquisition of Hollywood Suite helps advance that strategy in a big way,” said Anthem founder and CEO Leonard Aspel. “They have a proven track record of success, have experienced tremendous growth over the years, and have a strong commitment to providing true movie fans with a wide range of titles from cinema’s most important eras. We are proud to welcome them on board and look forward to working closely with David and the Hollywood Suite team to help them reach even greater heights.”
“Anthem is the perfect partner for Hollywood Suite, as they have the same passion and dedication to film as we do,” added Hollywood Suite chief executive Kinnes. “Leonard and his team have demonstrated an unparalleled dedication to supporting film and independent platforms like ours, bringing the best film-centric content to our viewers and subscribers.”
“On behalf of the board of directors, I want to thank all of our employees, whose dedication and hard work is the foundation of the level of success we’ve achieved over the past 13 years,” said Jeff Sackman, co-chairman of the board and co-founder of Hollywood Suite. “I also want to thank our shareholders for their unwavering support, who have championed our vision from the very beginning. Together, we look forward to helping Anthem lead the company into an exciting new era.”