U.S. firm snaps up local streaming site

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This article was published 15/01/2022 (1644 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg-based children’s programming streaming service, Ameba, has been acquired by a growing Beverly Hills-based company, Genius Brands International, as that company makes a bid to establish itself as a leading children’s content provider in the burgeoning video streaming industry.

Founder and owner of Ameba, Tony Havelka, said he has been talking with Genius Brands for five years.

“This was the right time and the right vision,” he said. “Consolidation is coming. Services are getting stronger and bigger and if you don’t have the backing to get to next level for development or whatever the audience requires you are going to be left behind.”

Havelka, a longtime technology component developer, launched Ameba 12 years ago and has honed the offering so that it was getting to be known as a safe children’s service with gentle programming that is Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) compliant that parents could be comfortable with.

Just before the pandemic it changed its model slightly so that it was converting more customers from an advertising-based free services — with only limited access to content — to monthly ad-free subscriptions for $4.99 per month in Canada and US$3.99 in the U.S..

Havelka said the pivot allowed Ameba to capitalize on the increased demand during the pandemic that resulted in “a flood” of new subscribers.

Havelka would not disclose any of Ameba’s performance metrics other than to say it has tens of thousands of subscribers in Canada and the U.S. and millions of ad impressions per month.

Genius owns a number of different children’s entertainment properties including the advertisement-supported free app, Kartoon Channel! which includes Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rainbow Rangers, Peppa Pig, PJ Masks, and Minecraft.

Genius will use Ameba’s back end technology platform to launch its own streaming service this spring adding the 13,000 episodes under licence to Ameba, including such shows as Casper The Friendly Ghost, Donkey Kong Country, Gummy Bears, and Rescue Heroes.

Genius, a publicly traded company, reported third-quarter earnings of US$1.9 million in November but it also has a US$132 million war chest.

Havelka and his small team of four staffers in Winnipeg, will continue working with Ameba/Kartoon Channel! as it rolls out the larger offering.

The company has plans to leverage the streaming service into a multi-platform offering called Kartoon Channel! Kidaverse including things like trading cards.

“While our free, ad-supported platform will still be available to consumers, the subscription-based Kartoon Channel! Kidaverse will address that market need, while also building the 360-degree kid’s digital media platform of the future. We believe it will be a unique entertainment experience that simply cannot be had anywhere else,” said Jon Ollwerther, Kartoon Channel! president.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca