Online animation network
aniBoom is going global on the mobile screen. The startup has entered into distribution agreements with mobile content players including MobiTV, Thumbplay, Buongiorno, Cellfish France, PlayerX and
Jamster.
Together, the deals give aniBoom--which aims to be the YouTube of online animation--a potential audience of more than 200 million mobile users worldwide.
For its
part, MobiTV, for example, has launched a new ad-supported animation channel powered by aniBoom's 6,000 videos created by 5,000 professional animators in 72 countries. Through MobiTV and mobile games
provider Thumbplay, the company will gain mobile distribution in the U.S., Canada and Latin America.
Jamster, a joint venture of News Corporation and VeriSign, will package aniBoom content for
its direct-to-consumer mobile content sites. The deals with Buongiorno, Cellfish and PlayerX round out aniBoom's partnerships in Europe.
Along with the mobile deals, aniBoom separately announced
agreements to supply content to a group of video sites including Dailymotion, Metacafe, Veoh Networks, blip.TV and blinkx. (AniBoom already maintains a branded animation channel on YouTube.)
Jonas Gerber, senior vice president for business development and general manager of U.S. operations for Tel Aviv-based aniBoom, said the company would take a cut of advertising or other revenues
generated by the partnerships, and share the proceeds with its contribution animators.
Adding 500 new videos a month, "we have a combination of quantity and high quality that is unique to
aniBoom," Gerber said. In addition to seeking to monetize its content through distribution deals, the company also serves as a "farm system" to identify the most talented online animators.
For
the most promising contributors, aniBoom funds 20 to 30 original animated series a year in hopes that at least one will get picked up for a television run.
The more exposure gives to its
animators online, the better the chances it will be able to discover the next Trey Parker and Matt Stone of "South Park" fame. "That's the way we build brands," Gerber said.