Benzinga | May 4, 2021 09:08AM EDT

Liquid Media, Insight TV Announce Channel Partnership

Liquid Media Group Ltd. ("Liquid Media", "the Company" or "Liquid") (NASDAQ:YVR) and Insight.TV ("Insight") today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding following extensive discussions toward a content partnership, leveraging Insight's 400M+ household reach in 53 countries.



Under the proposed alliance, Insight, the leading millennial-focused global channel and content producer, will distribute select Liquid library content across their global distribution network. Furthermore, the companies would collaborate on the development of a new FAST (Free Advertising Supported TV) channel.

"Insight has developed a reputation for high-quality, compelling content. This partnership creates Liquid's first FAST channel, and our first advertising-funded play, which is a leap forward into a rapidly growing monetization model," said Liquid CEO Ronald Thomson.

Over its five-year history, Insight has expanded to operate six separate UHD (ultra-high definition) and HD linear channels across four continents, entering into partnerships with the world's leading satellite and intellectual property (IP) distribution providers to deliver content globally.

"This alliance would further support our mission and vision, adding another series of opportunities for Liquid IP creators, extending the content's lifecycle and expanding our audience in Europe as well as new markets overseas," continued Thomson.

"We look forward to adding content from Liquid's library to our various outlets and to working with Ron and his team to create an exciting new linear FAST channel to share with our digital distribution partners," said Insight CEO Rian Bester.

The shift to online as a solution for consumption and community continues, with connected TV usage up as much as 81% year-over-year as of March 2020. Streaming services maintain strong forecasts, with membership and viewing up across platforms including Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+. Streaming forecasts for the U.S. alone anticipate more subscriptions (385M) than citizens (330M) by the end of 2021. Hulu reports increasing interest in co-viewing, reporting 61% of viewers using the feature during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This new content-driven pipeline will provide even more choice of quality entertainment to our content-hungry audiences around the world," added Bester.