TORONTO, June 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZoomerMedia Limited (TSXV: ZUM) (“ZoomerMedia”) announces that it has completed the acquisition of all the outstanding shares of Museland Media Inc. (MM), publisher of Ludwig Van, Canada’s leading and fastest growing digital voice for the latest classical, opera, chamber and choral music headlines, reviews, comments and personality driven features and interviews. The aggregate purchase price of $1.1 million is comprised of $700k cash on closing, and a $400k vendor note at 5% interest annually, principal repayable in 3 years.
The acquisition connects ZoomerMedia to a wider audience of arts enthusiasts, of all ages, who have been all but abandoned by mainstream newspapers and broadcasters. With an audience of 65,000 monthly readers and 100+ partner arts organizations, it is the ideal online complement to The New Classical FM, English Canada’s only all-classical music radio service, first acquired by Moses Znaimer in 2006, and now owned and operated by ZoomerMedia.
This acquisition follows the recent additions of blogTO, Daily Hive, and The Peak to ZoomerMedia’s roster of digital publications.
Said Moses Znaimer, ZoomerMedia Founder, President & CEO: “I have a history of supporting the idea of specialty television; which is to say channels devoted to specific subject matter ranging from local news (CP24) to Rock and Pop (MuchMusic) to Bravo!, Canada’s NewStyleArtsChannel, which was a most beautiful Performing Arts Channel until its original mandate and style were abandoned by new owners. Similarly, the acquisition of Ludwig Van represents the further expansion of the Zoomer Digital Network from location-oriented outlets like blogTO and Daily Hive into subject specific content. In Ludwig Van, we see a Toronto and Montreal based website extending coverage, nationally and internationally, and beyond classical music and opera,to theatre, dance, and other performing arts.
I also have a history of presenting live to air concerts in Zoomer Hall featuring the likes of Lang Lang, Sondra Radvanovsky, Mischa Maisky, Anne-Sophie Mutter, James Galway, and Lara St. John. Accordingly, Ludwig Van’s enhanced format will also offer concerts and music videos. Even as everyone else is cutting back on coverage of the Arts, we intend to step up ours.”
Said Michael Vincent, Founder of Ludwig Van: “I started Ludwig Van in 2017 with the mission to keep arts coverage alive and change how media companies operate. Moses is not just an exceptional media pioneer, but a kindred spirit who resonates with our commitment to classical music, opera, and the arts. Zoomermedia’s resources, coupled with Moses’ ground-breaking innovations in media, will enable us to transcend the ordinary and ascend to new heights in our mission. This alliance will empower us to create unparalleled arts media content, setting a new benchmark in Canada. The anticipation of what we are poised to achieve together is truly extraordinary, and I can't wait to get started.”
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About ZoomerMedia Limited
Founded by television and media icon Moses Znaimer in 2008, ZoomerMedia Limited is a multimedia company devoted to creating content, services and experiences for Canada's most powerful audiences: the 17.2 million people aged 45-plus aka "Zoomers", and the 13.7 million Millennials and Gen Zs, coincidentally also called "Zoomers", who follow in their footsteps.
ZoomerMedia operates 5 TV, 2 Radio, 3 Print, 3 Live Event, and 15 Digital properties including the newly acquired youth-friendly local news and lifestyle digital publication blogTO. ZoomerMedia produces original TV, Radio, and Podcast programming, offers clients creative audio and video production services, and bespoke events on site at its 2.6 acre complex in Toronto's Liberty Village.
For specific ZoomerMedia property names and focus, please see below.
ZoomerMedia's Television properties include: VisionTV, available in 7.5 million households is Canada's home for British comedy and drama series, plus uplifting movies, music, news, and multicultural and multilingual faith programming; ONETV: The Exercise & Entertainment Channel, combines original yoga, pilates, tai chi, and cardio fitness series with British serial soaps, dramas and American movies; JoyTV in Vancouver, Victoria, Surrey and the Fraser Valley, and FAITH TV in Winnipeg are devoted to broadcasting Christian, multi-faith, and local content.
ZoomerMedia's Digital properties include: blogto.com, Canada's unrivalled local publisher across digital and social media platforms, bringing in 8 million monthly active users, and over 360 million page views annually; dailyhive.com, the dominant platform in Western Canada and one of the country’s most followed news brands with over 9 million monthly active users, nearly 300 million annual page views, and 3.1 million followers across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin; and EverythingZoomer.com, Canada's leading provider of online content targeting the 45-plus.
ZoomerMedia's Radio properties include: The New Classical FM, Canada's only commercial all classical music radio station broadcasting over three frequencies in a unique regional Ontario network: 96.3FM CFMZ-FM Toronto (GTA), 103.1FM CFMX-FM Cobourg (Eastern Ontario), and 102.9FM CFMO-FM Collingwood (Southern Georgian Bay); and Zoomer Radio, The Original Greatest Hits, the biggest broadcast footprint in Canada also reaching 28 American States, and broadcasting simultaneously both in AM and FM in Toronto (740AM CFZM-AM and 96.7FM CFZM-FM).
ZoomerMedia's Print properties include: ZOOMER Magazine, the Company's flagship magazine and Canada's largest paid circulation magazine for the 45-plus market; On The Bay Magazine, a dominant regional lifestyle magazine published quarterly for the 20 towns and villages of Ontario's Southern Georgian Bay; and Tonic Magazine, a regional health and wellness magazine published bi-monthly and distributed across the City of Toronto.
Omri Tintpulver, Chief Operating Officer
ZoomerMedia Limited
416-875-7523
omri@zoomer.ca
Media contact:
Leanne Wright, SVP Communications
ZoomerMedia Limited
416-886-6873
leanne@zoomer.ca
