TheWrap News Inc. on Thursday announced the acquisition of VideoInk, Inc., the go-to source for business news about the fast-growing digital video industry.
The acquisition represents TheWrap’s first foray into a subscription business model, super-serving its core business readers with highly relevant content on the site, networking through live events and professional insight via services like video webinars.
These offerings have already been included in VideoInk’s membership. Building on that foundation, TheWrap also announced plans to launch a new premium subscription product in the coming weeks.
VideoInk, founded in 2012 by Jocelyn Johnson, was also early to implement a subscription model tailored toward executives working in and powering the business of “digital Hollywood.”
Johnson joins TheWrap as director of membership and digital video news, leading the new subscription initiative and building greater community around the digital video business through news, live events and education. Existing VideoInk subscribers will be offered a suite of new benefits as the service re-launches.
“I’m excited to merge our business with the highly engaged community that Jocelyn has built at VideoInk, and it is the perfect foundation for the coming WrapPRO service,” Sharon Waxman, the founder and CEO of TheWrap, said in a statement. “The fact that Jocelyn is also a female founder makes this deal all the more gratifying.”
Johnson added, “Since launching subscription we’ve seen that exclusive access, deep intel and community are of high value to our readers. We’ve built a nice foundation for that business to grow and with TheWrap’s scale, existing events and seasoned editorial, we’re excited to accelerate that growth. Also, Sharon and I have a shared vision for the future of media, and I’m looking forward to work alongside her and the team to bring that vision to life.”
In just a year, the media startup VideoInk has grown its subscriber base to include teams and executives from Fox, A&E Networks, Warner Brothers, Amazon, Verizon, Hulu, Netflix, Facebook, YouTube, Snap, Adobe, WME and CAA.
For VideoInk, the business has seen strong growth over the last few years as leading media companies like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, Verizon and AT&T, among others, have taken heavy swings at Hollywood.
Many of those headlines, including Viacom’s recent acquisition of AwesomenessTV have been scooped by VideoInk, and Johnson.