Today ViacomCBS announced that they have purchased 49% of MIRAMAX. This gives ViacomCBS joint ownership of MIRAMAX’s catalog of 700 titles, 278 Academy Award® nominations and 68 Oscars® including four Best Picture awards for Chicago, Shakespeare In Love, The English Patient, and No Country For Old Men. beIN will retain a 51% stake in MIRAMAX and MIRAMAX’s current leadership team will continue to lead the company.
“MIRAMAX is a renowned global studio, responsible for some of the most iconic films of the last three decades, including Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, Kill Bill and more,” said Bob Bakish, President and CEO of ViacomCBS. “This partnership with beIN will be a unique opportunity to gain access to a valuable library, deepening our already substantial pool of IP at a time when demand for premium content is only accelerating. We look forward to working closely with the MIRAMAX management team as we explore new ways to deliver its titles across a variety of platforms and create new, compelling projects.”
ViacomCBS will pay $375 million with an upfront payment of approximately $150 million. ViacomCBS will also invest $45 million annually over the next five years into MIRAMAX.
This deal could potentially allow ViacomCBS to use MIRAMAX films on its streaming services like Pluto TV and CBS All Access. For now, we will have to wait and see how ViacomCBS uses their share of MIRAMAX.
Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news, tips, and reviews. Need cord cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help.
Did you know we have a YouTube Channel? Every week we have a live Cord Cutting Q&A, and weekly Cord Cutting recap shows exclusively on our YouTube Channel!