VISUAL DATA ACQUIRES PREMIER PR’S DIGITAL AND PACKAGED MEDIA-SERVICES DIVISION
Visual Data Media Services (Visual Data) has announced the acquisition of London – based Premier PR’s digital-media delivery and packaged authored-media services division, in a move that will boost Visual Data’s London-based staff to more than 100 and its global team to 300-plus digital-media supply-chain specialists.
Premier PR acquired post-production and digital-media company Dubbs-Eyeframe in 2012 to contribute towards its integrated creative communications agency. The divested business specializes in master QC, digital-media delivery to premium VOD platforms and authoring for DVD/Blu-ray and UHD Blu-ray. Under the acquisition, Premier PR’s predominantly film-focused client base will benefit from Visual Data’s significant investments in Dolby Vision HDR, UHD Blu-ray, 4K QC and IMF mastering technology, as well as its preferred-vendor status with the world’s key broadcasters and VOD platforms. As part of the Visual Data family, the acquired division will also add localization, asset management, dubbing, MAM and access services to its client offer.
During the coming months, the team will relocate from Bucknall Street in London WC2 to Visual Data’s facility in Latimer Road, W10. There will be no planned job losses and the staff will be protected under TUPE Regulations, which preserve employees’ terms and conditions when a business is transferred to a new employer.
Symon Roue, managing director of Visual Data, said: “We have long admired the team at Premier for its first-rate technical, design and execution skills. In fact, Premier is probably the most talented team in Europe when it comes to home-entertainment authoring. We will keep the teams exactly as they are — Premier has tended to focus on film and we’ve been more TV-driven, so there’s also a complementary aspect to our skillsets. The acquisition brings our global team to more than 300 of the best digital-media supply-chain professionals in the world. That’s a very compelling proposition for clients.”
Visual Data recently moved into HDR QC and mastering services becoming the first UK facility to gain Dolby Vision certified facility accreditation.
John Reiss, executive chairman of Premier PR, said: “We made the strategic decision to sell our well-respected but non-core digital-media services and packaged-media authoring business in order to focus on the provision of marketing services in our specialist areas of entertainment, arts and culture. Around 30 of our 175 employees will be moving to Visual Data, where we believe they will flourish and where we wish them well.”
Premier will continue to provide world-class marketing services, including public relations, social media, events and experiential production, personal representation, brand partnerships and creative content, to its global client base.