Bellrock Media, Premium Mobile and Broadband Content Developer
and Distributor, Acquires Leader in Mobile Personalization
Content, Moderati Inc.
- Feb. 12, 2007
Companies Merge Complementary
Capabilities to Form a World Class
Creative Content Company with Fully Integrated Deployment
and Distribution
Santa Monica, Calif. — Feb. 12, 2007 — Premium entertainment
content developer and producer Bellrock Media has acquired mobile
industry leader Moderati Inc. The two firms merge to form one
of the first fully integrated mobile and broadband entertainment
providers offering ground breaking content and unparalleled
distribution in both the U.S. and Japan.
The joined entity develops best-of-breed, branded and co-owned
entertainment leveraging strategic relationships and access
to key entertainment and sports content worldwide. Bellrock
Media now boasts a larger catalog of content and services,
and Moderati’s distribution relationships and technology
infrastructure give it access to immediate deployment directly
to carriers.
Formed to address the needs of a changing marketplace, Bellrock
owns, develops and distributes original platform-conscious
digital entertainment products blended with innovative brand
marketing strategies. Helmed by president Peter Levin, respected
media and technology executive from Creative Artists Agency
(CAA) and The Walt Disney Company, CEO Hiroshi Nakata, top
media executive and chief strategy officer and CFO of Yoshimoto
Kogyo and CCO Ken Ng, former Disney Online creative director
and from the talented core that brought JAMDAT Mobile public
and to its successful sale to Electronic Arts. The company
leverages its unrivaled leadership as well as its distribution
reach in Japan, and strategic opportunities through backers
Intel Corporation, Yoshimoto Kogyo and Faith, Inc.
“Bringing Moderati and its management team under the
Bellrock umbrella gives us tremendous credibility and a mature
platform from which to execute in the U.S. mobile market,”
Levin commented. “This acquisition accelerates our growth
timeline domestically and gets us up to speed with our Japanese
operation, which is firing on all cylinders.”
Founded as a subsidiary of Faith, Inc., Moderati emerged as
the leading mobile personalization provider under its Modtones
brand as well as via direct distribution through the carrier
brands, and has evolved its portfolio to include social entertainment
services like Mobile Faker. Specializing in ringtones has
brought Moderati an industry-leading catalogue of songs and
roster of partners in the music business. The company’s
extensive distribution relationships have allowed it to serve
customers of all major wireless carriers, with a particular
focus on on-deck distribution. The company remains the only
mobile personalization company in the U.S. with direct on-deck
distribution through all tier 1 and tier 2 carriers.
Moderati offers top quality content to carriers, helps content
providers access key players in the mobile channel and provides
promotional opportunities for brand advertisers in the wireless
market. Moderati’s management team, led by Carolynne
Schloeder, has deep experience in wireless entertainment,
digital music and consumer marketing. The Moderati executive
management will remain with the merged company in its San
Francisco office.
"Joining the Bellrock Media family is an exciting move
for us," said Carolynne Schloeder, president of Moderati.
"They bring expertise in branded entertainment and relationships
with major franchises that perfectly complement our mobile
content business, and we immediately expand our joint product
portfolio. Together, we will shape the next phase in mobile
and broadband entertainment."
About Bellrock Media
Bellrock Media (www.bellrockmedia.com) strives to invent entertainment
properties that ensure a captive audience and a sustainable
popularity through cooperative ventures with major brands
and also develops proprietary technology that enables next-generation
content. The company offers highly effective reach of target
audiences through the creation of original platform-conscious
content that features organic integrations of branding and
marketing messages, as well as distribution of content through
emergent digital channels. Bellrock Media investors include
Yoshimoto Kogyo, Intel Corporation and Faith Inc. The firm
is uniquely positioned to address strategic opportunities
in both the U.S. and Japan, focusing on the mobile and broadband
markets. Bellrock Media, founded in 2005, is headquartered
in Los Angeles and Tokyo.
About Moderati
Moderati is a mobile entertainment pioneer. One of the top
mobile media companies in North America, Moderati has unparalleled
distribution through the decks of 14 U.S. carriers for its
personalization products. The company delivers content under
carrier brands, partner brands, or its own brands, including
Modtones for ringtones and wallpaper, and Mobile Faker, an
entertainment product that turns mobile phones into social
weapons. Moderati products have received several industry
awards for quality and creativity. Moderati was founded in
2001 as a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly traded Japanese
corporation Faith, Inc. www.moderati.com
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