Last checked at 4 May 2023 07:00
4 May 2023
ZOO DIGITAL GROUP PLC
("ZOO", the "Group" or the "Company")
ZOO Digital launches Iberian hub to expand operations in EMEA
Strategic investment adds new facilities in Madrid and Valencia
ZOO Digital Group plc (AIM: ZOO), a leading provider of end-to-end cloud-based localisation and media services to the global entertainment industry, today announces the launch of facilities in Madrid and Valencia, following a strategic investment in established dubbing and localisation company, AM Group.
ZOO has acquired a 30 per cent. stake in AM Group for total consideration of EUR 825,000 to be payable in cash on completion. The investment marks the continued expansion of ZOO's geographic footprint in EMEA, with AM Group acting as a primary hub for ZOO's operations in Spain and Portugal. It will deliver dubbing services as part of ZOO's global end-to-end offering for major studios and streaming services in Iberia, while also supporting local content creators to expand their reach to global audiences.
Founded in 2004, AM Group has been a partner to ZOO since 2021 and is an approved service provider under the industry-wide Trusted Partner Network. AM Group generated EUR 352,000 in profit before tax for the year ended 31 December 2022. It boasts state-of-the-art facilities in both Madrid and Valencia, complete with nine recording studios, nine control rooms and two mixing rooms. The facilities also incorporate an adjoining dubbing school that actively provides practical training for voice talent, with courses in dubbing, voiceover and vocal technique.
Iberia is an increasingly important market for global content producers with Spain establishing itself as a European hub for audiovisual production and distribution. Building on the success of international hits such as Money Heist, Netflix launched its first European hub in Madrid in 2019 and has since doubled the size of its operations. As well as strengthening capacity for Castilian Spanish and European Portuguese, ZOO's presence in Iberia will facilitate localisation into the co-official Spanish languages, bringing content from around the world to life in Valencian, Catalan, Galician and Euskera.
Stuart Green, CEO of ZOO Digital, commented:
"This latest investment under our global growth initiative will allow us to offer increased capacity and expertise in Spain and Portugal, both of which are territories that hold high strategic importance for our major studio clients. The launch of ZOO in Madrid and Valencia strengthens our ability to deliver high-quality services at a time of significant growth in the region while also enabling us to cater for regional languages and cultures."
Teresa Alonso, Territory Advisor (Spain and Portugal) at ZOO Digital, added:
"As international demand for Spanish- and Portuguese-language content continues to grow, we are dedicated to sharing Iberian stories with local authenticity on a global scale. AM Group shares our commitment to delivering this cultural authenticity and representing the linguistic diversity of the region. We look forward to collaborating closely with their teams to develop and refine our in-territory dubbing service capabilities."
Víctor Martínez, Managing Director of AM Group, also added:
"We are delighted to have joined the ZOO Digital family and excited to build upon our existing partnership. This combination of extensive local knowledge, global reach and innovative technology opens up new possibilities for content owners in the region and for the biggest players in global entertainment."
The launch of ZOO in Spain sees the Group continue its global expansion. Further announcements are expected in 2023 as part of ZOO's global growth initiative.
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About ZOO Digital Group plc:
ZOO Digital supports major Hollywood studios and streaming services to globalise their content and reach audiences everywhere, by providing leading, technology-enabled localisation and media services.
Founded in 2001, ZOO Digital operates from hubs in Los Angeles, London, Dubai, Turkey, South Korea, India, Denmark and Spain with a development and production centre in Sheffield, UK.
The Group provides media services through its platforms that include: ZOOsubs, ZOOdubs and ZOOstudio. Its full-service proposition delivers the end-to-end services required to prepare both original and catalogue content for digital distribution; these services include dubbing, subtitling & captioning, metadata creation & localisation, mastering, artwork localisation and media processing. Alongside this offering, ZOO also provides its customers with management platforms and strategic solutions to support their own internal globalisation operations.
ZOO is a go-to service partner for media businesses looking to globalise their content across different territories, languages and distribution platforms. Using its innovative technology-enabled approach, ZOO helps its customers to reduce time to market, lower costs and deliver high quality products to their global audiences. The business has frameworks in place with all major Hollywood studios and streaming services. Its customers include Disney, NBCUniversal, HBO and Paramount Global.
ZOO's competitive advantage arises from three interlinking factors - the leading role it has played in the digital transformation of its sector; the world class proprietary platforms that it develops to enable this transformation; and the global supply chain of thousands of freelancers, working collaboratively in ZOO's platforms, which delivers services that scale easily to meet demand. These factors combine to make ZOO uniquely placed to capitalise on new market opportunities in a fast-paced and constantly evolving industry.
www.zoodigital.com