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Viacom buys Atomfilms for $200 million
Wednesday, August 9, 2006 at 7:57PM While browsing the very few blogs that I read (aside from the Madlab Post, of course), I came across some rather disturbing news about the online video streaming industry. Viacom is buying Atomfilms to add it to their property list that includes CBS, Paramount and Blockbuster among other entities. Why can't companies remain on their own? Online video is something that independent filmmakers benefit from because we don't have restrictions on showing our work to the masses without waiting for someone else's green light. This move is another way that these greedy media conglomerates get to control the world of entertainment and news.
Atomfilms is a part of Atom Entertainment, which also owns Addicting Clips and Addicting Games, both of which will also be handed over to Viacom, whenever this deal is complete.
I see another revenue stream for independent filmmakers, flying out of the door. Atomfilms licenses short movies and pays royalties to filmmakers whose work they put on the website.
So, when Viacom picks them up, will short films continue to be licensed....I think not.
Why license shorts from films festivals and the like, when you have your own content from the film studios and television networks under your belt? I am curious to see what happens when this hits the hay. Every addition to a Media Conglomerate's holdings makes it harder for the independent film community, every time.
For those who may not agree, and think that it's nothing wrong with large companies swallowing everything up that they want, let me ask you........where are the independent television stations?
I'm not talking about the low-power ones either. The information that we recieve in the world today is all controlled by one source, so there is one message that we get, whether it's from the web, the newspaper or on television. For this issue to be tackled, we must first ask ourselves...what is wrong with that picture? The problem will not solve itself. We must do something about it now before it gets out of hand. What am I saying? It's already out of hand and it's moving over into the information highway. Letters to the FCC anyone? In the meantime, I will be working very hard to make it through the mainstream and alternative distribution avenues that are available for the time being.
