Warner Bros. Acquires Machinima

Warner Bros. has purchased global content network Machinima for an undisclosed sum, as first reported in Variety. Why did this happen you may ask? WB wants in on the action, and why start now when they can just buy their way in.

    “The acquisition of Machinima by Warner Bros. is evidence of the maturing market for online and digital video and the ongoing popularization of gamer culture,” SuperData chief executive Joost van Dreunen explained in a note to GamesBeat. “As video games have emerged as a mainstream form of entertainment, a wider variety of content-forms, including video, have started to become financially viable and, more importantly, sustainable.”

Of course. Warner Bros. wants to make sure they can reach a younger generation, one spoon-fed YouTube gaming videos.

The acquisition also gives WB a foot in the door into the world of eSports, seeing as how Machinima is already involved. Data keeps pointing to future eSports money, and traditional companies don't know how to capitalize on it. Easy solution: buy someone who does know how.

Also important to note, WB already had a stake in Machinima, having made its first investment in 2014. So it's not too surprising to see a total buyout.

Will we see more companies acquire digital content networks? Probably.