David Farnor | On 03, Sep 2014

Vimeo has expanded its content library significantly with a new slate of distribution deals.

Titles such as A Field in England, Cheap Thrills and The Congress have been added to the site’s pay-per-view line-up amid a raft of agreements with BFS Entertainment & Multimedia Limited, Drafthouse Films, Gaiam, Gravitas Ventures, Inception Media Group, MarVista Digital Entertainment (MVDE) and X-Treme Video.

“Vimeo empowers professional creators with our open platform to distribute content directly to audiences worldwide by offering total control and better economics,” said Sam Toles, Vice President of Content Acquisitions and Business Development, Vimeo.

“We also recognize that distributors play an important role in premium, quality content and by partnering with these best-in-class distribution companies, we are aggressively expanding our content offerings to deliver an exceptional, diverse collection of new titles.”

The move follows a recent revamp of Vimeo’s app for TVs, as the site seeks to showcase its titles in the most direct way possible, attracting more users as well as more partners.

The open self-distribution platform has grown steadily over the years, distinguishing itself from YouTube in its system that allows IP owners to choose price, geographical release and format (stream or download) of their videos – a flexible, owner-centric approach that places the service closer to indie VOD favourite VHX.

“Vimeo sets itself apart from other platforms in the space from others in the market in that we’re a two-way open platform,” Sam Toles, VP of content acquisitions and business development, told Stream Daily.

Some of Vimeo’s partners will now also be using Vimeo to embed their videos on their own sites, with the company taking a 10 per cent commission for any sales – leaving the others with 90 per cent of the revenue (once transaction fees have been deducted).

The new distributors, though, will be treated in the same way as every other user when it comes to featured placement on Vimeo’s homepage, with internal curators reviewing each new addition to their library in turn.

While manny of these titles will not be available in the UK (The Congress, for example, is still in cinemas), the announcement is a key step in Vimeo’s growth as a VOD platform.

Here’s the rundown of their new partners and what they bring to the site:

BFS Entertainment & Multimedia Limited

An independent entertainment company headquartered out of Toronto, with programming including classic dramas, mystery, comedy, sports, documentaries and health and wellness. Its Vimeo On Demand title flow will include approximately 12 new releases per year and 50 initial catalog titles at launch including the Australian TV series Rake, series Land Girls and BBC drama WPC 56.

Drafthouse Films

The film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, is a curated brand of provocative, visionary and artfully unusual films new and old from around the world. Highlights from the Vimeo collection includes the 2014 SXSW Midnight Audience Award black comedy/thriller Cheap Thrills, Ben Wheatley’s “psychedelic trip into magic and madness” A Field In England, Ari Folman’s epic sci-fi animated/live-action hybrid The Congress starring Robin Wright, Harvey Keitel, and Jon Hamm, and additional celebrated titles Klown and the Academy Award® nominated documentary The Act Of Killing.

Gaiam

A leading producer and marketer of lifestyle media. Gaiam’s Vimeo On Demand deal will entail approximately 12 new releases per year in the yoga and fitness category, and 48 titles per year in the conscious media, health and wellness categories. Gaiam’s title flow will include approximately over fifty initial titles at launch, such as the likes of yoga and fitness talent Rodney Yee, Trudie Styler, and Richard Simmons. Additionally, Gaiam TV will release the acclaimed films and documentaries, including the Robert Redford, Ashley Judd narrated Sundance film A Fierce Green Fire and environmental documentary Edge of the Earth featuring Jared Leto’s rock band, 30 Seconds To Mars.

Gravitas Ventures

A leading distributor of independent cinema. Founded in 2006 with a focus on Video-On-Demand, Gravitas Ventures has distributed thousands of films across VOD platforms. Some of their recent releases include the Naomi Watts, Matt Dillon starred Sunlight Jr., and Jocelyn Towne’s I Am I. Their upcoming releases include The Longest Week with Jason Bateman and Olivia Wilde and the action thriller Felony, starring Joel Edgerton and Tom Wilkinson which premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Inception Media Group LLC

A diversified media company specializing in the production, acquisition and distribution of motion pictures and other filmed entertainment. Inception’s title flow will include approximately 18 titles per year in the horror, comedy, family and personal instruction genres, with its initial catalogue including over 50 titles.

MarVista Digital Entertainment (MVDE)

An extension of global television distributor and producer of original feature film offerings, MarVista Entertainment. MVDE’s Vimeo On Demand deal will include some of MarVista’s top-selling thrillers, indie comedies and family films, including the recent hit Disney Channel original movie Zapped, starring Zendaya, and upcoming holiday family comedy My Dad is Scrooge.

X-Treme Video

The leading independent distributor of extreme sports films and series since 1994. Its Vimeo On Demand deal will include a library of over 400 titles, over 200 hours of content, with five high profile titles currently available. This includes Brain Dead and Having a Heart Attack, De Fil en Aiguille, Missing, MTB Heroes Series, and Peninsula.

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