DIGITAL MEDIA

Brad Keeling

Online movie retailer Quickflix could become the video content lynchpin in a global multi-platform digital distribution play, if Brad Keeling’s Slice Wireless is successful in its current ambitions to integrate the asset into his largely European based content aggregation company.

The former One.Tel co-founder has confirmed that Quickflix is an attractive acquisition target for Slice Wireless, which is seeking to leverage the foundations of the Quickflix business into a revamped global model based purely on digital distribution.

Quickflix’ plunging share price,(shares opened at 2.5 cents today) coupled with 20% stakeholder Destra’s desire to divest its stake, has put the company on the radar of a number parties seeking to seize the potential of a nascent IPTV strategy.

Lexicon Partners who are in the final stages of the strategic review of Destra, confirmed to Digital Media in May that Quickflix did not form part of the core vision of Destra moving forward and would consider any “attractive offers.”

Quickflix executive director Stephen Langsford, recently increased his own personal stake in the company to 16% via a series of on market share purchases and a recent rights issue. This time last year Quickflix stock was trading at 21 cents but suffered a relentless battering from the start of the year. The share price has been languishing since April, around the time of Destra’s collapse and the company’s failed attempt to raise $4.1 million in a rights issue, of which only $1.4 million was raised.

Langsford has been in discussions with various parties in regard to the potential placement of all or part of the shortfall shares. It is understood that as part of those discussions, a number of potential acquisition scenarios have emerged for a substantial stake in the company including one from News Ltd backed tech specialist investment outfit Netus, which is headed up by former PBL executive Daniel Petre. Langsford told Digital Media however that no offers had been put on the table.

“Its business as usual and we are talking to potential marketing, distribution and technology partners, but no offers have been made for a minority or larger stake,” he said.

Keeling however confirmed that Slice has issued Quickflix with a draft MoU outlining a global strategic relationship.

“I don’t think that Quicklflix see the global opportunity. The Quickflix model is flawed as it still relies f physical distribution (via the post ) of video content, digital distribution is the future. The Quickflix opportunity is to replace physical distribution with digital distribution, ” he said.

Keeling, along with co-founder Rick Correll, a former News Corp and Fox Sports executive, have created a solid mobile content distribution and delivery business in Europe following the acquisition of Oplayo – a content delivery and media hosting platform in 2006. “We started the business in 2004 knowing full well that it was a business for 2007 and beyond and when we acquired Oplayo we did it on the basis that we knew there would be at least 18 months -2 years ahead of us preparing the business for the digital distribution markets that would be emerging in 2008,” Keeling said.

Slice has a number of further acquisitions on its hit list including a pending $10 million content t acquisition deal in Finland.

While Slice has worked with local clients including the ABC for rich off deck content solutions and with local digital agencies such as Brand New Media, the lions share of their revenue is from Europe. Slice Wireless is backed by a number of parties including Nokia Ventures and Newport Capital which executed the Oplayo transaction. Keeling however has not lost sight of the emerging Australian opportunities and needs a video content supplier to develop his multi-platform distribution strategy.

“We would want them to expand their relationship with studios and other distribution outlets for content and we would seek to take those distribution opportunities to Europe with a distribution model that is substantially different from the one that they use in Australia.” Keeling added that taking the solution to the emerging European IPTV markets would allow Quickflix to get the experience and critical mass needed to understand digital distribution and then apply it to Australian market in a year or two, when the Australia consumer and its the countries infrastructure is ready.

“We have a number of acquisitions on the horizon that we are looking at, we like Quickflix but if we can’t get it we will find what we need elsewhere. If we can’t take a good Australian idea to Europe than we will take a good European idea and keep it there.”

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