As part of their partnership agreement, Atlas Digital and Runway, Inc. will share resources, research and development, and partner on new opportunities, but will continue to separately focus on their proven genres and existing relationships. The combined resources of the companies encompass approximately 1,200 editing systems and along with Runway’s sister company, The Post Group, the expanded real estate footprint covers 530 editing rooms in Santa Monica, Hollywood, Universal City and Burbank.
Additionally, the recent acquisition of four new buildings in Burbank and Sherman Oaks will add over 125 more editing rooms by mid-2019. The development of these new and more powerful opportunities all come back to the concept of “one-stop shopping”, which has been an underlying principle for Atlas Digital since day one.
“This partnership with Runway, much like our previous partnership with Wild Woods, allows all of the companies to diversify their offerings and serve all of our clients better,” said Dan Warner, COO at Atlas Digital. “The advantages of this model is that customers don’t have to worry about coordination between vendors and can realize cost-savings across the board because the whole process from production to delivery is more efficient.
It’s a difference that numerous creative professionals will benefit from, as producers of any type of content will benefit from this partnership. The collective experience of the stakeholders involved spans all different types of production from corporate video to features. The companies are not looking to specifically develop a certain type of media and they’ll continue offering value to their current clients while also supporting them while they continue to develop new content.
The companies will look to create a best-of-both-worlds situation, as they’ll continue to build on their unique niches but also grow together to offer their clients everything they need to stay ahead of industry changes. Given that such partnerships can enable these benefits without the downside of a traditional merger or acquisition, should we expect to see more of these types of partnerships in 2019?
“Consolidation in our industry has been ramping up over the past few years,” Warner told ProVideo Coalition. “I think everyone sees the value in building a diverse company that can serve clients in more ways than one – and that’s what we’ve done through this partnership.”
Whether or not this partnership is a sign of things to come in media and entertainment remains to be seen, but any endeavor to simplify what it means for a project to go from production to delivery is one that will resonate with creative professionals of all sizes.