SnagFilms, an independent film-distribution startup, has secured a new $7 million round of funding, the company announced today.
SnagFilms has the distribution rights to over 3,000 indie movies and documentaries including “Casino Jack,” “Super Size Me,” “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” and many others. SnagFilms allows bloggers to embed video of its movie library and runs advertising spots to generate its revenue. More recently, the company has made select films available for OnDemand rental through Amazon, iTunes, Comcast, YouTube Movies and others. The company also forged agreements to stream its library of content through Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Comcast’s Xfinity TV service.
The new funding will go towards growing its ability to distribute those films online. The company seems less interested in emphasizing that people can watch and embed films on its own website, and far more focused on generating revenue for the independent film makers that use the startup to distribute their work. There is certainly no shortage of indie films getting produced, but the number of ways these films have to generate money through online distribution is fairly limited unless partnering with a company like SnagFilms.
Founded in 2008, the Virginia-based company previously raised a $10 million round last year from SnagFilms founder Ted Leonsis, Case Foundation Ventures, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, New Enterprise Associates, and Comcast Interactive Capital. The new round of funding includes previous investors as well as Terry Semel and David Fialkow. SnagFilms has raise a total of $18 million in funding to date.
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