Social TV consolidates: Viggle to acquire GetGlue for $25M & 48M shares

TV loyalty service Viggle has agreed to acquire social TV app GetGlue for $25 million and 48.3 million shares in stock, the companies announced today.

“With this deal, we are combining very experienced and creative product, engineering, and management teams that will continue to build great user experiences and provide industry leading platforms for consumers, networks, and advertisers,” Viggle CEO Robert Sillerman said in a statement. “We will also be vastly increasing the Viggle user base and quadrupling our network partnerships.

New York City-based GetGlue was founded in 2007 and lets its 3.2 million registered users “check-in” to TV shows or movies they are watching and stay better connected to their favorite programs. Viggle, which was only launched in January, lets users get rewards like iTunes and Amazon credit for watching TV programs. Viggle has 1.2 million registered users.

GetGlue’s 34 employees will be brought over to Viggle, including GetGlue CEO Alex Iskold, who will take a senior executive position and a slot on Viggle’s board of directors.

“GetGlue has built a social TV product that people love, and Viggle has become their favorite loyalty program for TV,” Iskold said in a statement. “Together we are positioned to deliver the next generation second screen experiences that delight and benefit users, networks, and major brands.”

GetGlue previously raised $24 million in funding from investors including Union Square Ventures and Rho Capital Partners, so this deal isn’t much of an exit. But there’s also the matter of the 48.3 million shares, which could have pushed the deal over the edge. Investors and Iskold may have simply found that consolidating teams and users of Viggle and GetGlue made the most sense to keep GetGlue growing.

Couple watching TV with tablet photo via Goodluz/Shutterstock