Getty buys Mediavast

by Jon Mitchell

Getty Images is seemingly shopping for images again and has bought Mediavast for US$200m. Mediavast are the owners of WireImage, FilmMagic and ContourPhotos.

"The demand for entertainment, event and celebrity imagery is growing exponentially, and Getty Images has determined that there are great growth opportunities in the category," said Jonathan Klein, co-founder and CEO of Getty Images.

"A key focus for us in the last several years has been to grow our editorial imagery business, particularly in international markets. The proposed acquisition of WireImage will enable us to develop new products and services, including podcasts, editorial video, multimedia, mobile, consumer offerings and exclusive imagery. We are confident that the proposed acquisition will help us expand our global entertainment and celebrity imagery business, allowing us to satisfy growing customer demand in the US and abroad."

And according to some web sites, Jupiter Images confirmed they are talking with Getty Images for another aquisition, further extending Getty's market share.

Mediavast specialise in celebrity images and it will strengthen Getty's coverage in this area.

"We are very excited to be joining Getty Images," said Jason Nevader, co-founder and CEO of Mediavast.

"Under the Getty Images umbrella our customers will be able to take advantage of Getty Images' global, localized e-commerce platform. Getty Images' breadth of products and services, including their vast archival collections, will give our customers more choice and richer, more accessible content."

WireImage's portfolio includes an online archive of over 8.5 million images. The company has about 230 employees and offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Las Vegas, London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Madrid, and Amsterdam.