Hogan Lovells advises Roku, Inc on acquisition of Quibi's Global Content Distribution Rights
Washington D.C. and Denver, 08 January 2021 – Global law firm Hogan Lovells is advising Roku, Inc. on its acquisition of exclusive global distribution rights to Quibi’s award-winning shows, a transaction that will make the content available for free on an ad-supported basis in 2021 to all Roku users.
The Quibi content includes Emmy award-winning scripted series, alternative and reality programming and documentaries featuring stars such as Idris Elba, Kevin Hart, Liam Hemsworth, Anna Kendrick, Nicole Richie, Chrissy Teigen, and Lena Waithe. The Roku Channel is the home for free and premium news and entertainment and in Q4 2020 reached U.S. households with an estimated 61.8 million people.
The transaction will deliver a distinctive array of premium content geared towards the highly coveted 18-35 age demographic, further building out The Roku Channel’s diverse lineup of more than 40,000 free movies and programs and 150 free live linear television channels. Following an internal restructuring by Quibi, Roku acquired Quibi Holdings, LLC, the company that holds all of Quibi’s content distribution rights. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The Hogan Lovells team advising Roku, Inc. includes M&A partner Matthew Eisler (Denver) with key support from M&A partner Sheri Jeffrey (Los Angeles), senior counsel Niki Tuttle (Denver), senior associate Annie Kang (Los Angeles), and associate Samantha Leigh Seiden (Los Angeles), tax partner Mark Weinstein (New York), IP partner David London (Denver) and associate Christian Kerr (Denver), employment partners Mike DeLarco (New York) and Carin Carithers (Washington D.C.), and associate Maria Benvenuto (New York), privacy and cybersecurity partner Scott Loughlin (Washington, D.C.) and senior associate Mohammad Amer (Washington, D.C.), real estate partner Lea Ann Fowler (Denver) and senior associate Ted Brown (Denver), environmental and natural resources partner Scott Reisch (Denver) and senior associate Marta Orpiszewska (Denver), M&A attorney Julie Roach (Los Angeles), and IPMT litigation partner Clay James (Denver), senior associate Lisa Dong (Denver) and associate Rachael Collins (Denver).
The full release can be accessed here.