MCNs (or, more accurately MPNs these days) have been getting a bad rap this past week as a result of reports surfacing that Maker Studios' "earn-out" from its M&A mega-deal with Disney will be less than the maximum $450 million (and apparently closer to 1/2 that) -- which still gives Maker execs and investors a nice little $700+ million "win." Not bad.
The "haters," however, are using this news as Exhibit A in their case slamming the value of MCNs/MPNs -- and slamming what they say are inappropriately lofty valuations to date for relevant acquisitions (which include Otter Media/Ellation's acquisition of Fullscreen for up to $300 million, RTL Entertainment's acquisition of StyleHaul which valued the company at up to $200 million, and ProSieben's recent acquisition of Collective Digital Studio which valued the overall package at about $240 million).
But, as a person closely immersed in the overall video ecosystem who has access to numerous "insiders," I strongly disagree. Believe they are completely missing the fundamental point (and justification for those deals). And remain bullish. Very.
[Click here to read my entire article/analysis in Variety ....]