In a groundbreaking move, Titan Media's parent company Io Group, Inc., has signed a European pay-per-view distribution licensing agreement with Arrivo on Demand, a subsidiary of UGC Europe. Titan titles will soon be distributed to over 12 million European Union (EU) homes through cable-pay-per-view and near video on demand services. This is the largest direct-to-consumer distribution deal for gay adult content to date.
An on-demand TV unit of UGC Division Chellomedia, Arrivo on Demand offers end-to-end delivery of pay-per-view, video on demand, and near video on demand services to UPC Broadband and other networks across Europe.
In a press release issued last week, Io vice president of marketing Keith Webb said, "We are proud to be leading the gay adult industry into a new era of acceptance and global distribution, breaking into the mainstream of commercial distribution. This historic agreement will provide our content to millions of EU customers in the comfort and privacy of their homes, and signifies the acceptance of our products by a mainstream audience."
Reached by phone on Tuesday, Webb added, "This puts us, in terms of the gay market, in the same league as VCA in the straight market. It puts us at the head of the gay part of the industry as the leaders with new technology in crossing over to a mainstream market."
Famed Titan director Bruce Cam, president and CEO of Io, said the move shows "a clear change in the attitudes and acceptance" of gay adult content in the mainstream marketplace. "Titan's high quality productions have set us apart from the very beginning, and I am proud that Arrivo on Demand chose Titan Media products to usher in this new era of mainstreaming gay adult content in the EU," Cam said.
In addition to its distribution deal with Arrivo, Titan has announced plans to expand its services to develop online digital distribution channels, a new EU-based distribution center, and new brands later this year.
Webb told AVN.com that he hopes the deal will signal a new trend in the American distribution of gay adult content. "I think the EU is ahead of the U.S. in a lot of ways, in terms of acceptance of the content," Webb said. "We've talked with U.S. distributors, but they all want to edit and water it down, but that is something that we have not agreed to. I hope this deal will begin to change that."
