As a result of a cross-distribution deal inked last week, Pure Play Media is now the exclusive North American distributor for Private Media Group. Conversely, Private will soon become the exclusive European distributor for Pure Play’s catalog.
“It’s a really, really, great dynamic deal because we feel that we bring a very strong North American presence into the deal and they bring a very strong European presence,” Richard Arnold, CEO of Pure Play, told AVN.com.
Private North America, which launched in March of 2001 as Private’s North American toehold, has been effectively shut down, although some employees will transfer to Pure Play’s Chatsworth sales office and warehouse.
“We’re trying to hire as many people as we can. We want to keep the operation as intact as we can,” Arnold said.
Arnold was the former president of Private North America, but his relationship with the European porn company dates back to Private Film #9, the first title Arnold distributed for them in Canada, where he held the exclusive distribution rights for the company.
“I’ve had a long relationship with them and know their people inside and out. When my presidency ended and I went out to do something on my own, I always maintained my relationship with them,” Arnold said. “We work well together, and that’s the good part about it. I know how they operate and they know how I operate.”
Pure Play took over the Sun Valley warehouse of Private North America this morning, with plans to shut it down once all relevant assets have been transferred.
Pure Play will honor the terms of its existing European distribution deals until their terms expire, at which point Private Media Group will assume control of Pure Play’s European distribution.
Sieg Badke, Pure Play president and partner, was thrilled to add titles from Private Media Group alongside the catalogs of the other studios distributed by Pure Play: Ninn Worx, Seymore Butts, Score, Suze Randall, Simon Wolf and Erotic Media.
“The deal ultimately doubles the size of our company,” Badke said. “This puts our catalog at almost 1,000 titles. Not bad for a start-up that’s been around for two years.”
The deal, signed on September 30, is already in effect, and Pure Play expects to begin distributing Private’s titles within a week or two.
Arnold estimates that it may take up to six months for all aspects of the Private deal to be totally in place, and doesn’t anticipate any other additions to the Pure Play distribution network during that time – though growth is still in Pure Play’s future.
“As long as we can add studios and lines that don’t compete against each other, there should be no end to our growth,” Arnold said. “There are lots of areas for us to grow still – one very big area that we haven’t touched yet is the gay market – and that’s a market we want to get into in a big way. Immediately, our growth is going to stop because this deal will take us a while to absorb.”
Distributors seeking more information on Private Media Group titles or any titles distributed by Pure Play should contact Drew Dixon at (818) 717-5355.
