Media & Entertainment Acquisitions in Massachusetts

Spectrum Networks, a division of Charter Communications, agreed to acquire substantially all assets of New England Cable News (NECN) from NECN and NBCUniversal. The deal will fold NECN into Spectrum News, expand Spectrum's regional footprint across New England, and consolidate NECN's distribution agreements under Spectrum News NECN based in Massachusetts.

CyberRisk Alliance (CRA) has acquired ChannelPro Network, a content and events business serving the SMB Managed Service Provider (MSP) community. The deal expands CRA's cybersecurity and channel-focused business intelligence portfolio by combining ChannelPro's audience, events, and content with CRA's existing brands and resources.

Boston-based comedy operator Improv Asylum (home to Laugh Boston) has merged with John Tobin Presents, integrating JTP’s operations and team into the Asylum family. John Tobin will serve as Vice President of the Stand-Up Comedy Division to lead booking, talent development, and venue expansion across New England.

LiveU has completed the acquisition of Actus Digital's business and technology; Actus Digital will operate as "Actus Digital, a LiveU Company" and remain an independent sister brand. The deal adds Actus Digital's intelligent monitoring, compliance logging and AI-enhanced content analytics to LiveU's live IP-video contribution and distribution portfolio, enabling an end-to-end offering across broadcast, sports, government and enterprise markets.

Semrush has acquired Third Door Media, the publisher behind Search Engine Land, SMX, MarTech and Digital Marketing Depot. The acquisition brings Third Door Media’s content, conferences and educational offerings into Semrush’s marketing SaaS ecosystem to expand resources, training and reach for digital marketers.

An affiliate of Partner One will acquire substantially all of SeaChange International’s product and services assets for a purchase price of $30 million, less SeaChange's cash and cash equivalents at closing. The asset sale is expected to close in SeaChange’s fiscal 2025 first quarter, subject to shareholder approvals, and SeaChange expects net proceeds of approximately $13–15 million while retaining its cash and NOLs.

Willistown Capital has made a strategic growth investment in High Output to support the company's continued expansion of event production, AV installations, and soundstage services. Additional financing participants included Spring Capital Partners, Merion Investment Partners and Penstock Equity; founders John Cini and Jim Hirsch will remain in leadership roles.

Marquee Brands has acquired a controlling majority stake in America's Test Kitchen (ATK), adding the culinary media company — including Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country — to its home and culinary portfolio. The founding shareholders and existing owners will remain investors in the business, and Marquee has appointed Dan Suratt as CEO to help grow ATK across media and commerce channels.

Arc, the B2B events, data and media platform backed by funds managed by EagleTree Capital, has acquired the events and media assets of HighQuest Group — including Global AgInvesting, Women in Agribusiness, Unconventional Ag and the Ag Club. The deal is Arc's first US-based acquisition and will expand its agriculture events and media footprint in North America; Canson Capital Partners served as financial adviser to Arc.

Blizzard Entertainment has acquired Boston-based game studio Proletariat to expand its development pipeline for World of Warcraft. Proletariat — a team of roughly 90 developers known for live-service and cross-platform titles like Spellbreak — will be integrated into Blizzard and help support future Warcraft content and hiring plans.

Endeavor Business Media has acquired Microgrid Knowledge, the online news and information site focused on microgrids and distributed energy resources, along with its Microgrid Conference series. The acquisition adds energy-focused editorial content and an events business to Endeavor’s portfolio, expanding its reach in the energy market and complementing existing energy brands such as T&D World and EnergyTech.

MarketCast has acquired Invoke, a real‑time online audience research and content testing platform used by major streaming services and broadcasters. The acquisition brings Invoke's product, technology, and research teams into MarketCast to expand its online entertainment audience testing and content screening capabilities for pre-release streaming and broadcast content.

Epic Games has acquired independent game studio Harmonix, the developer behind Rock Band and Dance Central, to integrate immersive music experiences into Fortnite and support Harmonix’s existing titles. The Harmonix team will collaborate with Epic to develop musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite as Epic advances its metaverse strategy.

Perkin Industries has acquired a majority stake in I Love My Dog So Much, LLC, a U.S.-based digital media company focused on dogs and pet owners. The acquisition expands Perkin's media portfolio and gives it access to I Love My Dog So Much's large audience and social reach for advertising and partnership opportunities.

RedBird Capital Partners has made a significant minority investment in Fenway Sports Group (FSG) at an enterprise valuation of $7.35 billion to support accelerated growth and strategic acquisitions across FSG’s sports, media and real estate platform. As part of the transaction, LeBron James, Maverick Carter and Paul Wachter exchange a previously held interest in Liverpool FC to join FSG’s ownership group; Sam Kennedy also converts long-term incentive interests into equity.

CORSAIR (NASDAQ:CRSR) has acquired Gamer Sensei, the esports coaching platform that connects gamers with professional coaches. Gamer Sensei will operate as a subsidiary brand within CORSAIR, expanding CORSAIR's gaming ecosystem and giving players access to coaching and training alongside CORSAIR's hardware and content-creation products.

Cinedigm has agreed to acquire The Film Detective, a classic film and television content distributor and operator of two FAST channels, adding roughly 3,000 titles and ~10,000 episodes to Cinedigm's streaming portfolio. The Film Detective will continue to operate under founder Philip Hopkins as a standalone brand while Cinedigm plans to expand distribution and launch additional genre channels leveraging its Matchpoint platform.

Innovation Women, a visibility bureau for entrepreneurial and professional women, has acquired Lioness for the Female Entrepreneur, an online publisher and events platform serving women entrepreneurs, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will combine Lioness's journalism, events and training offerings with Innovation Women’s platform to accelerate global expansion and broaden resources for female founders.

Legacy.com, the leading online obituary and memorialization provider, has acquired iPublish Media Solutions, a widely used self-serve advertising and obituary placement platform for U.S. newspapers. iPublish will operate independently under Legacy, expanding Legacy's self-serve publishing tools and simplifying obituary placement for publishers, funeral homes, and consumers.

CyberRisk Alliance, a PE-backed B2B media and events startup led by Doug Manoni, has acquired the InfoSec World Conference & Expo from MIS Training Institute in a carve-out divestiture. The acquisition transfers the event and its staff to CyberRisk Alliance as the new owner — a capability- and community-building move supported by Growth Catalyst Partners.

Elsevier has completed its acquisition of Aries Systems, a North Andover, Massachusetts-based provider of manuscript submission, peer review and publishing workflow solutions. The purchase brings Aries' Editorial Manager and ProduXion Manager offerings into Elsevier's portfolio to strengthen its content-plus-technology strategy for scientific and scholarly publishing.

Emerald Expositions Events, Inc. acquired a leading technology event and a group of complementary technology intelligence brands from EH Media for approximately $28 million in cash. The purchase includes brands such as Total Tech Summit, CEPro, Commercial Integrator, Security Sales & Integration, and Campus Safety, and brings EH Media's Framingham-based team into Emerald to strengthen Emerald's trade show and digital content capabilities.

Harbor Beach Capital, a lower-middle-market private equity firm, has acquired AVFX LLC, an event technology and audio-visual production company headquartered in the Boston area. The deal provides founder succession while positioning AVFX for national growth and expansion under Harbor Beach’s ownership, with existing management (President Steve Halling) remaining in leadership.

4Wall Entertainment has acquired the assets of Boston-based Advanced Lighting & Production Services (ALPS) and will rebrand ALPS' Canton facility as 4Wall Boston. 4Wall will retain ALPS' staff (with founder Steven Way as General Manager and Dan Clawson as Director of Events) and use the 40,000 sq. ft. site to expand its theatrical and corporate event rental, sales, and systems-integration capabilities on the U.S. East Coast.

Cambridge Innovation Institute (CII) acquired Westborough, Massachusetts–based Trends Equity, Inc., including the AI World Conference & Expo and the AI Trends publication. The deal expands CII’s events and publishing portfolio into enterprise AI and enables rapid vertical expansion into markets such as healthcare, finance and manufacturing.

Big Bus Tours has acquired Boston-based Smart Destinations, the producer of the Go City Card multi-attraction passes. The acquisition will let Smart Destinations leverage Big Bus' international footprint to launch Go City Card passes in additional destinations while making Big Bus the primary bus tour provider for the passes where both operate.

Verizon Digital Media Services has entered an agreement to acquire Volicon, a provider of video capture, archival, compliance monitoring and clip-creation workflows for broadcasters. The acquisition expands Verizon Digital Media Services' video lifecycle capabilities and brings Volicon's technology and customer relationships into Verizon's OTT and online video delivery offerings.

Sandbox Partners has acquired the Family Education Network (FEN), an edutainment digital network that includes properties such as Poptropica, Funbrain and FamilyEducation, from Pearson. The acquisition positions Sandbox to scale FEN's children's learning and entertainment brands internationally and expand reach to parents, teachers and students across new markets.

USA TODAY (owned by Gannett Co., Inc.) has acquired Reviewed.com, a network of product-review websites that provide lab-tested reviews of consumer electronics. Reviewed.com will remain based in Boston with current management staying in place; terms were not disclosed.