Acquisition aimed at driving monetisation via multi-platform digital and social media platforms
Bell Media-owned distributor Sphere Abacus has taken full ownership of Matthew Frank’s sales outfit, Rocket Rights/Rights Booster.
The company will be rebranded as Rocket Booster under the Sphere Abacus umbrella and will lead multi-platform and social media distribution of Sphere Abacus and Rocket Booster catalogues.
Traditional TV and licensing from both companies will be handled by the Sphere Abacus sales team.
Former chief operating officer Cat Davie is now MD of Rocket Booster, with founder and former chief exec Matthew Frank becoming executive director. Both report into Sphere Abacus MD, Jonathan Ford.
Bruno Dubé, chief executive at Sphere Media, said: “We are pleased that through this deal, Sphere Abacus are not only adding talent and a content catalogue, but also expanding the capability for distributing existing content with the arrival of Rocket Booster.”
Ford described the deal as a “significant move.. in the development of Sphere Abacus and highlights our ambition to further penetrate the global digital market.”
He added: “We are extremely pleased to be able to harness the experience and multiple relationships that Matthew and Cat have in the digital space and to build on our success in this crucial part of the business.”
The move underlines growing consolidation in distribution, with Canada’s Bell media acquiring Sphere Abacus in 2025. The company also agreed in June a content deal with Banijay Entertainment’s Little Dot Studios, which licensed 150 hours of long-form to the Bell-owned company.
As part of that deal, Sphere Abacus appointed Little Dot as its official agent for digital copyright management across global social and video platforms, to protect, manage and optimise the value of its IP across YouTube and Facebook.
Rights Booster, meanwhile, was launched in 2018 and has supply contracts with over 50 VOD and FAST platforms.
It has struck numerous deals with rights holders around the world, including in the UK where last month it partnered with Argonon label Windfall Films to monetise shows such as Big, Bigger, Biggest (5/Nat Geo), Inside Nature’s Giants (Channel 4) and Generals at War (Nat Geo).
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