The Vauxhall-based company has bought 100% of Red Fig's shares from owner Tamares in a deal which sees Tamares become a minority shareholder in Enteraction.
Red Fig chief executive Mark Rowland will relinquish his role as head of the company but will become a director at Enteraction. He also takes a new role at Tamares as managing director of its newly launched investment company, Tamares Media.
The move will help Enteraction in its bid to grow interactive revenues. Audience recognition services and 3G will be an area of focus. Rowland said; 'Advertisers want to control their output and gather information on their audience. With 3G you can extend service across more platforms. Red Fig has been working on both of these.'
Rowland was appointed to spearhead Red Fig's inter-national ambitions by Tamares last June, notably securing the contract to provide phone, SMS, online and red-button voting services on one of the most watched of global events, Miss World 2004. It was the first time that the event was judged by audience voting. Red Fig has also provided interactive applications on ITV's I'm a Celebrity? Get Me out of Here!and BBC's Great Britons.
Enteraction TV is heavily involved with advertiser-funded programming, which ties in with Rowland's background as former managing director of the international division of The Television Corporation, where he was responsible for Gillette World of Sport. Red Fig will continue to work with other companies. Rowland admitted that 'the identities may fuse but for the moment it's business as usual'.
Red Fig's 25 staff will relocate from W1 to Enteraction TV's Vauxhall HQ over 'the next few months'. Rowland will continue his international format consultancy, Indie TV Ltd.
No comments yet