Sky and Channel 4 have contributed to a new financing round for The RightsXchange Limite (TRX). The financing round is expected to raise up to £5.2 million.
TRX is a new global online deal-making tool that enables TV rights buyers and sellers from around the world to connect and complete licensing deals entirely online. It enables distributors to reach buyers in new international markets, who in turn gain access to British, American and other TV rights that would previously have been difficult to secure.
After a soft launch in Asia last month TRX already has access to 5,000 hours of programming from key UK and US distributors and rights holders such as Sky Vision, Discovery Communications, All3Media International, Hat Trick International and Sesame Workshop.
Sky and Channel 4 will each take an undisclosed minority stake in Dial Square 86 Limited, which was established in 2014 by former RDF Media founders and Zodiak Media executives, David and Matthew Frank.
David Frank, CEO Dial Square 86 Limited and Chairman TRX said: “We are absolutely delighted that two of the UK’s leading content players with such reputations for innovation and excellence have decided to back what we are doing. There is real momentum behind TRX now and we’re excited about launching a truly global product that can make programme distribution faster and easier while opening up the TV rights market to previously disenfranchised buyers and delivering extra value to rights holders.”
TRX aggregates rights from multiple rights holders in one place making it easier for buyers to find the right programmes for their audiences and make offers to acquire programmes. TRX also provides a suite of enterprise tools which allows sales, legal and delivery teams to collaborate on and manage complicated deals.