NEW YORK — EuroMedia announced the formation of a new gay multimedia company called Media Partners, LLC, the umbrella brand for what was once the EuroMedia group of properties.
The new company now includes EuroMedia Distribution (EMD), CockyBoys.com/CockyBoys DVD, BigBling.com, Studmall.com, BennyMorecock.com, INeedGayPornBlog.com, StudMuffinBlog.com, and the Maleserve VOD platform.
EuroMedia Distribution was formed in 2006 as a fully gay-owned and operated DVD distribution company born out of the London-based Eurocreme Group. The company said in a few short years, EuroMedia has become the largest gay-owned and operated DVD distribution company in the industry, distributing leading brands such as Eurocreme, BelAmi/Lukas Ridgeston, CockyBoys, Cobra Video, Joe Gage, Ray Dragon Media and more.
In 2010, EuroMedia expanded their business from DVD distribution into the online space by acquiring the popular gay adult brand and paysite CockyBoys.com and its affiliate program BigBling.com. At the time of acquisition, EuroMedia was already the global distributor of the CockyBoys DVD line.
This acquisition precipitated a major expansion for EuroMedia into both the online and production sides of the industry.
EuroMedia said that since the successful development and redesign of CockyBoys.com, the site has signed 10 exclusive models and has more than tripled its membership base, with production teams working in New York, Montreal and Los Angeles.
"The tremendous success of CockyBoys has caused us to shift our focus to American-made content. We are grateful the site has become so popular, and we feel a strong obligation to our membership and affiliates to continue delivering and improving on our high-quality content," said CockyBoys creative director Benny Morecock. "Beyond CockyBoys, we have exciting plans in the coming months to launch new content sites via our affiliate program, Big Bling."
"Our decision to drop the 'Euro' from our name and create a new business entity is due in part to the expansion of our business into sectors reaching beyond DVD, but is also a reflection of the direction to which the company's business has been headed,” said Media Partners director of development Hugo Harley.
He added, “ For the last two years, sales of European product have been declining, due to a flood of product from the EU and a lack of American-produced content. The one exception is the BelAmi/Lukas Ridgeston brand, a brand originating in Europe that manages to transcend geographical categorization; it is arguably the biggest-selling all-male global DVD line today. We were instrumental in helping the studio create and market several blockbusters over the past two years, with 'Taboo' and 'More Than You Can Handle' selling over 10,000 copies each.
"We have seen increased sales and demand for US based product, so that is where we plan to put the bulk of our efforts: both in terms of production and distribution."
Other lines that have been created or distributed by EMD over the past years include Benny Morecock Presents, whose first release, "Ride My Disco Stick," was the No. 1 best seller on TLA for 14 consecutive weeks. The Joe Gage/Ray Dragon title "Dad Takes A Fishing Trip" was also a major hit. In addition, the newly revamped Cobra Video line continues to be a strong seller.
The company noted that it will continue expansion into 2012.
In addition to its in-house DVD lines including CockyBoys, Benny Morecock Presents, Bareback Inc and Used & Abused, Media Partners recently purchased eBoys Studios and Deviant Boys catalog, whose product features non-condom and fetish content. It will also launch a new DVD line with this eBoys content that will be priced to compete in the new DVD marketplace.
