At the core of the agreement was a mutual respect and admiration for the accomplishments and integrity of each company, according to Keith Webb, vice president of sales and marketing for Titan Media.
“We trust them implicitly,” Webb told XBiz. “They’re a great team and very professional.”
The agreement, which was three years in the making, allows Titan to take advantage of the Maleflixxx video-on-demand distribution model. The first title to premiere via the Maleflixxx distribution network will be “110 Degrees in Tucson,” directed by industry veteran Joe Gage.
Access to Titan content further solidifies Maleflixxx, the flagship of the Sureflix Digital Distribution, as the world’s largest operator of gay pay-per-view VOD websites.
“We have worked hard over the years to create a network and a user experience that is second to none,” Eric Johnson, owner and operator of Maleflixxx, said. “The addition of Titan Media’s lines of videos will make our network a one-stop-shop for gay men.”
The deal also allows Maleflixxx to retain exclusive distribution rights to the MSR video catalogue, which Titan purchased from MSR Videos late last year. However, the deal does not include distributing Titan content on Maleflixxx Television, the company’s gay erotic channel in Canada. Both companies are discussing that possibility for the future.
In addition to the economic advantages of the VOD model, both companies view the deal as a way to promote safer sex in the gay adult industry. According to Webb, joining forces with a strong player like Maleflixxx allows content producers who insist on safer sex to thrive.
“Titan won’t license to distributors that also do business with companies that promote unsafe sex. By partnering with Maleflixxx, we send a strong message that if you want the good stuff, you need to promote safer sex.”
The deal also adds punch to both companies’ anti-piracy efforts. Titan, which sent out nearly 500,000 cease-and-desist letters last year and employs an in-house attorney full-time to fight piracy, expects that the VOD option will give those users who want to do the right thing a chance to pay for content legally.
“Obviously some people will always steal, but by giving users a place and legal method to buy our product, we encourage people to do the right thing. We’ve found that a portion of those people who steal our content are willing to purchase it; video-on-demand helps us direct those users to the proper channels,” Webb said.