Shutterstock acquired Splash News, international lead entertainment news network
Shutterstock, the leading global creative platform for transformative brands and media companies, today announced the acquisition of Splash News, one of the world’s leading entertainment news networks for newsrooms and media companies. A leading source for image and video content across celebrity, red carpet and live events for over three decades, Splash News is an industry leader with customers including E! News, People, Daily Mail, TMZ, Dow Jones, Reach and News UK. Splash’s comprehensive collection includes an archive of over 27 million images, and a contributor network of more than 4,000 photographers.
This acquisition solidifies Shutterstock Editorial’s Newsroom offering as the premium destination for its global customers for unparalleled access to premium exclusive content. The Newsroom will now host an archive of over 30 million images, with a live feed of 40,000 images uploaded per day from a network of over 4,000 photographers. This is combined with The Vault, Shutterstock’s archive of over 60 million photo and video assets, making it one of the largest archival collections in the world. Contributors will now have their work showcased to Shutterstock’s millions of customers worldwide. Additionally, the Splash platform is an easy-to-use tool for contributors to engage with, providing transparency and enhancing speed to market within a complete end-to-end experience.
Splash’s vast collection provides a chronicle of some of the most iconic moments from the last three decades – from images of George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin’s 2014 wedding in Venice, to photographs of “Bennifer” from when they dated in 2002. A thriving archive of over 27 million images joins Shutterstock Editorial’s archive of over 60 million assets, making this one of the largest Editorial photo and video archives in the industry. This is combined with white glove service from a team of market experts to package key trending stories, archival and UGC content, to help our global clients tell the story behind the story.
Since its inception in 1990, Splash has built strong brand recognition and trust within the entertainment industry. Over more than three decades, Splash has developed a loyal, expanding contributor network of over 4,000 photographers around the world, who upload over 20,000 assets each day. This is combined with over 20,000 images uploaded each day across Shutterstock Editorial.
“Splash has been revered for decades as the best in the business for premium celebrity and entertainment content, and with this acquisition, Shutterstock will own the entertainment category,” said Jamie Elden, Chief Revenue Officer at Shutterstock. “The addition of Splash to The Newsroom will provide our global customers with an unrivaled experience through our unique concierge service, our comprehensive coverage of events, and one of the largest archive collections in the world.”
“Splash is an established and respected brand that has showcased some of the most significant pop culture moments, and we’re thrilled to welcome them to the Shutterstock family,” said Candice Murray, Vice President of Editorial at Shutterstock. “The fusion of Splash, a respected legacy brand, and the Shutterstock Newsroom, an elevated premium service offering, will allow us to scale our entertainment vertical. With this union, we are positioning Shutterstock as the market leader for entertainment, providing our global customer base with best in class editorial content.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.