Corus Entertainment Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Stingray Digital Group Inc. to sell certain assets such as trademarks, websites, domain names, hardware, software licences etc. related to its pay audio service known as Max Trax. Corus will also provide short-term operational and consulting services to Stingray as they expand their pay audio service business. Stingray secured a licence to operate a national pay audio programming undertaking from the CRTC in December of last year.
The total value of the transaction will be approximately $16 million CDN.
“To ensure our focus remains on driving our core business, we have made the strategic decision to discontinue the operation of Max Trax,” said Paul Robertson, President, Television, Corus Entertainment. “Stingray Digital is a pioneer in the digital music service business and we are confident that they have the expertise to enhance the pay audio offering. We have agreed to provide services to Stingray in the short-term to ensure a smooth transition for listeners.”
Corus Entertainment will exit the pay audio service business while Stingray starts to provide its own improved service to BDU partners, which will result in no interruption in pay audio service to consumers.
“This is a strategic agreement that will reinforce Stingray’s position as the premier provider of digital music services,” said Eric Boyko, President of Stingray Digital. “This agreement will allow us to extend the breadth of our portfolio of products and services and continue to offer the highest quality and most diverse offering to our subscribers and our distribution partners.”