Dont Tell NetflixDont Tell Netflix

By George Robbins

While most businesses this past year have been negatively affected in some way by this pandemic, but not every business out there has been dealing with the same issue. Some companies are better off now than they were at the start of the year and this is something that sets them apart from other companies which have been forced to deal with this year as a whole. Not every opportunity that is available is one that can be obtained by just any company, but it can be obtained by companies which have put in that little bit of extra effort which allows them to go through with these deals. Many businesses this past year have dealt with the pandemic in varying ways which would allow them to continue thriving, or at the very least surviving, going into the next year. We will be seeing those businesses and their plans going forward becoming a bigger forefront as time goes on in the next few months and the businesses which survived will really be showing off what they’ve done.

When this year began, no one was aware of just what would really end up happening just a few months into the start of the year and this resulted in a lot of unprepared folks after the pandemic began. This, in the end, resulted in a nosedive in the economy which would end up driving a lot of businesses to try and fix the broken system that was immediately put into place. The new economy created by the pandemic caused countless businesses in all aspects of the economy to have to find a way to keep themselves alive moving forward. Just because the pandemic was a catalyst for a lot of what was happening in the economy does not mean that there was not some kind of effort being put in by the various business owners over the months. This is why we will be seeing companies, small and large, continue to actually thrive going into the new year based upon how they handled the situation.

Among the companies to come out on top over this past year is one Invincible Entertainment Partners, an independent production and distribution company. What they have managed to succeed with this past year is the expansion of various types of content and the merging/acquisition of one Business Rockstars, a producer of video programming featuring CEOs and entrepreneurs. The acquisition was one that saw Invincible acquiring the company for $20 million in stock which was achieved after Thom Beers and Steve Lehman, both longtime media executives and principal partners of Business Rockstars, sold the company to Invincible. With the acquisition in place, they not only sold the company to Invincible, but will also join the company as part of Invincible’s board in an effort to expand on the groundwork already put in place.

Beers is an Emmy-winning producer who was formerly Chairman/CEO for FremantleMedia North America and was founder/CEO of Original Productions which is known for the production of shows like ‘Deadliest Catch,’ ‘Ice Road Truckers,’ and ‘Storage Wars.’ Lehman was the founder/CEO of Premiere Networks which is now owned by iHeartMedia and was, on top of this, a first-round investor in the Mark Cuban-led Broadcast.com. Both men are known for their work in entertainment media and it is only going to further work out for the overall transaction that the two men are still major parts of the company moving forward. Invincible Entertainment founder and CEO Tom Ashley said he wants to grow Business Rockstars’ audience and turn it into a “better entrepreneurial Cheddar.” This move is set to certainly set up both companies, now under one flag, for a better future overall as they will be able to better hold one another up moving forward.

Ashley has said that the content produced by Business Rockstars is not just any kind of business content and it is more like “an entrepreneurial masterclass.” Instead of what people would normally expect from the business and financial news one may see on everyday cable television, Business Rockstars produces content geared more towards giving entrepreneurs ideas as to how they could enter an industry and how to possibly get ahead in that industry. More than just giving people advice about an industry, it gives tips and tricks for all types of entrepreneurs that may want to better themselves or maybe just want to improve themselves in the work they are already doing. It is a type of programming that many people could actually use in their everyday lives especially with the way the economy is now going into this new year. People could most certainly use the tips and tricks given to them within Business Rockstars’ content to help them get ahead now that everything is beginning to go downhill for businesses everywhere.

Whether it be to help businesses along which are now struggling or to help entrepreneurs who want to get their start going into a year where businesses are going to be needed more than ever, Business Rockstars has content to help. Ashley has said that the next goal in mind after the acquisition is to work on the expansion of distribution which would allow more of BR’s content to reach out to further extended communities which may need the content. This is the current plan of action, whereas the next phase of the plan is to “create more original programming to expand on what we already have” which would help keep everything up to date for the most modern form of entrepreneur. Rockstars currently produces 12 shows and its programming airs in 43 million TV households and it has managed to produce interviews with more than 3,000 CEOs, entrepreneurs and other business leaders according to Mr. Lehman. Since its inception in 2012, this is just some of what Rockstars has managed to achieve and this seems to just be the start of things.

When it really first began, Business Rockstars was just a two-hour long radio show where Beers and Lehman would usually use the time to try and find interesting new businesses to invest in. When it comes to the acquisition by Invincible, Lehman has said, “We thought this would be a great strategic alignment for Business Rockstars. I’ve come to have a lot of respect for Invincible. Tom is on the forefront of the change we’ve all been seeing.” Beers further added to this by stating, “I’m really looking forward to working with the Invincible team. They are incredibly well versed in OTT and alternative distribution platforms, and well-positioned to succeed in this new media world.” The Philadelphia-based Invincible Entertainment manages approximately 5000 assets which is makes available through various online avenues like its free, ad-supported streaming TV networks including Galxy TV, FrightFlix, Watch It Kid, Watch It Scream, Cinepride, Dungeon TV, Ski TV, Screen Dreams and El Conflicto.

This is surely a huge change for these two companies, but it is sure to produce huge results especially since the two companies are still maintaining their employees. With the work of all parties involved, this upcoming year is poised to be a transformative year the likes of which could help define how the company turns out over the coming years. Without a doubt in anyone’s minds there is a lot of work to be done in order to make sure that there is more of a presence from this company in the coming year, but it is definitely bound to be interesting. They are just one of the many companies taking a previously terrible year for the world and the economy and turning what comes next into a magnificent chance of a future. They, like every other company out there, is doing what they can to not only survive, but also thrive in a world where much of what is happening is actually harming many businesses out there. This is something that many other companies should take notice of to see if they can’t also find a way to expand and move forward.