IDT Internet Mobile Group (IMG), a division of IDT Corp., has acquired a controlling interest in IDW Publishing, a leading independent comics publisher that boasts such movie and TV tie-in titles as The Transformers, 30 Days of Night, CSI, Star Trek, 24 and Scarface. IMG has also formed Zedge Studios to develop and license digital content for distribution through web and mobile platforms.
IMG and Zedge Studios are being headed by CEO Moshe Berger, who previously served as CEO of IDT Ent. before it was sold to Liberty Media in 2006 and renamed Starz Media. ‘We have seen the explosion of digital content, especially user-generated content, over a variety of platforms,’ says Berger. ‘Our intention is for Zedge Studios to become the worldwide destination for content on the web and on mobile devices. IDW Publishing’s stellar reputation in the comics and graphic novel arenas and its emphasis on original intellectual properties in the action and horror genres are a perfect fit for Zedge Studios.’
IDW Publishing has been named Publisher of the Year by Diamond Comic Distributors for the previous three years. Evil Dead and Spider-Man director Sam Raimi, through his Ghost House Pictures, optioned the rights to 30 Days of Night and is producing the live-action feature film adaptation of the comic, created by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith. The film stars Josh Hartnett and will be released by Columbia Pictures this October.
IDT announced its acquisition of popular social networking community Zedge.net in December of 2006. Zedge Studios will capitalize and build upon the site’s loyal user base by developing, acquiring and financing intellectual property for distribution over multiple channels. Zedge.net allows visitors to generate, upload, download or view and share wallpaper, themes, videos, ringtones, games and other free mobile content. To date, more than 250 million pieces of content have been downloaded from the site, according to IDT.
