Tribune Company To Acquire Gracenote

CHICAGO, Dec. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Tribune Company today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Sony Corporation of America to purchase Gracenote, the global leader in music technology and metadata.  Gracenote is the largest source of music data in the world, featuring metadata for more than 180 million tracks, which helps power more than a billion smart phones and tablets, as well as the world's most popular streaming music services.

Tribune Company will combine Gracenote with Tribune Media Services (TMS), the premier provider of television and movie metadata, creating one of the largest entertainment metadata companies in the world.

"This transaction extends and complements TMS' best-in-class core competency in the metadata business, while also deepening Tribune's slate of subscription services," said Peter Liguori, Tribune Company President and Chief Executive Officer.

TMS has been the gold standard for collecting and syndicating entertainment data for years and currently reaches hundreds of millions of viewers through electronic streams of information on TV, online and in print.

Gracenote is the industry standard for music recognition technology and its database gets 550 million look-ups each day and more than 16 billion every month, making it the most trafficked music data source on the planet. Gracenote technology is featured in thousands of mobile apps and 50 million cars have been equipped with Gracenote. The company also provides data and information for one million movies and TV shows to 30 countries and holds over 90 U.S. and foreign patents.

"Gracenote and TMS are an ideal fit," said Shashi Seth, President of Tribune Digital Ventures, which includes oversight of TMS. "Both companies have substantial digital footprints and are well-respected leaders in their areas globally. Together we will become an even greater force in the global entertainment data business by servicing new and existing customers with better data, new products, and new services to help an evolving entertainment industry."

"Given the breadth of the Tribune Company and its commitment to revolutionizing digital media, I firmly believe that we have found the right home to grow our business and realize Gracenote's long-term vision," said Stephen White, President of Gracenote. "The marriage of these world-class music and video data platforms, from TMS and Gracenote, will help us reimagine how people discover and connect with music, movies and TV shows across all devices." 

Tribune is purchasing all of the shares of Gracenote, Inc., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, for $170 million subject to standard adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, upon receipt of regulatory approvals.  

About Gracenote
Gracenote, Inc. provides music and video content and technologies to the world's hottest entertainment products and brands. Gracenote is the industry standard for music and video recognition and is supported by the largest source of music and video metadata, featuring descriptions of more than 130 million tracks and TV listings for 28 countries. A wholly owned, independent subsidiary of the Sony Corporation of America (SCA), Gracenote has offices in Tokyo, Munich, Berlin, Seoul, Taipei and San Francisco with worldwide headquarters in Emeryville, Calif. For more information, visit our website www.gracenote.com or follow us at @GracenoteTweets and www.facebook.com/PoweredbyGracenote.

About Tribune
TRIBUNE is one of the country's leading multimedia companies, operating businesses in broadcasting, publishing, and interactive. The company's broadcasting group owns or operates 23 television stations, WGN America on national cable, the national multicast networks Antenna TV and THIS TV, Tribune Studios and Chicago's WGN-AM. In publishing, Tribune's leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, Sun Sentinel (South Florida), Orlando Sentinel, Hartford Courant, The Morning Call and Daily Press. Popular news and information websites complement Tribune's print and broadcast properties and extend the company's nationwide audience.

SOURCE Tribune Company