Australia's VA Media expands in the US and reorganizes its structure

Australia's VA Media has announced the creation of a US entity to support its North American expansion after a record-breaking 2024. Beginning in global markets including the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the Nordics, VA’s strategic move to diversify its offerings is part of its bespoke distribution service initiative which provides the highest level of service and monetization across the ever-expanding feature film, TV, series, and unscripted AVOD landscape.

VA’s reorganization includes the establishment of a dedicated Los Angeles-based office. CEO Mark Ashbridge has named Kristen Bedno COO of VA Media US, she will also continue her current role as Head of Partnerships & Acquisitions based in Los Angeles. In Australia, Hannah Barnes, former Director of Unscripted Content, will assume the role of Content Director TV & AVOD and will oversee content strategy and maximizing the opportunities with YouTube Movies & TV. Matt Campbell, Content Director, Movies & Scripted Series continues to lead the company’s core movie enterprise.

Now the leading Enterprise YouTube partner in APAC in AVOD and social video monetization, VA Media is touting a record-breaking Q4 2024, where company revenue grew by 29% year on year and resulted in record millions in royalty payouts to its growing list of top tier movie and TV distribution partners. The company continues to close exclusive deals for its YouTube Network and now for its YouTube Movies and TV offering, and in recent months has welcomed content providers Boat Rocker Studios, Silverlining Rights, and Hat Trick International to its growing list of premium clients.

Mark Ashbridge, CEO of VA Media shares, “To be at the forefront of the meteoric growth of YouTube by partnering with key content providers has helped us exceed even our own goals for 2024 and contributed to our best year to date. Q4 broke company records and we are setting our sights on even more internal expansion and success this year. There was no question that establishing a foothold in North America was our next move. We look forward to an even better 2025 as we look to continue to provide our partners with a best in class and compliant YouTube monetisation offerings."