On May 18, 2022, US-based localization service provider Pixelogic Media announced the acquisition of Korean dubbing studio Juice Media.
According to Doug Higgins, SVP at Pixelogic Media, the deal was signed on May 16 and will officially close on May 31, 2022. The terms of the transaction were undisclosed.
Juice Media was founded in 2008 by CEO Minsoo Kim and specializes in delivering localization services in dubbing, subtitling, and music production. Clients include US studios, streaming platforms, and local content distributors. Based in Seoul, the company has eight employees.
Higgins told Slator that the entire Juice Media team will remain with Pixelogic following the sale and form a combined team with the existing 10 employees of Pixelogic Korea. He added, “Going forward, Juice Media will operate as Pixelogic Korea, and the company anticipates meaningful growth in the near term.”
Asked about the genesis of the deal, Higgins said Pixelogic had been working with Juice Media over the past few years to provide dubbing services for Pixelogic’s customers. He added, “As we got to know the management team, it became clear that we share a common vision focused on innovation, technology, quality, and providing solutions to customers.”
Addressing Shortfalls in Korean Dubbing Capacity
The acquisition will enhance Pixelogic’s operations in Korea by adding dubbing and audio capabilities to existing subtitling and media services. The investment will also strengthen the company’s end-to-end service offering across the localization and distribution supply chain.
“Pixelogic will continue to work with our customers to identify markets where we can help solve a misalignment between available supply vs. demand, or where we can help to address needs by leveraging our systems, tools, or end-to-end capabilities,” Higgins explained.
Embracing Remote Dubbing
Remote dubbing plays an important part of Pixelogic’s technology roadmap, according to Higgins. The company embraced remote dubbing technology at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, using both third-party and proprietary solutions to meet clients’ needs. “Remote dubbing continues to be an extremely important requirement and we will continue to evolve our solutions for today and beyond,” he said.
On the recent increase in demand for media localization in Asia, Higgins said that Pixelogic sees this as both an “exciting and challenging” time for the company and its clients. The SVP said managing capacity requirements and timeline expectations have been their primary challenges.
Higgins also noted that the company has been very encouraged by the increase in original content being produced in Asia, saying, “It will contribute to the growth of localized non-English original content, providing a much richer offering of culturally diverse content for consumers.”