‘Walking Dead’ producer Skybound has its eye on creators with Nine Four acquisition

Hollywood power players are keen to get in bed with digital content creators, and Skybound Entertainment is the latest firm following that trend. The company that has incubated franchises like The Walking Dead and Invincible is linking up with YouTube notables through its acquisition of the creator management firm Nine Four Entertainment.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Nine Four will be incorporated into Skybound as the entertainment company’s digital creator and influencer representation arm. President Parker Oks will continue to lead the Nine Four team, which reps social media standouts like Jacksfilms (pictured above), I’m Dontai, and Jennelle Eliana.

Nine Four also has a business development arm, through which it has worked with its creator clients to launch spin-off brands and products. Entities developed through that operation include Eamon & Bec’s mindful tea company Habit and Markiplier’s clothing line Cloak.

Beverly Hills-based Skybound is hoping to keep the creator product pipeline flowing by building brands using a system it calls the Wheel of Awesome. Through that model, Skybound has turned its intellectual property into multiplatform empires spanning comics, TV, video games, and other media. It will apply its signature process to creator-led brands through an incubator launched in tandem with its new subsidiary.

“Skybound is a business built around a creator. From day one, we wanted to bring other creators onboard. And we have,” said Skybound CEO David Alpert in a statement provided to Tubefilter. “Parker and the team at Nine Four share this vision. We get to plug them and their creators into our wheel of awesome, and build businesses together. We couldn’t be more excited.”

As creators find success on streaming platforms and in the film world, studios and other Hollywood firms are racing to snap up as much creator-related IP as they can. Propagate Content, the producer of TV fare like Chopped, recently acquired a majority stake in influencer management company Parker. Bloomberg‘s report on that deal also noted that talent agency CAA is working with moralistic content creator Dhar Mann to amass a portfolio of YouTube channels.

Skybound’s acquisition will give it a direct link to that world. As creators continue to level up, Nine Four’s move will help the names in its creator roster get ready for their respective close-ups.