Digitalbox acquires EastEnders fan platform Walford News

(Sharecast News) - Mobile-focussed digital media company Digitalbox announced the acquisition of Walford News, a platform dedicated to news, gossip, and spoilers about the UK soap opera EastEnders, on Wednesday. The AIM-traded firm said the acquisition, valued at £50,000, included the walfordnews.com domain and the Walford East Facebook page, which boasted around 475,000 followers.

It said Walford News would enhance its entertainment-focussed portfolio, aligning closely with its flagship brand Entertainment Daily.

The deal was part of Digitalbox's verticals strategy, which was targeting highly-engaged audiences in the entertainment sector to leverage advertising-focussed revenue models.

Digitalbox said the strategy, demonstrated by the recent launch of Emmerdale Insider, aimed to build niche, fan-based platforms that attracted 'super engagement' on key digital channels like Google and Facebook.

A five-month transitional services agreement had been established to support the integration of Walford News, which the company said would include aligning content archives and editorial operations.

While the newly-acquired assets generated less than 1% of Digitalbox's revenue in the 12 months to November, the firm anticipated strategic benefits from their inclusion as it moved into 2025.

Digitalbox also confirmed the appointment of Richard Spilsbury as its chief financial officer and company secretary, effective 1 January.

Spilsbury's appointment followed a previous announcement on 28 November.

At 0942 GMT, shares in Digitalbox were down 2.78% at 4.72p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.