TRX future uncertain as bosses set to depart

TRX co-founders David Frank and Matthew Frank are stepping down from the online licensing platform they founded in 2015.

David Frank will step down from his role as exec chairman and Matthew Frank will depart as CEO at the end of the year.

Their departures leave a question mark around the future of TRX, whose board can either instate a new team and drum up more financing, find a new buyer or shutter the business.

TRX enables distributors to conduct business using the portal, which is unique in allowing for end-to-end transactions. One particular selling point was that the platform could cover the deals for back catalogue fare that don’t necessarily require extensive in-person dealings. However, it has struggled to gain traction given the premium still placed across the industry on face-to-face meetings.

The Somerset House-based TRX employs around 20 people and may hold another round of redundancies after trimming its staff earlier this year.

TRX has more than 1,000 registered buyers and more than 70,000 hours of content available on the service. Around 100 distributors have signed up so far, including TCB Media Rights, BBC Studios, Lionsgate, Studiocanal, Sky Vision, All3Media and Off the Fence.

The platform – which last year shifted from a transaction-based service to a subscription model – secured more than US$20m from investors including Sky Ventures, the Channel 4 Growth Fund and Edge Investments.

Most recently, Spanish media giant Televisa added more than 2,000 hours of content to the service.

The news was first reported by C21.