Fort Worth-based Encore Drive-In Nights, the company that brought live-streamed concerts, sports and other events during the current pandemic, has announced a partnership with MetaMedia, a fast-growing entertainment technology company.
The two plan to offer live-streamed concerts at drive-in venues across North America in 2021 and beyond. The new partnership, Encore Drive-In Nights, will expand on the success of its 2020 event series, which featured exclusive concert films from Metallica, Garth Brooks, Kane Brown, Blake Shelton and others.
By supporting live-streamed concerts, sports and other events, Encore Drive-In Nights and MetaMedia will now enable fans to enjoy best-in-class live programming at 300+ drive-in and outdoor venues across the continent this year. Recently, Encore Drive-In Nights also partnered with professional mixed martial arts league Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to air its marquee UFC 257 which featured the highly-anticipated rematch between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. The UFC fight was the first live-streamed event for Encore Drive-In Nights, and the MetaMedia technology was used for that event.
Encore Drive-In Nights and its exclusive network of hundreds of outdoor venues have activated a completely new audience of fans who are not traditionally reached by touring routes of the biggest stars, according to a company news release.
“People will always seek new experiences and our model allows fans to enjoy live concerts and sports outside of the traditional arena setting, which will last long after we’re past this virus,” said Encore Live CEO Walter Kinzie. “This partnership will enable millions of fans who generally don’t attend large live shows to safely experience some of the biggest performances on earth, live, once they return. UFC 257 was a great test case for us, proving that MetaMedia’s live-streaming content delivery technology is the best in the business regardless if a venue is in a suburban area with strong internet or rural area with limited cell reception. We just can’t wait to kick off our 2021 season!”
Debuting last summer, Encore Live’s innovative drive-in model proved to be a safe, enjoyable alternative for fans. Between June and September, Encore Live’s events safely entertained more than 900,000 fans, proving to be one of the few options that allowed entertainers to reach fans at scale. MetaMedia, the world’s first commercial cloud-based content delivery platform for cinemas, drive-ins and other out-of-home venues, will expand Encore Live’s ability to deliver to significantly more outdoor venues across the country this spring.
Locally, Coyote Drive In, Fort Worth, and The Star in Frisco – Cinema Drive-Ins have been offering the Encore Drive-In Nights events.