TriCoast Media, a programming-led CTV adtech company, today announced the launch of the inaugural Dark Matter Film Festival, a Culver City-based celebration of genre cinema spotlighting action, sci-fi, and horror. The festival is being launched in partnership with sister company TriCoast Entertainment, the global entertainment catalog and distribution arm, including the Dark Matter TV app.

“We didn’t set out to build an adtech company—we set out to fill our own inventory,” said Nick Risher, CEO at TriCoast Media. “Owning the content gave us leverage to rethink the supply chain from the ground up, resulting in better pricing and performance for advertisers due to fewer hops and tighter supply-path control.”

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TriCoast Entertainment was founded in 1987, amassing more than 5,000 titles distributed across FAST, AVOD, and linear channels catering to passion-driven communities like Lifestyle and Travel. As viewership of its content soared across FAST and AVOD channels, it then created TriCoast Media to fill its own ad inventory, discovering an entirely new business model in the process.

By starting with content ownership, TriCoast has grown into a preferred partner with 250+ publishers, including Vizio, Samsung, TCL, Xumo, and Tubi. This programming-first approach allows the company to compress the supply chain and extend its owned inventory with premium partners, offering more cost-efficient CTV supply to demand partners like Epsilon, FreeWheel, and PubMatic.

“The Dark Matter Film Festival brings the TriCoast story full circle, bridging the gap between programming and programmatic to unlock new value for creators, publishers, and brands alike,” added Risher. The festival will take place October 28-30, 2025, welcoming thousands of fans for in-person screenings, special guest appearances, and a streaming spotlight on the Dark Matter TV FAST channel. 

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Additionally, the festival will host a star-studded Nightmare on Elm Street panel featuring the star of the film series, Robert Englund—best known for his iconic role as Freddy Krueger, who will also be honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star following the panel—as well as a screening of Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge. There will also be an anniversary screening of the John Carpenter classic In The Mouth of Madness, along with a Q&A that will include star Julie Carmen. 

Jurors judging the feature and short film finalists include: 

• Rachel Talalay (director: Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare)
• Jack Sholder (director: Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge)
• Sara Risher (Producer: A Nightmare on Elm Street)
• Kristina Klebe (Actress: Halloween, Hellboy, Two Witches)
• Greg Sestero (Actor: The Room)
• Jeffrey Reddick (Producer/Writer: Final Destination franchise)

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