Hoopla

What Hoopla does

Hoopla (operating as Hoopla Digital) is a U.S. digital media services company that partners with public library systems to provide patrons with free access to eBooks, audiobooks, movies, streaming video, and music. Founded in 2013 by Jeff Jankowski and headquartered in Holland, Ohio, the company operates a single, unified digital lending platform that library cardholders access at no direct cost, with content borrows tracked through library circulation systems. The platform aggregates licensed content across multiple formats within one integrated service and integrates with library infrastructure to enable seamless patron access.

The company's business model is B2B2C: Hoopla generates revenue by charging subscription fees to public library systems and municipal governments, which in turn provide free access to their patrons. Pricing is negotiated directly through multi-year contracts rather than publicly disclosed; for example, the Santa Ana City Council approved a $75,000 deal in February 2026 to expand digital lending services. Hoopla has built partnerships with over 10,000 U.S. public library systems, representing broad domestic distribution, though it operates exclusively in the United States and has no disclosed international footprint. The company is private with 251–500 employees, has raised one disclosed funding round from J-Ventures in 2019, and operates without major leadership changes or M&A activity on record. Emerging risks include contract churn at the municipal level (e.g., the Bayside Council termination effective July 2026) and the absence of documented AI/ML capabilities that could differentiate discovery and personalization features versus competitors.

Name

Hoopla

Website

https://hoopladigital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Hoopla (Hoopla Digital) is a U.S. digital media service that partners with public libraries to provide free eBooks, audiobooks, movies, and music to library cardholders, generating revenue through subscription contracts with municipal and public library systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Library Services

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Reading Content & eBooks (Leveled Readers, Libraries) (EDAFACAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) & Resource Sharing Operations (EDAEAGAK)

Keywords

• Digital library lending
• Library content platform
• Ebook audiobook streaming
• Public library partnerships
• Digital media distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Holland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Library Subscription Services: Hoopla generates revenue by charging public libraries and municipal governments subscription fees for access to its digital content catalog. Libraries pay to provide free streaming and lending services to their patrons.
2. Digital Content Licensing: The company licenses digital media content and earns revenue from library subscriptions that provide access to this licensed content

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Hoopla operates a digital content lending platform that public libraries subscribe to in order to provide their patrons with free access to eBooks, audiobooks, movies, TV series, and music albums. End users authenticate with their library cards to borrow and stream content through a single integrated multi-format service, with libraries paying subscription fees to Hoopla for catalog access.

Product overview

Hoopla Digital operates as a single unified digital content platform designed for public libraries. It provides library patrons with free access to digital media including streaming video (movies and TV series), music albums, audiobooks, and e-books. Users access the platform using their library cards, with content borrows tracked through library circulation systems. The platform aggregates content across multiple formats within one integrated service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hoopla Digital A digital lending platform that provides public library members with free access to streaming movies, TV shows, music, audiobooks, and e-books through their local library subscriptions. Patrons borrow and consume content using their library cards at no direct cost, while the underlying library pays Hoopla a subscription fee for catalog access.

Quantifiable outcome

• Expanded digital lending services for library patrons

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Santa Ana City CouncilminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 February 2026Santa Ana City Council approved a $75,000 deal with Hoopla to expand digital lending services through its public library system. The partnership aims to provide access to movies, music, audiobooks, and e-books amid reduced federal and FCC funding for digital programs.
• U.S. Public Library SystemscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHoopla has established partnerships with over 10,000 U.S. public library systems, providing digital content lending services to library patrons across the country. Libraries pay subscription fees to provide free content access to their members.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OverDrive: OverDrive is the dominant library digital lending platform in North America, offering e-books, audiobooks, and streaming video to public and school libraries through the Libby and Sora apps. It is Hoopla's largest and most direct competitor in library-embedded digital content distribution.
• Kanopy: Kanopy is a library-embedded streaming service offering films and documentaries free to library patrons through institutional subscriptions. It competes head-to-head with Hoopla for library streaming budgets and patron mindshare, and is frequently cited alongside Hoopla as a leading free streaming alternative.
• Libby: Libby is OverDrive's consumer-facing app for borrowing e-books, audiobooks, and magazines from public libraries. It is the most widely used library digital lending interface and the primary competitor to Hoopla's patron-facing experience.
• cloudLibrary: cloudLibrary (by Bibliotheca) is a digital lending platform that delivers e-books and audiobooks to public library patrons through library subscriptions. It is a direct competitor to Hoopla's e-book and audiobook formats in the library channel.
• Freegal: Freegal is a library music streaming and download service offered to public library patrons through subscription. It directly overlaps with Hoopla's music format for library patrons.
• Odilo: Odilo is a digital library platform serving public libraries, schools, and corporations internationally with e-books, audiobooks, video, and courses. It competes with Hoopla for multi-format library digital lending contracts, with stronger international exposure.
• BiblioBoard: BiblioBoard (by BiblioLabs) is a library digital content platform offering e-books, audiobooks, and streaming media to public library patrons through subscription. It directly competes with Hoopla for library digital lending budgets in the U.S.

Emerging players

• Sora: Sora is OverDrive's digital lending app for K–12 and post-secondary schools. It addresses an adjacent vertical (school digital lending) that Hoopla could plausibly extend into, and represents the dominant school-library incumbent.

Broad incumbents

• Rakuten OverDrive: Rakuten owns OverDrive and operates it alongside broader consumer content and commerce businesses. It is a broad incumbent parent whose OverDrive subsidiary is Hoopla's primary competitive threat.

Regional players

• Axis 360: Axis 360 (originally by Baker & Taylor) is a library digital lending platform offering e-books and audiobooks to public libraries. It is a direct competitor in the U.S. library digital lending market, though with narrower format coverage than Hoopla.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hoopladigital
• Facebookfacebook.com/hoopladigital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hoopla