LOS ANGELES, SANTA MONICA, Calif., and VANCOUVER, British Columbia,
Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LIONSGATE(R) (NYSE: LGF), the leading
independent filmed entertainment studio, and Disney-ABC Domestic Television
have entered into an agreement where Lionsgate obtains the home entertainment
distribution rights to select primetime series and library titles from ABC
Studios. The announcement was made today by Ron Schwartz, General Manager and
Executive Vice President, Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The deal was
negotiated by Jason Constantine, Lionsgate President of Acquisitions and
Co-Productions, Eda Kowan, Lionsgate Vice President of Acquisitions and Wendy
Jaffe, Lionsgate Executive Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs,
Acquisitions and Co-Productions.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080805/LATU017)
The first programs to be released under the new agreement -- popular
sitcom "According to Jim: Season One," starring Jim Belushi and Courtney
Thorne-Smith and one-hour series "Reaper: Season One" -- will be available on
DVD on October 21st and November 4th, respectively. The agreement also
encompasses other popular sitcoms and dramas including "Hope & Faith" (Kelly
Ripa, Faith Ford), "8 Simple Rules...for Dating My Teenage Daughter" (John
Ritter, Katey Sagal), "Boy Meets World" (Ben Savage, Rider Strong), "October
Road" (Tom Berenger, Bryan Greenberg), "Kevin Hill" (Taye Diggs), "My Wife &
Kids" (Damon Wayans), "Six Degrees" (Jay Hernandez, Bridget Moynahan, Erika
Christensen), and more.
"As evidenced by our recent activity, we continue to look for key brands
to expand and grow our TV on DVD business," Schwartz said. "We are thrilled
to have the opportunity to add these popular ABC Studios series to our library
and look forward to releasing these highly recognizable, branded properties to
their loyal audiences on DVD."
The deal comes on the heels of a very active period for Lionsgate in the
TV On DVD category. In the past month, the company announced a first-look
partnership with Comcast Entertainment Group wherein Lionsgate obtained the
home entertainment distribution rights to popular series airing on E!
Entertainment Television, The Style Network and G4 including the tanning salon
reality series "Sunset Tan" along with the popular "Keeping Up with the
Kardashians," "Snoop Dogg's Father Hood," and "Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane."
In addition, the studio is expecting its biggest year ever in the TV on DVD
category anchored by the recent releases of the third season of "Weeds," the
first season of the Golden Globes and Peabody award-winning AMC series "Mad
Men" and "Tyler Perry's House of Payne: Volume 2."
A leader in the TV on DVD category, Lionsgate has bucked the industry
trend by experiencing double-digit growth from 2006 to 2007. The studio's DVD
releases of the first and second seasons of "Weeds" both finished the year in
the Top 40 among all TV on DVD releases. Other prestigious titles in the
Lionsgate TV on DVD catalog include "Will & Grace," "The Dead Zone" and
"Moonlighting."
ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate is a leading next generation filmed entertainment studio with a
major presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures,
television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment,
video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. The Company is leveraging
its content leadership and marketing expertise through a series of
partnerships that include the operation of the highly successful FEARNet
branded VOD and Internet horror channel with Sony and Comcast, the recent
announcement of the fall 2009 launch of a new premium entertainment channel
with partners Viacom, Paramount Pictures and MGM, investment in the leading
young men's digital distribution platform Break.com, ownership of the premier
independent television syndication company Debmar-Mercury LLC and an alliance
with independent filmed entertainment production and distribution company
Roadside Attractions. Lionsgate also has forged partnerships with leading
content creators, owners and distributors in key territories around the world,
including Televisa in the U.S. and Latin America, StudioCanal in the UK, Hoyts
and Sony in Australia and Eros International in India.
The Company has generated more than $450 million at the North American
theatrical box office in the past year and has released a string of hits
including The Forbidden Kingdom, Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns, The Bank Job,
Rambo, The Eye, Saw IV, Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?, Good Luck Chuck,
3:10 To Yuma and War, most of which have opened at #1 or #2 at the box office.
The Company has also forged leadership positions in television and home
entertainment with the production of such critically-acclaimed television
series as Weeds and Mad Men, the distribution of Tyler Perry's House of Payne,
Family Feud, South Park, Trivial Pursuit and The Dead Zone, among others, and
approximately 9% market share and the industry's leading box office-to-DVD
conversion rate in home entertainment. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and
prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture and television titles
that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation
for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand is
synonymous with entrepreneurial innovation and original, daring, quality
entertainment in markets around the globe.
ABOUT ABC STUDIOS
ABC Studios is a leader in the development, production and strategic
distribution of entertainment content across television and emerging digital
platforms. As a key content driver for the Disney-ABC Television Group, the
studio will produce 22 productions for broadcast and cable television in the
2008/09 season.
ABOUT DISNEY-ABC DOMESTIC TELEVISION
Disney ABC Domestic Television is the domestic distribution arm of The
Walt Disney Company, providing motion pictures and television programming to
pay television, basic cable, broadcast television, video-on-demand (VOD),
pay-per-view (PPV), mobile and broadband. Disney ABC Domestic Television is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Disney Enterprises, Inc.
