Lionsgate(R) and Comcast Entertainment Group Announce First Look Home Entertainment Distribution Deal for E!, Style and G4 Programming
First Series to Be Released on DVD Are 'Sunset Tan' on August 5 Followed by
'Keeping Up with the Kardashians,' 'Snoop Dogg's Father Hood' and 'Kimora:
Life in the Fab Lane'
LOS ANGELES and SANTA MONICA, Calif., and VANCOUVER, British Columbia,
July 1 -- Lionsgate(R) (NYSE: LGF), the leading
independent filmed entertainment studio, and Comcast Entertainment Group,
which operates Comcast's West Coast entertainment properties, have forged a
first-look partnership where Lionsgate obtains the home entertainment
distribution rights to popular series airing on E! Entertainment
Television, The Style Network and G4. The announcement was made today by
Ron Schwartz, General Manager and Executive Vice President, Lionsgate Home
Entertainment, and John Najarian, Executive Vice President, Digital Media
and Business Development, Comcast Entertainment Group.
"E!, Style and G4 are among the hottest networks on television and our
plans to transfer that excitement onto DVD will allow the consumer to watch
these programs with a host of extra added features whenever they want,"
Schwartz said. "Cutting edge programs like these reflect our overall
commitment to daring, original entertainment and are perfect additions to
our ever-increasing television library."
"Lionsgate is a leader in home entertainment and we're excited to
partner with them to distribute our shows on DVD," said Najarian. "In
addition to owning their favorite shows, the DVD gives fans the opportunity
to check out special new features, including bonus segments with their
favorite personalities and never-before-seen footage."
The first program to be released under the new agreement is E!'s
tanning salon reality series "Sunset Tan" on August 5. Additional releases
will include E!'s popular series "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" and
"Snoop Dogg's Father Hood," as well as Style's "Kimora: Life In The Fab
Lane," which takes viewers inside the world of model, mogul, mom Kimora Lee
Simmons.
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
release of "Weeds" Season One and "Weeds" Season Two both finished the year
in the Top 40 among all TV On DVD releases. 2008 is primed to be an even
bigger year anchored by the June 3rd release of "Weeds" Season Three along
with the release of the first season of the Golden Globes and Peabody award
winning AMC series "Mad Men" and "Tyler Perry's House of Payne": Volume 2
on July 1. Other prestigious titles in the Lionsgate TV on DVD catalog
include "Will & Grace," "The Dead Zone," "Moonlighting," and much more.
ABOUT LIONSGATE(R)
Lionsgate is the leading independent 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 has partnered
with Sony Corporation and Comcast in the operation of the highly successful
FEARNet branded VOD and Internet horror channel, recently announced the
fall 2009 launch of a new premium entertainment channel with partners
Viacom, Paramount Pictures and MGM, and has invested in the leading young
men's digital distribution platform Break.com.
Lionsgate generated more than $450 million in North American box office
during the past year, driven by a string of hits including the martial arts
action film FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, the action
film RAMBO, the thriller THE EYE, the action thriller THE BANK JOB, the
horror film SAW IV, the latest installment in the most popular horror
franchise in history, the action film 3:10 TO YUMA, the comedy GOOD LUCK
CHUCK, the family dramas MEET THE BROWNS and WHY DID I GET MARRIED?, and
the action film WAR, starring Jason Statham and Jet Li. Lionsgate's
prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture and
television titles is an important source of recurring revenue that serves
as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The
Lionsgate brand is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment
in markets around the globe.
ABOUT COMCAST ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
Based in Los Angeles, Comcast Entertainment Group operates E!
Entertainment Television, the 24-hour network with programming dedicated to
the world of entertainment, and E! Online; The Style Network, the
destination for women 18-49 with a passion for the best in relatable and
inspiring lifestyle programming; and G4 offering the last word on gaming,
technology, animation, interactivity, and "Internet culture" for the male
18-34 demo. E! is currently available to nearly 94 million cable and direct
broadcast satellite subscribers in the United States. In 2006, E! launched
the E! Everywhere initiative underscoring the company's dedication to
making E! content available on all new media platforms any time and
anywhere from online to broadband video to wireless to satellite radio to
VOD. The Style Network currently counts 58 million cable and satellite
subscribers and G4, the #1 podcasted cable network in America, is available
in more than 64 million cable and satellite homes nationwide.
|