Next-Generation Premium Television Channel and Video on Demand Service to
Offer New and Classic Box Office Hits and Original Television Series from
Paramount, Paramount Vantage, MGM, United Artists and Lionsgate for
Distribution in the Premium Pay Television Window Beginning Fall of 2009
NEW YORK, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and
VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM)
and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) have formed a joint venture that creates a next-
generation premium television channel and video on demand service that
combines new and classic feature film output and original television series
of five leading studios. The new premium channel, which will launch in the
fall of 2009, was announced jointly today by Philippe Dauman, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Viacom Inc.; Brad Grey, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures; Harry E. Sloan, Chairman and CEO,
Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM); and Jon Feltheimer, Co-Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of Lionsgate.
The new venture will have access to Paramount and Paramount Vantage
titles released theatrically on or after January 1, 2008 and MGM, United
Artists and Lionsgate titles released theatrically on or after January 1,
2009. The venture's programming slate will have exclusive access during the
pay television window to such recent and highly anticipated films as Iron
Man, Star Trek, Pink Panther 2, Cloverfield, The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button, Shutter Island, GI Joe, Love Guru, and Valkyrie, along with many
others currently in production including planned new installments of
Robocop and Outer Limits.
In addition, the new venture will have access to motion picture titles
spanning the vast libraries of the five studios, which libraries include
Braveheart, Forrest Gump and the Mission: Impossible, The Godfather and
Star Trek franchises from Paramount; the James Bond, Pink Panther and Rocky
franchises from MGM; and Dirty Dancing, Reservoir Dogs, Crash, Monster's
Ball, the Saw franchise, the Tyler Perry catalogue and The Blair Witch
Project from Lionsgate. The new venture will also feature new original
television series created by the five studios.
Viacom will provide operational support to the venture, including
marketing and affiliate services through its MTV Networks division.
Dauman said: "This venture has the potential to be a game changer for
the industry. We are building an innovative service that will use
traditional and new digital distribution technologies to bring great film
and television entertainment directly to the consumer. By combining the
output of Paramount with MGM and Lionsgate, two film and television
powerhouses, we are creating a premium film and television programming
brand with unique flexibility to bring consumers the very best blockbuster
movies and innovative TV series.
"We are extremely pleased to be in business with MGM and Lionsgate in
this exciting new venture which will provide our companies with a strong
presence in the premium TV marketplace well into the future."
Grey said, "For close to a century, Paramount has produced and
distributed some of America's best-known and beloved films - a tradition
that continues today, with an outstanding lineup set through 2009. That
commitment to great entertainment is matched by Paramount's focus on
creating new and innovative platforms that offer more access and
flexibility to consumers. We look forward to launching this historic
premium entertainment service with a strong slate that includes new
releases like Cloverfield, Iron Man, and Star Trek alongside Paramount's
legendary library."
Sloan said, "At MGM, we are very pleased to have found two partners
that share our vision of providing first-run movies and premium-quality
original television programming across linear and digital platforms in a
new way. Our approach delivers unique flexibility for program distributors
as well as consumer options that will provide the highest quality
entertainment. The newly revitalized MGM, under the direction of Mary
Parent, Chairman, Worldwide Motion Picture Group, is preparing to bring top
projects to the venture including the newly acquired Robert Ludlum's The
Maratese Circle, which will star Denzel Washington as well as franchised
movies based on James Bond, Pink Panther and Thomas Crown."
Feltheimer said, "We are excited to be working with two of the most
respected studios in the business to start a new venture which marshals the
historic legacy of the past, the filmed entertainment leadership of the
present and a vision for the digital marketplace of the future. Our
prestigious and prolific libraries, diverse and commercially powerful new
feature film releases and enormous television series development expertise
combine to make this a formidable and uniquely compelling entertainment
service from day one. This is a true next-generation premium content
offering for the consumer."
Paramount has been a leading producer and distributor of motion
pictures since 1912 and has a library consisting of approximately 3,500
motion pictures. In 2007, the studio theatrically released Transformers,
Blades of Glory, Norbit, Beowulf, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet
Street, The Kite Runner, There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men,
among others, receiving 26 Academy Award nominations and winning 7 Academy
Awards. The Paramount library boasts Oscar winners Braveheart, Forrest
Gump, and Titanic, as well as such classics as The Ten Commandments,
Breakfast at Tiffany's and Sunset Boulevard. In addition, several of the
most successful franchises in film history, including Mission: Impossible,
Star Trek, The Godfather and Indiana Jones, are part of the Paramount
Pictures library. Paramount's leadership has also produced some of the most
celebrated programs on television, including HBO's The Sopranos.
MGM owns the world's largest modern film library and it is comprised of
celebrated titles from the United Artists, Orion Pictures, Goldwyn
Entertainment and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment libraries. The rich and
extensive library has earned 205 Academy Awards including 15 for Best
Picture for such films as Dances With Wolves, Rain Man, The Silence of the
Lambs, Annie Hall, Platoon, Midnight Cowboy and West Side Story. MGM films
have also won 156 Golden Globe Awards and 147 British Academy Awards. With
approximately 4,100 films and over 10,400 hours of television programming,
the MGM library includes such tentpole feature film franchises as Rocky and
Pink Panther and the celebrated James Bond franchise, the longest running
and most profitable film brand in history. The studio also has a successful
television track record, with programs like People's Choice Award winner
Stargate Atlantis, which has begun production on its fifth original season
and the ratings-winning series American Gladiators for NBC.
Lionsgate is the leading independent producer and distributor of motion
pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment,
video on demand and digitally delivered content. The Lionsgate filmed
entertainment library comprises approximately 12,000 titles, including such
evergreen hits as Dirty Dancing, Reservoir Dogs, Terminator 2: Judgment
Day, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, The Blair Witch Project, Crash,
Monster's Ball, the Saw franchise, the hit television series Weeds and the
entire Tyler Perry catalogue. Recent Lionsgate hits include Forbidden
Kingdom, Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns, The Bank Job, Rambo, Saw 4, 3:10 To
Yuma, Good Luck Chuck, Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? and War.
Lionsgate won the 2005 Best Picture Academy Award (R) for Crash and has
earned 31 Academy Award (R) nominations in the past nine years, more than
any other independent studio. In addition, Lionsgate's fast-growing
television business has generated the recent hit comedy Weeds and critical
sensation Mad Men.
About Viacom
Viacom, consisting of BET Networks, MTV Networks and Paramount
Pictures, is the world's leading entertainment content company. It engages
audiences on television, motion picture and digital platforms through many
of the world's best known entertainment brands, including MTV, VH1, CMT,
Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Nick at Nite, AddictingGames, Neopets,
COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, AtomFilms, Gametrailers, BET, Paramount
Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Vantage. Viacom's global reach
includes approximately 150 channels and 300 online properties in 160
countries and territories.
About Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor
of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading
content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital
entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures,
Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, DreamWorks Pictures, MTV Films and
Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital
Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures
International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group, and
Worldwide Television Distribution.
About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., through its operating subsidiaries, is
actively engaged in the worldwide production and distribution of motion
pictures, television programming, home video, interactive media, music and
licensed merchandise. The company owns the world's largest library of
modern films, comprising around 4,100 titles. Operating units include
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc., United
Artists Films Inc., Ventanazul, MGM Television Entertainment Inc., MGM
Networks Inc., MGM Domestic Networks LLC, MGM Distribution Co., MGM
International Television Distribution Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home
Entertainment LLC, MGM ON STAGE, MGM Music, MGM Worldwide Digital Media,
MGM Consumer Products and MGM Interactive. In addition, MGM has ownership
interests in international TV channels reaching nearly 120 countries. MGM
ownership is as follows: Providence Equity Partners (29%), TPG (21%), Sony
Corporation of America (20%), Comcast (20%), DLJ Merchant Banking Partners
(7%) and Quadrangle Group (3%). For more information, visit http://www.mgm.com.
About Lionsgate
Lionsgate is the leading independent producer and distributor of motion
pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment,
video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. Its prestigious and
prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture titles and
television episodes is a stable source of recurring revenue and is a
foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate
brand name is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in
markets around the globe.
SOURCE Viacom Inc.
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