Electus Partners with Shine International; Launches Electus Distribution

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ben Silverman's newly formed multimedia company Electus, an operating business of IAC (Nasdaq: IACI), and Shine International, the international distribution arm of Elisabeth Murdoch's Shine Group, today announced a partnership around the creation of Electus Distribution, a new distribution entity that will handle worldwide sales for Electus' content, including television, motion picture and digital.

Electus Distribution will be run by Silverman and Shine International President Chris Grant and its operations will be based at Shine International. Electus and Shine International management are currently identifying candidates to staff the division, reporting to Silverman and Grant. Electus is also increasing operations to handle the growing slate of programming within Electus and its content labels. In addition to the international distribution partnership, Electus and Shine International will look to co-fund projects and third party production deals together.

"It's a special thrill to collaborate with Ben, whose approach to international content has helped shape my vision of the distribution business, and whose pioneering work with international formats and shows has had a transformative effect on the TV landscape,"  said Chris Grant, President of Shine International. "We look forward to adding the tremendous range of content Ben will generate at Electus to our rapidly growing slate of international programming."

Israel-based Abbot Reif Hameiri Production Company, the leading production company in Israel, is the first distribution partnership of Electus Distribution. Under the terms of the agreement, Electus Distribution will develop Abbot Reif Hameiri's Israeli programming in the United States across all platforms, including mobile, internet and TV.  Likewise, Abbot Reif Hameiri has the opportunity to repurpose Electus' multi-platform content to sell to the Israeli marketplace.

"This unique collaboration is the first of its kind in Israel, and provides an exceptional opportunity - both for talented artists and for our company," said Guy Hameiri, CEO, Abbot Reif Hameiri Production Company. "The industry in Israel is abundant with creative ideas that do not gain development and impact globally. Working with Electus will allow us to provide a proper platform for talented artists and strengthen our presence in the global content market."

This alternative distribution model will be the first partnership of its kind to tap into the vast pool of content and talent in the Israeli market and to bring it to global audiences across all platforms.  As one of its first projects, Electus has secured the rights to bring Cuckoo's Nest, a mega-interactive game show on Facebook produced by Abbott Reif Hameiri Production Company in Israel, to the U.S.  Incorporating daily original live broadcasts from within Facebook, the next-generation format fuses a virtual home-based game with a real studio-based game and Electus will be the first studio to bring such an interactive format to the U.S.

"The content distribution business is evolving rapidly and I'm thrilled to be partnering with my friends at Shine and working again with Chris Grant to build a next generation distribution company that taps into alternative models and new platforms. Chris is an innovator and leader with the best reputation in international distribution," said Ben Silverman, CEO of Electus. "At the same time, the deal with Abbot Reif Hameiri will make great strides in sharing exceptional content throughout the world – both by bringing their outstanding multi-platform programming and talent to U.S. audiences and by exporting Electus content to Israeli audiences."

About Electus

Electus is the first integrated multimedia company to unite producers, creators, advertisers and distributors under one roof and produce all forms of content for distribution across a variety of platforms around the world. Headed by Ben Silverman, in partnership with IAC, the company will connect advertisers, distributors and content creators early on in the development process, enabling marketers and advertisers to be a true partner in campaigns and content creation.

About IAC

IAC operates more than 50 leading and diversified Internet businesses across 30 countries... our mission is to harness the power of interactivity to make daily life easier and more productive for people all over the world. To view a full list of the companies of IAC please visit our website at www.iac.com.

About Shine International

Shine International is the sales and distribution arm of the Shine Group, a leading independent production and distribution company focused on exploiting worldwide intellectual property rights through scripted and alternative television formats. Shine International distributes programming from the growing library of programming of the Shine Group, including Reveille, Kudos, Dragonfly, Princess Productions and Metronome, along with a broad array of programming acquired from independent producers and U.S. networks, to more than 150 countries worldwide.

About Abbot Reif Hameiri Production Company

Production Company "Abot Reif Hameiri" is owned by Eitan Abot, Motty Reif and Guy Hameiri.  The company holds two production divisions: television productions and productions for the international markets. The 'Abot Reif Hameiri' television division took its place, unquestionably, as one of the major production companies in the Israeli media domain when its "Survivor" production reached a rating peak of 42.2% in 2008.  Thus began the Israeli reality shows flood. The "Survivor" brand became synonymous with great television and launched its second and third season. These days, castings are held for the forth season. In addition, the company produced the reality show "Beauty and the Geek" that is about to return for its second season. The international reality show "The Bachelor" was launched successfully as well. Moreover, a new docu-reality is due to lunch soon – a series about four young people who work behind the scenes of the show business industry in Tel Aviv. On top of all these, the company began recently to produce cellular content for "Cellcom," a leading mobile phone company, with a new interactive game show. The company also has a very strong and well known scripted division.

SOURCE IAC