LIONSGATE Announces Multi-Year Licensing Deal with JIAFLIX in China
By: Caryn Robbins Nov. 06, 2013
Reflecting the growing demand for Hollywood content in the Chinese marketplace, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a leading global entertainment company, and Jiaflix Enterprises today announced a multiyear licensing agreement for classic Lionsgate and Summit films and selected new releases to be available for transactional and subscription video on demand (TVOD and SVOD) onM1905.com, China's official streaming Website. Jiaflix and its venture partner, M1905, operate an internet-delivered programming service and supply content toM1905.com, the official internet subsidiary of China Movie Channel/CCTV6.
The announcement was made by Lionsgate President of Worldwide Television & Digital Distribution Jim Packer and Jiaflix principals Sid Ganis, former studio executive and former President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Marc Ganis and Kenneth Huang.Under terms of the agreement, Jiaflix subscribers will be able to view titles including The Twilight Saga Eclipse, Palme d'Or winner The Tree of Life, Princess Bride and the evergreen classic Dirty Dancing, among many others.
"We're pleased to be in business with our friend Sid Ganis and the entire team at Jiaflix," said Packer. "This agreement reflects our continuing commitment to monetizing our library and licensing our motion picture and television content to the large and growing Chinese marketplace." Packer noted that the agreement is the latest in a series of deals licensing hundreds of Lionsgate films and nearly 1,000 hours of television programming in China.
"We're delighted to be in business with an innovator and global content leader like Lionsgate," said Ganis. "This exciting new agreement is a major step in furthering Jiaflix's plan to provide the best selection of Chinese and international films to its subscribers in China."
M1905's director and Vice President Longfei Liang, added, "Our website becomes even more attractive to movie fans with the addition of these important Lionsgate and Summit titles, and our audience continues to grow as we present great Chinese and Western films."
M1905 is the wholly owned subsidiary of the China Movie Channel within China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. China Movie Channel is China's largest television buyer of international movies and has agreements with nearly all of the major movie studios. M1905 sub-licenses domestic Chinese films to a number of video web sites in China.
Sid Ganis is a former President of the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and previously served as Vice Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia Pictures and President of Paramount Pictures.
Kenneth Huang is a China based entrepreneur and investor. He is active in capital markets, infrastructure construction, sports and entertainment in China. Mr. Huang is a successful philanthropist and was voted the most popular philanthropist bySina.comand BQ Magazine in December 2009. He was raised in China and educated in the United States.
Marc Ganis is President and Co-Founder of Jiaflix Enterprises. He is also President and Founder of Sportscorp Ltd., a Chicago based sports business advisory firm. Mr. Ganis has been involved in a number of the most visible and valuable sports business transactions in the U.S. He has been active in China for more than a decade in the capital markets, sports and entertainment sectors.
About Lionsgate
Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. Lionsgate currently has 30 television shows on 20 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, The Comedy Anger Management, the network series Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show and the critically-acclaimed new series Orange Is The New Black.
Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first installment of The Hunger Games franchise, The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2, Now You See Me, Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, Warm Bodies, Snitch, Texas Chainsaw 3D, The Expendables 2, The Possession, Sinister, Arbitrage and Pantelion Films' breakout hit Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever in the U.S.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 15,000 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 and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.
About M1905
M1905.com(1905 - Beijing - Networking Technology Company Limited) was founded by China Movie Channel, which is under the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, on December 31, 2004. At present the average daily visitors number 4 million with average daily page views of more than 16 million. With more than 3 million registered members, it has become one of the most well-known Chinese online movie sites.
About Jiaflix Enterprises
Jiaflix is an enterprise formed by principals Marc Ganis, Sid Ganis, and Kenneth Huang to participate in enhancing cultural cooperation between China and the international film community, with focus on studios in North America and Europe. Jiaflix is venturing with M1905 to provide greater opportunities for film enthusiasts and professionals in China through new media platforms and other activities. Jiaflix also provides broad-based support for productions filming in China through its relationship with the China Movie Channel, under the State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT).
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