BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. and
MOSCOW, Jan. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Starz
Worldwide Distribution and Amedia, a leading Russian producer of
television content, Pay TV broadcaster and VOD service operator,
announced a multi-year, multiplatform content licensing and
distribution deal to broadcast current and future STARZ Original
series and other movie and TV content to audiences in
Russia, Georgia, the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) including Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine, and The Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). Amedia was founded in 2002
by producer Alexandеr Akopov.
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080522/LATH063LOGO-b)
Under the output agreement, Amedia gains exclusive pay
television and SVOD rights in Russia, CIS & The Baltics to broadcast
STARZ Original series including "The White Queen," "Magic City,"
and the eagerly-anticipated "Black Sails," a pirate drama from
executive producer Michael Bay. The agreement also gives
Amedia access to Starz Worldwide Distribution's future STARZ
Original series over the lifetime of the agreement (including
"Power"). Amedia plans to broadcast each episode of the
original series the day after their respective U.S. premieres,
first including "Black Sails" (U.S. premiere on January 25).
The eight-episode first season of "Black Sails" centers on the
tales of Captain Flint (Toby
Stephens) and his men, and takes place twenty years prior to
Robert Louis Stevenson's classic
"Treasure Island." "Black Sails"
is executive produced by Michael Bay
(Transformers, Armageddon, Pearl
Harbor) and his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew
Form (The Purge, Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles). The series was created by showrunner and
executive producer Jonathan
Steinberg (creator "Jericho," "Human Target") and
co-executive producer Robert Levine
("Touch"). Production began on the 10-episode second season
at Cape Town Studios in Cape Town, South
Africa in November.
Other content included in the first year of the multiyear
agreement includes the VH1 TV series "Hit The Floor," TV movies
(Paper Heart, Revenge, Stolen Child), and documentaries
(Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible).
"We are very excited about expanding our cooperation with Starz.
The company is well known in international TV markets with edgy and
provocative Premium Pay TV series. We are happy to deliver such
great content to Russian audiences via our PAY and SVOD services.
An exclusive output deal with Starz - along with previously
concluded output deals with HBO, CBS/Showtime & Fox - is a
logical step to strengthen Amedia as a Russian home of premium TV
content from leading international studios," said Denis Gorshkov, VP of Programming &
Acquisitions, Amedia TV.
"Starz Worldwide Distribution is very pleased to expand the
distribution of its current and future pipeline of quality STARZ
Original series programming and other licensed TV/movie content
with Amedia," said Gene George, EVP,
Worldwide Distribution for Starz. "STARZ Original series are
truly global in their appeal as witnessed by several new output
agreements. We eagerly anticipate the first new series from
this agreement with Amedia, 'Black Sails," debuting in Russia and the region beginning on
January 26."
This new multi-year relationship further complements the
exclusive line-up of the shows to be seen on Pay TV channels Amedia
Premium HD and Amedia 1 as well as on the original Amedia VOD
platform Amediateka, the subscription video-on-demand service
together with the premium TV content from other US studios
(including HBO, CBS/Showtime, Fox, WB, Sony and ABC Studios).
Amediateka is available via multiple devices including laptops,
tablets and smartphones. Amedia Premium HD and Amedia 1 will
deliver the hits 24-hours a day in high definition in Russian
language. Amedia TV channels are available via all major cable
& satellite operators in Russia.
About Amedia
Amedia (www.amediafilm.ru) is one of the biggest Russian
producers of television films, series and programs. Amedia was
founded in 2002 by Russian producer Alexandеr Akopov, with
Len Blavatnik, American
industrialist and investor in a number of media and digital assets
worldwide, joining as a senior partner in 2005. The company's
annual production volume is over 200 hours of content in various
genres – dramas, mysteries, thrillers, romantic comedies and
sitcoms. Amedia pioneered industrial methods of TV drama production
in Russia and was the first to
launch coproduction with major Hollywood studios. Romantic drama series "Poor
Anastasia," the first project produced by the company, had great
success in Russia and was sold to
25 countries across the world. Amedia is a multiple winner of the
TEFI, Russian Television Academy Awards. Amedia started
broadcast operations in 2011 with the launch of Amedia branded
basic cable/satellite TV channel in Russia and CIS. In 2013 Amedia launched
two new Pay TV channels Amedia Premium (www.amediahd.ru) and Amedia
1 and VOD platform Amediateka (www.amediateka.ru) based on TV
international content.
About Starz Worldwide Distribution
Starz Worldwide Distribution (www.starzglobal.com) is a leading
global distributor of movies, television series, documentaries,
children's programming, and other video content. Starz
Worldwide Distribution licenses and syndicates Starz original
series and other owned and licensed third party programming on a
worldwide basis. Starz Worldwide Distribution's partnerships
with independent producers provide high-quality and diverse
programming to its clients, while its experience in the field
distinguishes it as a premier supplier in the global content
marketplace. Starz Worldwide Distribution is a Starz (NASDAQ:
STRZA, STRZB) business, www.starz.com
About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global
media and entertainment company with operating units that provide
premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay
television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution
(Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production
(Starz Animation), www.starz.com.
Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription
video programming through the flagship STARZ® and
ENCORE® pay TV networks which showcase premium original
programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors,
including cable operators, satellite television providers, and
telecommunications companies. As of September 30, 2013, STARZ and ENCORE serve a
combined 57.0 million subscribers, including 22.0 million at STARZ,
and 35.0 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium
flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ® and
ENCORE®, along with Starz Networks' third network
MOVIEPLEX®, air over 1,000 movies monthly across
17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated
online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX
PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires
entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on
DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz
Distribution's home video, digital media and worldwide distribution
business units distribute original programming content produced by
Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third
parties. Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie
content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences
worldwide.
Contacts:
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Miliana
Bogatyreva
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Eric
Becker
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Amedia/Moscow
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Starz
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+7 495 640 99
42
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(720)
852-4065
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milana.bogatyreva@amediafilm.com
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eric.becker@starz.com
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SOURCE Starz Worldwide Distribution; Amedia