LOS ANGELES, June 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- UMC – Urban
Movie Channel, a premium subscription-based video streaming
service exclusive to RLJ Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE)
created by Robert L. Johnson,
Chairman of RLJ Entertainment and founder of Black Entertainment
Television (BET) today announced they have acquired a multi-year
license of over 40 hours of urban-themed content from Starz
Digital, the worldwide digital and on-demand syndication arm of
Starz, to be debuted on the channel over the summer.
"We are excited to have acquired an array of titles from Starz
Digital that will bolster our UMC content library," said
Angela Northington, RLJ
Entertainment's SVP of Urban Content Acquisitions. "This package is
comprised of titles ranging from comedy and drama to
action/thriller and documentary. It is in line with what our
Chairman, Bob Johnson, has
envisioned for growing the UMC digital channel," she concluded.
Mara Winokur, Senior Vice
President at Starz Digital commented, "Starz Digital is always
seeking new opportunities to identify relationships with
distributors on emerging digital platforms. This recent UMC
agreement brings strong titles from our portfolio of urban library
programming with an on-target digital outlet that is a great match
for the content."
Among the titles secured in the Starz Digital package are five
seasons of the popular Martin
Lawrence Presents: First Amendment stand-up STARZ
comedy series featuring actor, writer, and comedian Martin Lawrence (Bad Boys I & II, Big
Momma's House) as host and presenter; Phunny Business
featuring comedian Dave Chappelle
(Chappelle's Show, Half Baked), and the late comedian and
actor Bernie Mac (The Bernie Mac
Show, Ocean's Eleven); and Lies and Illusions starring
Cuba Gooding, Jr. (Jerry Maguire,
Men of Honor) and Christian
Slater (Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire
Chronicles, True Romance); and the award-winning History of
Jazz: Oxygen for the Ears documentary featuring jazz giants
Esperanza Spalding, Thelonius Monk, Norah
Jones, and many more.
ABOUT RLJ ENTERTAINMENT
RLJ Entertainment,
Inc. (NASDAQ: RLJE) is a premier independent owner,
developer, licensee, and distributor of entertainment content and
programming in primarily North
America, the United
Kingdom, and Australia.
RLJE is a leader in numerous genres including feature films and
urban with distinct content via its owned and distributed brands
such as Acorn (British TV), Acacia (fitness), Athena
(documentaries), and Madacy (gift sets). These titles are
distributed in multiple formats including broadcast television
(including satellite and cable), theatrical and non-theatrical,
DVD, Blu-Ray, digital download, and digital streaming.
Through Acorn Productions, its UK production arm, RLJE owns
all rights to the hit UK mystery series Foyle's War and is
developing new programs. RLJE owns 64% of Agatha Christie Limited,
which manages the intellectual property and publishing rights to
some of the greatest works of mystery fiction, including stories of
the iconic sleuths Miss Marple and
Poirot.
RLJE leverages its management experience to acquire,
distribute and monetize existing and original content for its many
distribution channels, including its branded digital subscription
channels, Acorn TV, AcaciaTV, and UMC - Urban Movie Channel, and
engages distinct audiences with programming that appeals directly
to their unique viewing interests. Through its proprietary
e-commerce web sites and print catalogs for the Acorn and Acacia
brands, RLJE has direct contacts and billing relationships with
millions of consumers. For more information, please visit
www.RLJEntertainment.com.
ABOUT UMC - URBAN MOVIE CHANNEL
UMC - Urban Movie
Channel (urbanmoviechannel.com) launched in November 2014.
UMC is a premium subscription-based streaming service exclusive to
RLJ Entertainment, Inc. and it is devoted to the acquisition of
feature films, comedy specials, stage plays, documentaries, music,
and entertainment for African American and urban audiences, with
plans to move into future development and production. New
titles are added weekly in addition to the more than 150 titles in
our UMC library, which include live stand-up performances featuring
Academy Award ® winner Jamie Foxx
and comedic rock star Kevin Hart;
documentaries Dark Girls and I Ain't Scared of You: A Tribute to
Bernie Mac; feature films All Things
Fall Apart starring Grammy Award ® winner 50
Cent and directed by Mario Van
Peebles, The Last Fall starring budding superstars
Lance Gross and Nicole Beharie, and The Colony starring
Laurence Fishburne; and stage play
productions including What My Husband Doesn't Know by David E. Talbert, who is described by Variety as
"the acknowledged kingpin of urban musicals." UMC is available on
the Roku platform and subscribers can access UMC from their tablet,
phone and laptop to watch movies from today's most recognizable
talent available on demand and commercial-free. Please visit
www.urbanmoviechannel.com.
ABOUT STARZ DIGITAL
Starz Digital is a
leading distributor of digital and on-demand content. Starz Digital
distributes original programming content (Starz and AMC), feature
films (The Weinstein Company, Starz Digital, Anchor Bay Films),
anime (Manga Entertainment) and other filmed entertainment
utilizing various business models including
download-to-own/electronic sell-through, video-on-demand,
pay-per-view, subscription video-on-demand and ad-supported
streaming. Starz Digital also programs and supports numerous
ad-supported broadband channels and develops games, applications
and other related content from many of its properties for
distribution worldwide. Starz Digital is a Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA,
STRZB) business, www.starz.com.
UMC Media
inquiries:
|
Starz Digital
Inquiries:
|
Traci Otey
Blunt
|
Eric
Becker
|
301.830.6204
|
720.852.4065
|
UMC@rljentertainment.com
|
eric.becker@starz.com
|
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SOURCE RLJ Entertainment, Inc.