Format Optioned by Banijay Across Top European
Territories; Sony's VIASAT3 Takes Format & Series Rights
for Hungary
SANTA MONICA, Calif. and
VANCOUVER, British Columbia,
Jan. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/
-- Nearly two months ahead of its U.S. debut on Thursday,
March 9 (9:00-10:00 PM
ET/PT) on FOX, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B), a
premier next generation global content leader, has signed major
international format deals for its highly anticipated reality
series Kicking & Screaming. It was
announced today by Lionsgate President of International Television
& Digital Distribution, Peter
Iacono.
Format rights covering France, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have been licensed to leading
international production group Banijay. Lionsgate has also
finalized a deal with Sony Pictures Television Networks' VIASAT for
the format and series rights in Hungary, where it will be broadcast on
VIASAT3.
The deals with leading international producers well in advance
of the show's U.S. premiere reflect the tremendous demand for the
first of Lionsgate's major network reality brands as the Company
continues to grow its stature in the nonscripted space.
Carlotta Rossi Spencer, Head of
Global Format Acquisitions at Banijay, commented, "Kicking
& Screaming is the kind of truly entertaining,
large scale adventure series which Banijay's locally based teams
produce so well. Our broadcast clients are reassured by our
first-hand experience in creating successful big formats such
as Fort Boyard and 71 Degrees North,
and we look forward to bringing this exciting new reality concept
to European audiences."
"The format deals for Kicking &
Screaming with world-class partners Banijay and Sony
reflect the tremendous international demand for what we expect to
become a global reality brand," said Iacono. "We're delighted to
entrust this incredible property to the talented and experienced
creative teams of the leading producers in each of these
territories. We're confident that the show is in great hands."
"These deals reflect not only the excitement
that Kicking & Screaming is creating as
we head into NATPE but the growing momentum of our entire slate of
nonfiction programming," said Lionsgate Senior Vice President of
Alternative Programming Sales, Ted
Bookstaver. "We're proud to offer our buyers a portfolio of
non-scripted series distinguished by its depth, diversity and
superior quality."
Kicking & Screaming teams 10 expert
survivalists with pampered partners to face the toughest challenges
of their lives. From executive producer Matt Kunitz (Wipeout, Fear
Factor), in association with Lionsgate Television, and hosted
by Hannah Simone (New Girl),
the comedic competition series drops these unlikely duos into a
tropical jungle in Fiji, where they must team together not
only to brave obstacles, adversity and the elements… but to survive
each other. To win the competition and a cash prize, the experts
will have to drag their partners, Kicking &
Screaming, to the finish line.
About Lionsgate
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) is a
vertically integrated next generation global content leader with a
diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution,
television programming and syndication, premium pay television
networks, home entertainment, global distribution and sales,
interactive ventures and games and location-based
entertainment.
With the acquisition of Starz, Lionsgate adds to its portfolio
of businesses the flagship STARZ premium pay network serving nearly
25 million subscribers and the STARZENCORE platform
with over 31 million subscribers. The combined company will operate
five over-the-top (OTT) streaming services and the Starz app
delivering content directly to consumers.
The Company's feature film business spans eight labels and
includes the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise,
the Now You See Me and John Wick series, the
critically-acclaimed box office hit La
La Land, which won a record-breaking seven Golden
Globes, Hacksaw Ridge, Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween, CBS Films/Lionsgate's Hell
or High Water, Roadside Attractions' Manchester by the Sea, Codeblack
Films' breakout concert film Kevin
Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion
Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing
Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.
One of the largest independent television businesses in the
world, Lionsgate's slate of premium quality series encompasses
nearly 90 shows on more than 40 different networks. These include
the ground-breaking Orange is the New Black, the fan
favorite Nashville,
the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the
acclaimed drama The Royals, the Golden
Globe-nominated Casual, the breakout
success Greenleaf and hit Starz series
including Outlander, Black
Sails, Survivor's Remorse and Power,
the second highest-rated premium pay television series of 2016.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in
box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates.
Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of more than
16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important
source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation for the
growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate, Summit
Entertainment and Starz brands are synonymous with original,
daring, quality entertainment in markets around the
world. www.lionsgate.com
Press Contact:
Debbie Lawrence, The Lippin
Group/London
dlawrence@lippingroup.com
+44 7771 850580
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SOURCE Lionsgate