Ascent Announces It Will Build First Online Media Marketplace to Bring Speed and Efficiency to the Global Distribution of Film, TV, Other Video Content

Ascent Announces It Will Build First Online Media Marketplace to Bring Speed and Efficiency to the Global Distribution of Film, TV, Other Video Content

Ascent Global Media Exchange (GMX) will be First One-Stop Platform Where Content Owners and Media Companies can Connect, Agree to Terms and Get Almost Instant Delivery of Media

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascent Media Group (AMG), a pioneer in transforming the speed and reach of global media distribution, today said it will build the first online marketplace that will give content owners and rights holders a platform to sell and distribute film, television, short films and other video content to web publishers, cable outlets, television networks and stations around the world.

Ascent Global Media Exchange will provide a solution to two critical needs facing today's entertainment marketplace. For content rights holders, GMX will offer a platform to surface and monetize thousands, if not millions of, content assets currently locked away in vaults and warehouses. For media companies around the world, GMX will offer a comprehensive library of premium video content that can be acquired in a seamless environment. For both parties, GMX will facilitate a shared interest in quickly and cost effectively bringing massive libraries of content into the marketplace to meet skyrocketing consumer demand for premium video content online and in other channels.

Every aspect of the existing content sales and delivery process can now be executed in an online environment. Sellers will be able to publish inventory, list licensing terms publicly if they choose or even offer content in blind auctions. Buyers can negotiate licensing terms and then choose the delivery format, whether DVD, digital asset, digibeta, mobile and more. In addition to providing this online marketplace, GMX will also be a community where buyers and sellers can connect to explore new business opportunities.

"The explosion of media distribution channels is creating new audiences for content in every corner of the world, but we still have a very inefficient supply chain to reach these diverse and distant audiences," said Jose Royo, CEO of Ascent. "Our vision is that GMX become the online, end-to-end marketplace for media content holders and buyers in every market or country to better harness the capabilities of web-based exchange for matching sellers and buyers of content and provide cost effective and timely fulfillment."

Bill Fitzgerald, Chairman of Ascent Media Group and Senior Vice President of Liberty Media, said, "Building an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of premium content is the kind of innovation and evolution that Ascent has long been recognized for throughout the entertainment industry. We look forward to supporting these efforts in the coming months and introducing our many media partners to the significant advantages we think GMX can bring to their efforts to more effectively and efficiently monetize content through new distribution channels."

Ascent also announced that entertainment executive Stephen Lyons, who spent more than a decade leading business development, strategic distribution efforts, and sales at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, will serve as Senior Vice President of Business Development and take charge of efforts to build this revolutionary platform.

"We expect that early adopters to the Ascent GMX platform will be content owners such as independent film companies that do not have the global distribution sales networks of the major studios," Lyons said. "But if we do our job right, we will bring together a very vast network of content buyers from all corners of the globe that will offer great distribution potential for all partners."

GMX will also play a leading role in helping content owners and buyers grapple with the increasingly complex array of content formats and devices in markets around the world. Buyers at GMX will be able to select from an array of format options and designate specific devices they'll need content to play on from HD televisions, to set-top boxes, portable devices, PCs or mobile. Ascent plans to open the platform to select preferred partners so the platform will meet all the distribution and fulfillment challenges facing content owners and acquirers.

Ascent has already established a distinguished track record serving the needs of content owners and acquirers in markets around the world. Through more than 74 facilities throughout the world, Ascent provides effective solutions to major motion picture studios, independent producers, broadcast networks, cable channels, advertising agencies and other companies that produce, own and/or distribute entertainment, news, sports, corporate, educational, industrial and advertising content.

"I think few companies in our industry can match the legacy of knowledge that Ascent has acquired in serving the content distribution and formatting needs of both content owners and buyers," said Chad E. Gutstein, Executive Vice President of Ovation TV. "That legacy of understanding is critical in building a platform that really works for all players and in getting the kind of global adoption that will be needed to make this online destination and marketplace a success."

About Ascent Media Group

Santa Monica, California-based Ascent Media Group, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Discovery Holding Company (NASDAQ:DISCA) (NASDAQ:DISCB) , which through its Creative Services and Networks Services groups, provides creative, digital, technical media services to the media and entertainment industries. Through more than 74 facilities in the regions of Southern California, New York, Atlanta, London and Singapore and at locations throughout the world, Ascent Media provides effective solutions for the creation, management and distribution of content to major motion picture studios, independent producers, broadcast networks, cable channels, advertising agencies and other companies that produce, own and/or distribute entertainment, news, sports, corporate, educational, industrial and advertising content.

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Source: Ascent Media Group, LLC

CONTACT: Charlene Fitzgibbon, +1-310-403-5589,
charlene@sutherlandgold.com, for Ascent Media Group, LLC

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Profile: International Entertainment