Lionsgate Aligns With Eros International to Tap Into World's Second Largest English Speaking Nation - India

Lionsgate Aligns With Eros International to Tap Into World's Second Largest English Speaking Nation - India

Joint venture sets goal to become leading aggregator and distributor of Western filmed entertainment content for market of 1.3 billion consumers

LONDON, SANTA MONICA, Calif. and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LIONSGATE(R) (NYSE:LGF) , the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, and Eros International, the London listed leading Indian filmed entertainment studio with a global distribution network, have agreed on a deal to form a joint venture for distribution of Lionsgate and other English language content in original as well as dubbed language versions within South Asia including India, across all distribution formats such as cinemas, home entertainment, television and new media.

The announcement was made today at the Cannes Film Festival by Lionsgate Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer and Eros International Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kishore Lulla.

The joint venture is designed to combine the respective strengths of the two partners by allowing Lionsgate to monetize its valuable library and new films within South Asia using the established distribution network and infrastructure of Eros International, who are market leaders of the lucrative Indian filmed entertainment sector. The partners intend the joint venture to become a leading aggregator of Western content for the booming Indian market.

In addition, Lionsgate will acquire North American home entertainment distribution rights to 20 select titles (including Oscar nominated Eklavya and the critically acclaimed Gandhi My Father) from Eros's unrivalled library of over 1,900 film titles which includes some of the top Indian Box Office successes each year and films that have most potential for a wide mainstream release in North America. In so doing, two of the strongest names in the industry will monetize their respective libraries through one another's networks and distribution channels.

The venture will also explore the production of Indian formats and remakes based on Lionsgate and third-party film catalogues and create crossover films that will tap into India's booming local language market as well as wider audiences outside of India.

India, the second largest English speaking nation in the world, has a population of over 1.3 billion and a 400 million consuming middle class, with 40 million being added to it each year, which is propelling the growth of the $10 billion media and entertainment industry growing at over 18% CAGR.

In talking of the partnership, Lulla said: "With this exciting joint venture with Lionsgate, we can now leverage our respective distribution networks and help monetize and unlock value from our deep content libraries. We believe that Eros's initiative in aggregating and distributing Western content, particularly format and remake rights custom-tailored to Indian consumers, will give us a distinct competitive advantage in the South Asian marketplace and allow us to benefit from the growing box office, home entertainment, television market and digital new media opportunities. This also demonstrates our commitment to our content partners to showcase the best of Indian entertainment to as wide an audience as possible in North America through this alliance."

Feltheimer said: "Our exclusive partnership with Eros is a superb opportunity to extend the Lionsgate brand to more than a billion new consumers worldwide as well as providing a platform for Eros content through our established network in North America. This venture reflects Lionsgate's growth strategy on two levels -- it continues the process of leveraging content already paid for into new distribution platforms, digital and traditional, around the world, and it extends our commitment to partnering with some of the top content owners and distributors around the globe.

"Kishore Lulla has built an entrepreneurial company, much like our own, which is unparalleled in its knowledge of the Indian market and the tastes of Indian filmed entertainment consumers," Feltheimer continued. "We believe that the combination of Lionsgate's content leadership and Eros' market leadership at the cutting edge of Indian cinema, coupled with superior film production, will be unbeatable for audiences throughout South Asia."

Lionsgate Executive Vice President of International Business Development Paul Presburger commented: "This is the next logical step in building out our international business. Having set up self-distribution throughout the English-speaking territories and strengthened our international sales and distribution operations, we are now focusing on key territories worldwide with the greatest growth potential. No territory could be more exciting than India, and no partner could be more valuable in reaching India's consumers than Eros."

Eros's Group COO & Commercial Director, Jyoti Deshpande added: "Our alliance with Lionsgate is a step in our vision to become the gateway for Indian content worldwide and Western content into India. We are delighted that Lionsgate chose Eros as their exclusive partners for South Asia. Also while Indian films have crossed over to various non-English speaking markets around the worlds like Germany, Poland, Russia, Malaysia and Indonesia, we believe this alliance will help market Indian films to a wider audience in North America."

    For further press information please contact:    Sterling Media    Natasha Mudhar    T: 020 7801 0077    E: natasha@sterlingmedia.co.uk     Peter D. Wilkes    Lionsgate    310-255-3726    pwilkes@lionsgate.com    Notes to editors   About Eros International plc  

Eros International plc is the leading global player in the rapidly growing Indian media and entertainment sector and the first company of its kind to be launched on the AIM market in the London Stock Exchange. Eros produces, acquires and distributes films globally across all platforms including cinemas, home entertainment, television and new media.

Established in 1977, Eros International has over three decades of market leadership in creating a global platform for Indian cinema. The company operates in over 50 countries with worldwide offices throughout India, the United Kingdom, USA, UAE, Singapore, Australia, Fiji and the Isle of Man. Eros releases 35+ new films globally each year in Hindi, Tamil and English and continues to build upon its unrivalled library of over 1900 titles.

A pioneer with over 35% market share in a highly fragmented sector, Eros International is virtually one of the only companies to truly operate on a vertically integrated studio model. Global Distribution, Motion Pictures, Music, Home Entertainment, Television, New Media and Animation are the primary Strategic Business Units of Eros.

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate is a leading next generation filmed entertainment studio with a major presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on- demand and digitally delivered content. The Company is leveraging its content leadership and marketing expertise through a series of partnerships that include the operation of the highly successful FEARNet branded VOD and Internet horror channel with Sony and Comcast, the recent announcement of the fall 2009 launch of a new premium entertainment channel with partners Viacom, Paramount Pictures and MGM, investment in the leading young men's digital distribution platform Break.com, ownership of the premier independent television syndication company Debmar-Mercury LLC and an alliance with independent filmed entertainment production and distribution company Roadside Attractions. Lionsgate also has forged partnerships with leading content creators, owners and distributors in key territories around the world, including Televisa in the U.S. and Latin America, StudioCanal in the UK, Hoyts and Sony in Australia and Eros International in India.

The Company has generated more than $450 million at the North American theatrical box office in the past year and has released a string of hits including The Forbidden Kingdom, Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns, The Bank Job, Rambo, The Eye, Saw IV, Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?, Good Luck Chuck, 3:10 To Yuma and War, most of which have opened at #1 or #2 at the box office. The Company has also forged leadership positions in television and home entertainment with the production of such critically-acclaimed television series as Weeds and Mad Men, the distribution of Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Family Feud, South Park, Trivial Pursuit and The Dead Zone, among others, and approximately 9% market share and the industry's leading box office-to-DVD conversion rate in home entertainment. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 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 brand is synonymous with entrepreneurial innovation and original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: keasterling@lionsgate.com

Source: Lionsgate

CONTACT: Natasha Mudhar of Sterling Media, +020 7801 0077,
natasha@sterlingmedia.co.uk, for Lionsgate; or Peter D. Wilkes of Lionsgate,
+1-310-255-3726, pwilkes@lionsgate.com

Web site: http://www.lionsgate.com/

---

Profile: International Entertainment