Lionsgate to distribute HIT Entertainment in North America

[Traveling Matt]

Lionsgate Selected to Distribute HIT Entertainment's Premiere Family Entertainment Library in North America

Agreement Catapults Lionsgate Into Top Three In North American Non-Theatrical Family Home Entertainment Marketplace With Distribution Rights To Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder, Barney, Angelina Ballerina And More

03/24/2008
SANTA MONICA, CA, VANCOUVER, BC, and LONDON, UK

Reflecting the continued growth of its home entertainment business, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), the premier independent filmed entertainment studio, has acquired the home entertainment distribution rights to worldwide family entertainment leader HIT Entertainment's extensive portfolio of award-winning children's programming in the US and Canada. The announcement was made today by Lionsgate President and Co-Chief Operating Officer Steve Beeks and HIT Entertainment Chief Financial Officer Jim Weight.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lionsgate obtains the exclusive marketing, sales and distribution rights to HIT's iconic franchises including Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder, Barney, Angelina Ballerina, Fireman Sam and newly acquired brands such as Fifi & the Flowertots and Roary the Racing Car from Chapman Entertainment, Aardman Animations' award-winning Wallace & Gromit, which includes four TV half hour episodes, and Shaun the Sheep, as well as The Jim Henson Company's Fraggle Rock and additional family titles from the Henson library.

Lionsgate is scheduled to begin distributing HIT's full slate of home entertainment releases in May 2008. Thomas and the Great Discovery, the brand's first feature length direct to DVD movie since 2005, featuring Pierce Brosnan as the narrator, will be one of the first titles released in September 2008.

"The HIT library will be one of the most treasured jewels in our family entertainment crown," said Lionsgate President and Co-Chief Operating Officer Steve Beeks. "With the opportunity to combine such evergreen worldwide brands as Barney, Thomas & Friends and Bob the Builder with our existing properties, including Marvel, Doodlebops, Bratz and Clifford, this agreement propels us into the top three family entertainment distributors in North America for non-theatrical product. It also underscores our longstanding commitment to highly recognizable, branded properties in the family entertainment space, encompassing a diverse portfolio of legendary franchises and cutting edge new properties. This deal exemplifies Lionsgate's strategy of patient, disciplined growth."

"We are thrilled to work with Lionsgate, whose existing family home entertainment operations have already generated more than 9% North American market share, to bring HIT's high-quality, trusted properties to families through home entertainment," said Weight. "We look forward to a partnership that builds on the massive popularity of franchises such as Thomas, Bob the Builder and Barney, while introducing a rich and diverse portfolio of new properties to the next generation of family audiences."

Lionsgate and HIT noted that, anticipating the emerging digital marketplace, the agreement encompasses electronic sell-through to the HIT owned titles as well as DVD distribution rights. Lionsgate currently has non-theatrical family home entertainment market share of approximately 9% and, with the new partnership with HIT, this non-theatrical family home entertainment market share is expected to grow to approximately 15%.

The addition of the HIT Entertainment portfolio continues Lionsgate's tremendous growth momentum as a distributor of many of the most prominent family brands in the marketplace. Prior to this deal, Lionsgate was the fourth largest distributor of children's non-theatrical titles and the second largest for children's nontheatrical features. In the children's television market, Lionsgate is one of the industry leaders, as it releases to DVD a virtual who's-who in family entertainment brands including Scholastic's Clifford the Big Red Dog, American Greetings' The Care Bears, Cookie Jar Entertainment's The Doodlebops, MGA's Bratz, Nelvana's Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends as well as Speed Racer and the Marvel Animated Features series.

http://www.hitnewsonline.com/releas...e_hit_entertainments_premiere_family_library/

 

[Traveling Matt]

So it seems Season 4 will come from Lionsgate.

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Fraggle-Rock-HIT-Entertainment-Distribution-Deal/9244

 

[Drtooth]

So it seems Season 4 will come from Lionsgate.

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Fraggle-Rock-HIT-Entertainment-Distribution-Deal/9244

A horrifying cold chill just went down my spine. I like how they eventually handled the TMNT releases, but they left us hanging with more episodes of ALF and ALFtales to release with the wrong episodes as artwork on the covers. They still desperately cling onto the first 13 episodes of Dragon Ball, preventing Funimation from releasing them in season sets like they do with Z. And I just plain don't like them.

I have the most frightening feeling they won't release it with any special features or bonus series bibles or sketch pads, or edited script reproductions or anything like that. Seriously, I just have that feeling we'll see FR season 4 bare bone'd.

 

[dwayne1115]

I thought they where done with the releases of Fragle Rock?

 

[Stulz]

Lionsgate

I'm optimistic that we'll see the same level of quality with FR season 4 as we've had with the previous sets.

HIT will still be producing the set, Loinsgate will just be distributing the product the same thing Fox did with seasons 2 and 3.

 

[Traveling Matt]

HIT will still be producing the set, Loinsgate will just be distributing the product the same thing Fox did with seasons 2 and 3.

Exactly. Lionsgate will most likely have the same influence Fox did, which was virtually nothing. Henson and HIT are the ones making the creative choices.

 

[Traveling Matt]

But I'd like to add that I am not a fan of Lionsgate either. Their quality control on the TMNT single-discs were good at first, but then they stopped cleaning up the episodes, and made up for it by adding previews to their discs. Ugh.

 

[Drtooth]

But I'd like to add that I am not a fan of Lionsgate either. Their quality control on the TMNT single-discs were good at first, but then they stopped cleaning up the episodes, and made up for it by adding previews to their discs. Ugh.

Some episodes came out just terrible. Like they had really bad source tapes. Half the episodes look like an illegal fan made e-bay product. I give them credit for continuing the series so far into it, though. I would love to get the box sets, myself.

But I'm furious at them for the whole Dragon Ball debacle. They have no right to hold onto it, and ignore Funimation, who stupidly sold the first 13 episodes to them in the first place.