Televisa and Lionsgate Plan New Television Programming and Development Partnership for U.S. Market

New Alliance Complements Lionsgate/Televisa Film Partnership, Pantelion Films

SANTA MONICA, Calif., VANCOUVER, British Columbia, and MEXICO CITY, Jan. 24, 2012 /CNW/ - Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a leading diversified global entertainment company, and Televisa, the leading Hispanic media company in the world, have agreed on terms for a longterm programming and development venture to create English language television content for U.S. broadcast and cable networks, it was announced today at NATPE by Lionsgate Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer and Televisa President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio Azcarraga.

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The alliance represents another expansion of Lionsgate and Televisa's longstanding partnership and complements the two companies' film joint venture, Pantelion Films, launched in 2010 to acquire and distribute feature films for the Hispanic market in the U.S. The new television partnership will include the development of scripted and unscripted English language original programming as well as format adaptations from Televisa's vast library of thousands of titles, including the leading telenovelas in the world to be produced in English. It includes a significant development fund designed to attract quality talent to approximately six to eight projects a year.

Several projects are already in the pipeline, including: FROM PRADA TO NADA, Pantelion's debut film which is being developed as a comedy TV series; BADLANDS, a scripted drama at ABC in partnership with ABC Studios based on Televisa's runaway hit SOY TU DUENA, a successful telenovela; the poignant TERMINALES for ABC Family; and TERESA, based on another hit Televisa telenovela.

"Televisa is one of the greatest programming forces in the world, and they have consistently shown the ability not only to serve Latino audiences but to reach viewers around the world with exciting, entertaining and compelling content," said Feltheimer. "I've known Emilio Azcarraga and Pepe Baston for many years, and I'm delighted to extend our Pantelion Films relationship into the U.S. television market as well."

"We're thrilled to extend and expand our relationship with Jon Feltheimer, Steve Beeks and the rest of the Lionsgate management team," said Azcarraga. "We believe that our proven success in creating exportable content for markets around the world, coupled with a strong, savvy and experienced local partner in Lionsgate, is a winning formula for establishing a strong presence among viewers in the U.S. English speaking television market."

Azcarraga and Feltheimer noted that the new venture would focus on programming with "a Latin feel and U.S. appeal."

Lionsgate and Televisa have also joined forces to identify original and exciting creative voices that will resonate with the hip young audience in the U.S. and will support the companies' film and TV partnerships. They have created the Lionsgate and Televisa Fund For Student Support at the USC School of Cinematic Arts to "support, encourage and educate new voices" by providing assistance to underrepresented minority students studying screenwriting and TV and film production at USC. The fund will provide tuition assistance and an internship opportunity at Pantelion Films to two USC graduate students a year for the next three years.

About Lionsgate
Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution. new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has 15 shows on more than 10 networks spanning its prime time production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning "Mad Men", "Weeds" and "Nurse Jackie" along with the comedy "Blue Mountain State," the Golden Globe-winning drama "Boss" and the syndication successes "Tyler Perry's House Of Payne", its spinoff "Meet The Browns", "The Wendy Williams Show" and "Are We There Yet?".

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as THE LINCOLN LAWYER, TYLER PERRY'S MADEA'S BIG HAPPY FAMILY, THE EXPENDABLES, MARGIN CALL, THE LAST EXORCISM and the critically-acclaimed PRECIOUS, which won two Academy Awards®. With the January 2012 acquisition of Summit Entertainment, the Company now has the two leading young adult franchises – the blockbuster TWILIGHT SAGA, which has grossed more than $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office, and the HUNGER GAMES franchise, whose first film will be released on March 23. Recent Summit hits include RED, LETTERS TO JULIET, KNOWING, the STEP UP franchise and the Academy Award winning Best Picture THE HURT LOCKER.

Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 13,000 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 and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

About Televisa
Groupo Televisa, S.A.B., is the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world based on its market capitalization and a major participant in the international entertainment business. It has interests in television production and broadcasting, production of pay-television networks, international distribution of television programming, direct-to-home satellite services, cable television and telecommunication services, magazine publishing and distribution, radio production and broadcasting, professional sports and live entertainment, feature-film production and distribution, the operation of a horizontal internet portal, and gaming.

SOURCE Lionsgate

http://www.lionsgate.com

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