Lionsgate Vice Chair Michael Burns said the company is set to split in two by year end with a first step in early April as the studio merges with a SPAC and starts to trade separately from Starz on the Nasdaq under the stock symbol LION. For tax reasons, the parent company will retain 87% of the studio stock at first, along with all of Starz, and the plan is fully separate the studio from Starz by the end of 2024, he told investors at Tuesday’s Morgan Stanley media conference.
Lionsgate Alternative Television will encompass the studio’s unscripted TV brands like Pilgrim Media Group, Blackfin, Renegade, Daisybeck Studios and more recently Entertainment One after the acquisition of key film and TV assets from Hasbro.
The transaction announced in August adds 6,500 film and television titles to Lionsgate’s large library; diversifies and strengthens its scripted and unscripted television businesses; extends its portfolio of brands and franchises; and expands its presence in Canada and the U.K. The deal is for $375 million in cash plus the assumption of some production financing loans.
The latest cost-cutting at the studio comes ahead of a $500 million deal for the Hasbro film and TV unit to be sold to the Hollywood studio and completed by the last week of December.
Lionsgate Entertainment has suspended advertising on Elon Musk-owned X, a spokesperson for the company said on Friday. Apple is also pausing all advertising on X, Axios reported, after Musk backed an antisemitic post on the social media platform earlier this week.
Starz Adds 200K DTC Streaming Customers
Starz, the premium cable network and streaming provider set for separation from Lionsgate’s balance sheet early next year, added 200,000 domestic OTT subscribers from July through September, according to the parent company’s fiscal Q2 report.
The new company, Free TV Networks, targets value-conscious consumers with a portfolio of national ad-supported over-the-air and FAST channels. Two new diginets will launch in 80% of the U.S. on New Year’s Day
The studio boss’s total compensation jumped from $5.6 million in fiscal 2022, according to the company’s 2023 proxy filing.
With access to Lionsgate’s expansive library of titles, the FAST channel will be available on Samsung TV Plus starting on Oct. 11. By the end of the month, Ebony TV will become available on The Roku Channel, Tubi and Amazon Freevee.
‘The Conners’: Lionsgate & Debmar-Mercury To Distribute ABC Sitcom In Deal With Werner Entertainment
Tom Werner’s Werner Entertainment, the production company behind ABC’s popular comedy series The Conners, has signed a global licensing deal with Lionsgate’s Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury to make past seasons of the sitcom available on streaming and in syndication. Under the agreement, Lionsgate’s Worldwide Television Distribution Group will handle global distribution, including SVOD, AVOD, basic cable and FAST rights, while Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury will shepherd domestic syndication for the Roseanne spinoff. The deal covers all five seasons of the series as well as rights to future seasons following ABC’s first window.