Home Media Magazine - June 29 - July 5, 2008 - (Page 16)

IN FOCUS 2 www.homemediamagazine.com 1 S H OW S H OTS Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda revved up retailers at Lionsgate’s annual event Photo by: Eric Jamison at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas June 22. (L-R): HM’s Stephanie Prange; Lionsgate president and COO Steve Beeks; HM’s Thomas K. Arnold; Lionsgate EVP and GM Ron Schwarz; and EVP of marketing Anne Parducci attended Lionsgate’s annual retailer summit at the Wynn. (L-R): Dean Wilson, COO of First Look Studios; Lori Flynn, VP of new release rental with Blockbuster; and Joyce Woodward, SVP of film with Blockbuster, go heavenly and devilish at First Look’s “Saint or Sinner” party at the Palms. (L-R): Parducci, Schwartz, Best Buy merchant director Marlys Thorson, Beeks, Lionsgate’s Jed Grossman, Best Buy merchant Missy Roberts and Best Buy senior merchant Deidra Wesloh at the Lionsgate summit. Photo by: Eric Jamison 4 3 2 1 3 4 5 (L-R): Alan Fergurson, VP of product sales, MTV, and New Video’s Susan Margolin and Steve Savage at the A&E party. Enjoying an evening at the Ghost Bar were (L-R) Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes, HM group marketing director Kristina Kronenberg, Blockbuster SVP of publicity Karen Raskopf and HM publisher and editorial director Thomas K. Arnold. Maya Entertainment Home Video hosted a cocktail party to tout its first DVD, How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer. (L-R) Sandra Morales, Laura Prieto, Mary Escobedo, Tonantzin Esparza, Esmeralda Endeje, Victor Elizalde and Teresa Franco. (L-R): Warner’s Jeff Brown, Jeff Baker and Mike Saksa; EMA’s Bob Geistman; and Rentrak’s Marty Graham at Warner’s party. 8 7 6 5 6 7 8 Lionsgate Bullish on Packaged Media’s Future Continued from page 13 “They’re going to take this company to a different level,” said Ron Schwartz, EVP and GM of Lionsgate’s home entertainment division. He predicts Lionsgate could finish the first quarter of 2009 ahead of at least one, maybe two, of the six majors. Lionsgate also is optimistic about the future of home entertainment, with Blu-ray Disc sales more than making up for any slowdown in DVD sales. Blu-ray sales are expected to grow from a projected $1 billion this year to more than $10 billion in 2013, according to company analyst Michael Youn, VP of strategic planning and business development. Acknowledging media reports of a sluggish home entertainment sector that ultimately will consist mostly of digital downloads, Youn noted a highly publicized Forrester Research report from 2003 that predicted DVD sales would drop 9% by 2008, while videoon-demand spending would increase more than 300% to $4.2 billion. “They were wrong,” Youn quipped, noting that DVD sales actually rose 9% over the past five years, while VOD spending increased just 30% to $1.3 billion. “Lionsgate takes a bullish stance on the future of packaged media and the home entertainment industry overall,” Beeks told the gathering of more than 100 key retailers, including Blockbuster Inc. CEO Jim Keyes. “We believe that there is growth left in the DVD business, driven by Blu-ray, but we also embrace digital delivery as we look to strike a balance with digital options and packaged media.” Lionsgate’s strong home entertainment showing isn’t surprising, given the studio’s penchant for action, teen comedy and horror genre films with theatrical grosses generally below $50 million, prime fare for home video. Lionsgate’s theatrical pipeline for the third and fourth quarter is one of its most ambitious yet, highlighted by the Kate Hudson and Dane Cook comedy My Best Friend’s Girl in September; the Oliver Stone-directed W in October; the latest “Saw” horror sequel, also in October; sequels to The Punisher and The Transporter (November/December); and yet another new Tyler Perry release (September). Through acquisitions, Lionsgate has also beefed up its library in the TV DVD, family, fitness, Latino and direct-to-DVD arenas. In July, Lionsgate — now the No. 1 independent supplier of TV series — will release on DVD the first season of the award-winning AMC series “Mad Men.” Thanks to recent distribution deals with HIT Entertainment, Leap Frog and Little Tikes, Lionsgate, already home to animated titles in the Marvel and Bratz lines, now has a 15% share of the nontheatrical family market and is aiming for a 20% share of the preschool market. Lionsgate’s fitness category continues to generate strong sales with franchises such as Jillian Michaels, “The Biggest Loser” and “Dancing With the Stars” joining staples Kathy Smith and Denise Austin. And on the direct-to-video front, a recent deal with Ghost House, the production company headed by Sam Raimi, has given Lionsgate a new horror franchise, Ghost House Underground, which debuts in October with eight DTV horror titles. 16 Home Media Magazine July 29-July 5, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com

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