Tiger Gate KIX Into Gear to Thrill Audiences, Launching Two Pan-Asian Action and Horror Channels and Announcing Financial Partners

Tiger Gate KIX Into Gear to Thrill Audiences, Launching Two Pan-Asian Action and Horror Channels and Announcing Financial Partners

Teams With DBS Provider Indovision To Serve Indonesian Market KIX And Thrill Channels To Be Launched In Hong Kong, Singapore And Other Territories By Year-End

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and HONG KONG, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tiger Gate, the Asian media venture started by William Pfeiffer and Paul Presburger and backed by the assets and resources of Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF), the leading next generation studio, announced today that it has launched the action channel KIX and the thriller/horror/suspense channel Thrill to serve the pan-Asian marketplace of more than two billion consumers. Tiger Gate also announced that it has brought on board Asian financial partners Asia TMET Fund Management, an Asian-Pacific private investment firm, and Meadow Technology Partners, a China-based investment company.

As the first step in its planned territory-by-territory rollout, Tiger Gate announced that it has teamed with Indovision, the Indonesian digital satellite provider and pay TV market leader, to serve the Indonesian market of over 250 million consumers. The KIX and Thrill channels will be launched on the remaining Indonesian platforms later this month and will follow with launches in Singapore and Hong Kong before the end of the year, with other Asian territories slated to follow in 2010.

Tiger Gate is also producing local feature film and television content that focuses on the action and thriller/horror genres and complements its channels business. In addition to being featured on the KIX and Thrill channels, this content will be distributed by third party platforms around the world.

William Pfeiffer, Tiger Gate's CEO, led Sony Pictures and Disney into the Asian filmed entertainment market and has launched more than 25 successful Asian channels, including AXN, Animax, Celestial Movies, and Sony Entertainment Television. He has also overseen the production of tens of thousands of hours of Asian TV programming and feature films. Most recently, he served for seven years as CEO of Hong Kong-based Celestial Pictures. Paul Presburger, who most recently served as Executive Vice President at Lionsgate, worked with Pfeiffer at Sony Pictures and spearheaded the development of AXN and Animax in the region. Other key executives in the Tiger Gate management team include Michael Chan, Jeremy Hall-Smith and Patrick Corr.

The Tiger Gate venture will be backed by Lionsgate, the next generation studio which has recently leveraged its content leadership, marketing skills and brand into a suite of channel platforms including the TV Guide Network, a joint venture with financial partner One Equity Partners, the FEARnet branded horror channel, with partners Sony and Comcast, and the Epix multiplatform premium channel, launching this fall with partners Viacom and MGM.

Thrill is a 24-hour linear channel with future multiplatform opportunities that will showcase top Asian and Hollywood thriller/horror/suspense blockbusters and TV series, and it will leverage the vast catalogue of thriller and horror content in Lionsgate's library of more than 12,000 motion picture and television titles. KIX is an Asian action channel that offers top action-related entertainment for Asian audiences, including action reality shows, extreme sports, fight events and action movies. It will deliver high-quality movies and several hours of fresh action, adventure and sci-fi programming daily, including fight tournaments, extreme sports games and action reality shows. Asian action and horror/thriller movies are the two largest and fastest-growing segments of the Asian filmed entertainment marketplace.

"The future of the television business lies in its ability to identify and capitalize on new areas of growth worldwide," said Lionsgate Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer. "We see great opportunities in branded international channel platforms, and the horror and action markets are a space we know well. I've worked closely with William and Paul since our Sony days, and we believe that Tiger Gate is well positioned to have an immediate impact in this large and growing niche."

"The pan-Asian television market offers tremendous opportunities for branded channels that can distinguish themselves from the competition with a targeted approach, a long-term vision and distinctive, compelling programming," said Pfeiffer. "One of Lionsgate's greatest strengths has been its ability to focus on large, underserved niche audiences with branded content custom-tailored to their tastes. Whether with the Saw and Tyler Perry franchises, success in delivering original programming to emerging cable networks, or its recent channel initiatives, Lionsgate has consistently shown the ability to bring its content, marketing and branding skills to bear on well-defined market opportunities and to achieve success. I believe that Tiger Gate's two branded channels will create a compelling long-term value proposition for Asian consumers, and I am delighted to welcome Mark Pawley at Asia TMET Fund Management and Tony Zheng at Meadow Technology Partners as financial partners to help us build the diversified Tiger Gate media platform."

"Lionsgate is a proven authority in the worlds of action and horror, and we believe that KIX and Thrill can deliver excitement, quality and diversity unlike anything else in the marketplace," said Presburger. "We are delighted to partner with Indovision, the clear market leader in the pay TV space, in a market with a quarter billion consumers and rising. The Asian pay television market is growing at double digits annually and is expected to reach nearly $50 billion in the next five years. With William Pfeiffer's dynamic and experienced leadership, the backing of Lionsgate's resources and expertise, and the long-term commitment of our new financial partners, who will play an important role in funding the venture's growth, Tiger Gate's KIX and Thrill brands are positioned to resonate with Asian audiences for years to come and to become innovative, game-changing market leaders."

About Tiger Gate

Tiger Gate Entertainment operates KIX, an Asian action channel, and Thrill, a thriller/horror/suspense movie channel, launched to serve initially the two billion consumers of the Asian marketplace. KIX and Thrill were launched in Indonesia in August 2009, with planned launches in Hong Kong and Singapore before year end and other Asian territories next year. Tiger Gate also operates a TV and film production business to produce local feature film and television content that focuses on the action and thriller/horror genres and complements its channels business. Tiger Gate is backed by the assets and resources of Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF), the leading next generation studio, and financial partners Asia TMET FUND Management, an innovative Asian-Pacific private investment firm, and Meadow Technology Partners, a Chinese investment company led by Tony Zheng.

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF) is the leading next generation studio with a strong and diversified presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming through Debmar-Mercury, reality programming through its joint venture with ISH Entertainment and an array of channel platform assets. Its feature film business achieved a record box office performance in the recent January-March 2009 quarter, driven by the success of "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes To Jail," "My Bloody Valentine 3-D" and "The Haunting In Connecticut." The Company's home entertainment business has grown to more than 7% market share and leads the industry in its box office-to-DVD revenue conversion rate. 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 remains synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

www.lionsgate.com

For further information, contact:

Peter D. Wilkes
310-255-3726
pwilkes@lionsgate.com

Source: Lionsgate

CONTACT: Peter D. Wilkes of Lionsgate, +1-310-255-3726,
pwilkes@lionsgate.com

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

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