FiOS TV Grows Its Independent Film Offering With Seed&Spark Partnership

FiOS TV Grows Its Independent Film Offering With Seed&Spark Partnership

NEW YORK, March 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- This year's film awards season showcased the growing appetite and reach for independent films. Beginning in April, Verizon will be the first pay-TV provider to offer FiOS TV customers access to more independent films On Demand as part of a new partnership with the world's leading independent film crowdfunding and distribution platform, Seed&Spark.

Q&A: Founder Emily Best on State of Indie Film, New Partnerships, and More

Whether for viewing in a FiOS TV customer's living room or on-the-go, Seed&Spark experts will hand-select independent films that push boundaries of storytelling and filmmaking. All films featured On Demand are funded with the help of the Seed&Spark platform, independent film festivals, screening series and art houses.

Ben Grad, executive director of content strategy and acquisition at Verizon, said, "We are excited to partner with Seed&Spark, which has a deep understanding of the independent film industry. Customers will be able to learn more about the independent film industry and follow a film's development. With this partnership, we look forward to providing our customers with more content choices from independent filmmakers."

Seed&Spark Founder and CEO Emily Best said, "This is an exciting step for independent filmmakers. Verizon provides a huge platform for filmmakers to connect with their audiences. Filmmakers will be able to tell their stories straight from their hearts and into millions of homes. The films we select pulse with the spirit of artists who went to tremendous lengths to bring their stories to life. "

"A larger audience means more opportunities for filmmakers to finance, produce and distribute movies," added Seed&Spark Director of Content Eve Cohen. "And, the audience is getting the films they want to see in return. As a result, greater diversity of stories and formats will become accessible to subscribers."

FiOS TV offers a broad collection of programming and industry-leading picture quality with more than 625 all-digital channels, including up to 185 HD channels, and over 100,000 Video On Demand titles and growing, including over 40,000 in HD.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with more than 108 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide. A Dow 30 company with more than $127 billion in 2014 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 177,300. For more information, visit www.verizon.com/news/.

Seed&Spark is a truly independent filmmaking community where filmmakers and audiences come together for crowdfunding, production, and streaming distribution. Every time an audience member supports the making of a moving picture project (funding, following, sharing) they earn "Sparks" which can be redeemed to watch movies on the streaming platform. Supporting films lets you watch more films: It's the new ecosystem for filmmakers & audiences! With the highest crowdfunding success rate in the business (84%) and distribution pipelines out to iTunes and more, Seed&Spark provides an unprecedented pipeline for independent filmmaker. Seed&Spark also published a semi-annual print magazine for film audiences, Bright Ideas, featuring the new and dangerous voices of truly independent cinema. For more information, go to www.seedandspark.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts and other information are available at Verizon's online News Center at www.verizon.com/news/. The news releases are available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

SOURCE Verizon

Verizon

CONTACT: Verizon Media Contact: Jarryd Gonzales, Verizon, 213-800-3184, jarryd.gonzales@verizon.com, @jarrydgonzales; Seed&Spark Media Contact: Katja Schroeder, Seed&Spark, 718-312-8209, katja@expeditionpr.com

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


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