JERICHO, NEW YORK, September 8, 2003 – AMC and Falcon Picture Group have signed a multi-year licensing agreement to produce and distribute AMC branded DVD movie and television collections. Falcon Picture Group has also engaged Genius Products to distribute the DVD collections for the life of its AMC deal. Three collections are being produced: AMC MonsterFest, AMC Movies, and AMC TV for Movie People. The first collection, AMC MonsterFest, will hit retail stores in October 2003.
Falcon Picture Group will license studio movies and television programs and work with public domain features to generate the content and package the DVD collections, using AMC's logo and vibrant color palette. Genius Products will work with major retail outlets to distribute the collections.
"We're excited to be working with AMC – one of the most respected networks on television today," said Klaus Moeller, CEO of Genius Products. "AMC offers unsurpassed brand recognition, reaching over 84 million homes, and we plan to leverage this branding by launching a high-quality DVD line. This agreement furthers our mission to become a leading entertainment company, focused on creating, developing and acquiring rights to popular properties and brands."
"The strength of AMC's name partnered with Genius Products' development and distribution expertise position both companies to become a leader in the growing DVD market," comments Ed Henrich, Director of Business & Affiliate Development, AMC Digital Ventures.
Each DVD set contains two disks with two movies on each – a total of four films. The AMC MonsterFest collection features films starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff; by director/producer Roger Corman; and Francis Ford Coppola's directorial debut, "Dementia 13." The AMC Movies collection showcases Hollywood favorites James Cagney, Cary Grant and others. The AMC TV for Movie People collection features original television series later developed into feature films such as Dragnet and Abbott & Costello. Each AMC TV for Movie People collection will feature 14 episodes on two disks.
Genius plans to distribute the AMC MonsterFest DVD collection in the fall, available in retail stores in October 2003. AMC's annual MonsterFest is an annual Halloween festival that is the ultimate television destination for monster movie fans. This year's 7th annual installment, October 26-31, features over 30 films spanning seven decades. AMC MonsterFest DVDs will be sold via movie retailers and major retail outlets and will be promoted on AMC and www.amctv.com. The AMC Movies collection will be available in November 2003; and the AMC TV for Movie People collection will launch in 2004.
"The DVD business has exploded over the past 24 months, with DVD penetration now exceeding 39 million households with the average household purchasing approximately 15 DVD's per year," stated Julie Ekelund, Executive Vice President of Sales for Genius Products. "We're excited to be entering this rapidly growing market with such a respected leader in the entertainment field. We have extremely aggressive growth plans for 2004 and our entrance into the DVD market will help us achieve those goals."
About AMC
AMC is a 24-hour, movie-based network, dedicated to the American movie fan. The network, which reaches over 84,000,000 homes, offers a comprehensive library of popular movies and an increasingly visible, critically- acclaimed, slate of original programming that is a diverse, movie-based mix of original series, documentaries and specials. Over the past three years AMC has garnered many of the industry's highest honors, including eight Emmy awards. AMC is "TV for movie people."
About Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc.
A leader in sports, news and entertainment programming, Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC). Rainbow owns and manages national networks: AMC, IFC (The Independent Film Channel), WE: Women's Entertainment and Fuse, as well as Mag Rack, a collection of on-demand video magazines. Rainbow's other businesses include its regional programming services — MetroChannels, News 12 Networks and Rainbow Sports Networks — as well as the Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation and Rainbow Network Communications. Rainbow is a 50 percent partner in Fox Sports Net.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of uncertainties. Such statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, established by securities legislation, and are based on the assumptions and exceptions of the company at the time such statements are made. Actual results could vary for many reasons, including but not limited to, the timely development and acceptance of new products and general market conditions. Other such risks and uncertainties include the company's ability to grow its business, the continuation of the company's distribution network, growth and other matters, which are described in the company filings with the SEC.