Universal, Studio Canal Form Joint Venture

PARIS, August 29: Universal Pictures International
Entertainment (UPIE) and Studio Canal, a subsidiary of the CANAL+ Group, have
created Universal Studio Canal Video GIE, a joint venture to market and distribute
home-entertainment titles in France.

Effective January 2008, the joint venture will combine the
sales, marketing and distribution skills of UPIE and Studio Canal in France to
build a greater share in a home-entertainment market worth 1.5 billion euros,
and allow further opportunity for significant growth. The joint venture will
also benefit from Universal‘s international sales, marketing and distribution
leadership in France. Universal Pictures France has a current market share of
8.5 percent, positioning Universal as the second-highest performing distributor
in the French home entertainment market. Universal Studio Canal Video GIE’s
operations will include sales and distribution for all titles. Studio Canal
owns an extensive movie library of more than 5,000 titles, including The
Pianist, The Third Man, My Blueberry Nights and I Do.

UPIE and Studio Canal have also agreed to extend to 2010 an existing
arrangement regarding the sales, marketing and distribution of Studio Canal
DVDs, which covers various international territories, following a long-standing
distribution partnership set up in 2003.