Chellomedia Acquires Stake in Short Film Outfit

LONDON, February 15: Through its subsidiary LGI Ventures,
Chellomedia, the European content division of Liberty Global, has acquired a
25-percent interest in Shorts International, a London-based supplier of short
films.

In addition to its investment, Chellomedia will also have a
non-executive director on the board of Shorts International.

Shorts International is the creator of ShortsTV, a television
channel that is distributed on cable in France, Belgium and Luxembourg. The
channel reaches 3.2 million households on several mobile platforms and via the
Internet on Joost. The channel provides high-quality award-winning shorts and
animated films. More than half of the catalogue’s individual films have been
nominated for or received international film awards, including the Cannes,
Edinburgh, Clermont Ferrand and Sundance film festivals. Programming includes
5- to 30-minute ‘shorts’ by indie film directors and from leading animation
studios, music producers, directors and actors, including Alfred Hitchcock,
Ewan Macgreagor, Julie Walters, Ray Winston, John Cleese and Mel Gibson.
Further launches in European territories are expected to follow later this
year.

Shorts International provides content to Apple’s iTunes
Store in the U.S., where its films are sold for $1.99. For the last three
years, the company has partnered with Magnolia Pictures in the U.S. to launch
all of the Oscar-nominated live-action and animated short films into theatres
across the U.S. and for sale on iTunes before the Academy Awards ceremony.

Shane O’Neill, the president of Chellomedia, said: “We
believe the ShortsTV channel and its content concept has great potential
internationally and its activities complement our own media activities. The
management team has established a good base in the U.S. and France very
rapidly. Shorts International sits well with our investment strategy and the
portfolio of TV and media businesses which make up LGI Ventures and we’re
looking forward to developing the business with the company’s well-regarded
management.”

Added Carter Pilcher, the chief executive and founder of
Shorts International, “Short films are fantastic entertainment for today’s
young video-savvy users. And ShortsTV is a fun and unique viewing experience
that’s not only a must-see for the digitally literate, but is pulling in
audiences across the entertainment spectrum. This is cinema for the broadband
age. The audience is underserved by mainstream TV and most traditional movie
channels. The depth and richness of material available in short-form
programming is astounding and much of it has yet to be widely broadcast and
internationally distributed. ShortsTV is a constant entertainment companion
that plays well in both linear-channel environments and in new media such as
web, ‘electronic sell through’ and mobile downloads. We are delighted with our
new relationship with Chellomedia and other Liberty Global affiliates and with
their commitment to our filmmakers, to our audience, to our business and who
will bring key expertise as we develop internationally.”

—By Irene Lew