Home-Entertainment Deals for FME

CANNES: FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) has scored three deals in its home-entertainment division, bolstering its distribution in Eastern Europe and expanding its catalogue in Australia and New Zealand.

FME secured an exclusive output deal with Intersonic in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, giving the company rights to FME’s home-entertainment titles. FME signed a similar deal with Viva in the Middle East two months ago.

Richard Tulk-Hart, the VP of sales for EMEA home entertainment for FME, said, “Intersonic is the leading distributor in the region and we’re looking forward to our content being made available to more customers. In keeping with FME’s global strategy of tapping into local expertise to maximize opportunities, we’re always looking for more partners around the world, in particular for EMEA in Central and Eastern Europe.”

FME Australia inked a deal with Target Entertainment Group to release new DVD titles from Target in Australia and New Zealand. The agreement will also cover reverting DVD titles previously licensed in the territory. FME will be releasing between 25 to 30 titles per year. FME Australia has also firmed up a deal with Cineflix International that gives them first options on all new Cineflix titles in Australia and New Zealand as well as previously licensed titles in the region.

Daryl O’Connor, the senior VP of home entertainment for Australia and New Zealand at FME, commented, “The content from both Target and Cineflix sits very well with our existing repertoire and future plans. We are delighted to be partnering with both companies who are internationally recognized programming forces.”

Chris Rayson, the director of international DVD for Target Entertainment Group, added, “We have always taken a lot of care in choosing the best partners for our business. This deal is a major commitment on behalf of FME and Target and we believe FME’s confidence in Target’s programming will prove itself quickly. We look forward to working in partnership with FME and further developing mutual opportunities.”

Added Cineflix’ international sales manager, Lucinda Garner, “As Cineflix moves to license our content across all platforms in every territory, we see our output deal with FME as an important first step in expanding our business with them.”