MarVista Evolves with Market Demands

Having entered the global TV distribution business more than a decade ago, MarVista Entertainment has managed to keep pace with changes in the market. The company has expanded over the years into original feature film and television production, building up a catalogue that now houses more than 2,000 hours of content.

Having entered the global TV distribution business more than a decade ago, MarVista Entertainment has managed to keep pace with changes in the market. The company has expanded over the years into original feature film and television production, building up a catalogue that now houses more than 2,000 hours of content.

“We have a very strong production team in L.A. and are also very active in acquiring third-party content, always taking into account our unique market knowledge and solid relationships with our program partners,” says Vanessa Shapiro, MarVista’s executive VP of distribution. “That’s why MarVista has been so successful for the past decade and is relied upon by the top broadcasters and platforms in the world.”

While the company has been an active player in acquiring and distributing third-party content, expanding its stable of original content is a key part of its long-term business development strategy. “Original productions provide greater opportunities, as MarVista can monetize its investment across a broad spectrum of platforms and markets, which is especially true with the recent launch of MarVista Digital Entertainment,” notes Shapiro. “The more rights we control, the more strategic we can be in our distribution, which ultimately increases the amount of content coming through our production pipeline, so we’re creating a cycle of expansion that will continue to fuel the company’s growth.”

Within the catalogue, TV movies have been a strong segment, and MarVista plans to continue to build up this area. “Movies afford programmers great flexibility, and they provide audience engagement for special event-type stunts or solid recurring blocks,” Shapiro says. “Movies can also be very important to support the brand identity of a network while delivering star power and engaging viewers with targeted genres without the long-term financial commitment necessary to sustain drama, action or comedy series. Movies can also be an excellent way to test viewers’ interest in potential story lines, characters or subjects that can be spun out into series if proven successful.”

At MIPCOM, MarVista will be unveiling its largest slate of original movies ever. The movie roster is highlighted by the debut of the action disaster film 10.0 Earthquake, starring Henry Ian Cusick (Lost, Scandal), David Chokachi (Baywatch), Jeffrey Jones (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Kristen Dalton (The Dead Zone), Cameron Richardson (Shameless) and Abbie Cobb (Suburgatory).

Also highlighted is The Brittany Murphy Story, which stars Amanda Fuller (Last Man Standing, Grey’s Anatomy), Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks, Boxing Helena), Eric Petersen (Kirstie, Naughty and Nice) and Amy Davidson (8 Simple Rules, The Capture of the Green River Killer). The telefilm moves from Murphy’s early years as an idealistic young performer through her life as a Hollywood starlet and culminates with her death at just 32 years old.

MarVista will also debut two romantic comedies for the holidays: Another Christmas Kiss, starring Elisabeth Harnois of CSI and One Tree Hill, and Christmas Mix, which stars Haylie Duff from Napoleon Dynamite and A Fairytale Christmas. Another romantic comedy—this one for year-round—is Mothers of the Bride. This is complemented by some new thrillers, including The Assault, Don’t Look Back and Bad Blood,all executive produced by MarVista’s Fernando Szew (CEO) and Sharon Bordas (executive VP of production and development).

In keeping with the current trends of the marketplace, the company recently launched its MarVista Digital Entertainment division to address the needs of the growing digital entertainment sector. “We are releasing MarVista’s original and acquired content to leading digital platforms across cable, satellite, telco, broadband and consoles throughout North America,” says Shapiro. “Scott Kirkpatrick, MarVista’s director of distribution, oversees the distribution effort for the new unit, with the company’s original productions, co-productions and third-party acquisitions filling the content pipeline.”

The unit launched in June and to date, MarVista Digital Entertainment has signed license agreements with several of the leading digital platforms in the U.S., including In DEMAND, Amazon, Hulu, Google, Vudu, Vimeo and AT&T, among others. The launch of MarVista Digital Entertainment illustrates just one of the ways that the company has evolved to meet the demands of the ever-changing market.