Multiyear Development Deal Encompasses Film, Television And
Digital Content
SANTA
MONICA, Calif., and VANCOUVER, British
Columbia, April 14, 2014 /CNW/ - Lionsgate (NYSE:
LGF), the premier next generation global content leader, and
RocketJump Studios, a pioneering digital studio that has emerged as
one of YouTube's hottest innovators, have formed a ground-breaking
multiyear partnership for the creation of film, television and
digital content, the two companies announced today.
RocketJump has surged to online stardom with its effects-laden
short films and iconic web series Video Game High School,
now in its third season. Since its founding four years ago by
Freddie
Wong, Matt Arnold and Dez Dolly, the
company has launched a broad range of properties on YouTube and
RocketJump.com that have propelled it to over 6.8 million
subscribers and nearly a billion views across all platforms.
Lionsgate, whose content portfolio includes The Hunger
Games, Twilight and Divergent franchises, 34
television series on 22 different networks and a 15,000-title film
and TV library, has established a reputation as an innovator in the
digital space.
The deal enables Lionsgate to access RocketJump's upcoming slate
of digital content, in-house talent and devoted fan base while
allowing RocketJump to utilize Lionsgate's content leadership and
global marketing prowess, bringing more long-form projects to its
audience while continuing to expand its roster of weekly shorts,
podcasts and tutorials.
"This partnership unites two entrepreneurial companies with
similar cultures and a shared commitment to build new models for
creating and delivering content to the next generation of
audiences," said Lionsgate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer.
"Freddie
Wong is one of digital media's most prolific and
visionary creators, and RocketJump is a bold and innovative
platform that expands the breadth and diversity of content we bring
to our audiences and extends our storytelling abilities in exciting
new directions."
"Lionsgate stood out as the one studio that really gets our
brand and will give us the freedom to flourish as digital content
creators and distributors," said Wong. "It's rare to find a
corporate partner who encourages true creativity, but our meetings
with Lionsgate's creative team convinced us that this is the right
move for RocketJump and our millions of fans."
The RocketJump agreement expands a Lionsgate digital portfolio
that already includes a stake in the Defy Media online platform,
the BeFit branded fitness channel on YouTube, a reputation for
innovative film marketing campaigns utilizing social media from
Saw to The Hunger Games and Divergent
franchises, original programming like the hit television series
Orange is the New Black and the new comedy Deadbeat
for digital platforms Netflix and Hulu, respectively, and a
passionate fan base of nearly 400 million followers of Lionsgate
content on Facebook.
ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a
strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and
distribution, television programming and syndication, home
entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new
channel platforms and international distribution and sales.
Lionsgate currently has 34 television shows on 22 networks spanning
its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses,
including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy
Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the comedy
Anger Management, the network series Nashville, the syndication success
The Wendy Williams Show and the critically-acclaimed series
Orange is the New Black.
Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent
successes as the blockbuster first two installments of The
Hunger Games franchise, The Hunger Games and The
Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the first installment of the
Divergent franchise, Now You See Me, Kevin Hart: Let
Me Explain, Warm Bodies, The Expendables 2,
The Possession, Sinister, Roadside Attractions'
Mud and Pantelion Films' breakout hit Instructions Not
Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever
released in the U.S.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in
box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate.
Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of
approximately 15,000 motion picture and television titles that is
an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the
foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The
Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original,
daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.
ABOUT ROCKETJUMP
RocketJump Studios is a digital entertainment company that
specializes in development, production and distribution of original
web video content, TV shows and feature films. Since its humble
beginnings in 2010, as the FreddieW YouTube channel, RocketJump has
since rebranded itself as a pioneer in the digital direct to
consumer new media landscape. Co-founded by Freddie Wong,
Matthew
Arnold, and Desmond Dolly, RocketJump has amassed a
catalogue of hundreds of original action, comedy and family
oriented videos that have gained over 1 billion views across their
7 million subscribers on YouTube alone. In addition to Hollywood-quality VFX laden shorts and
web series, RocketJump is expanding their business into new forms
of media including comics, games, podcasts and more feature length
offerings.
RocketJump boasts their ground-breaking full length web series,
Video Game High School - now entering its third season. The first
season of VGHS and its 55 million views made it one of the most
watched original scripted digital series of all-time. With a
presenting sponsorship from Dodge Automobiles, and another record
breaking crowd-funding campaign (Season Two broke Kickstarter
records and raised over $800,000 in 28 days) the second season of
VGHS went on to be named the "#1 Webseries of 2013" by Variety and
was a runaway hit on Netflix. The third season of VGHS smashed all
previous crowd-funding records and is currently filming in
Los Angeles,
California.
A rocket jump is a videogame technique where you point a rocket
launcher at your feet, jump, and then fire, using the resulting
explosive force of the rocket to propel you to unfathomable
heights. Company co-founders, Freddie Wong, Matt Arnold and
Dez
Dolly, couldn't think of a name more suited to the
kind of content they produce. RocketJump Studios content offerings
can be found on YouTube/RocketJump and on their custom portal,
www.RocketJump.com.
For further information, please contact:
Peter D.
Wilkes
Lionsgate
310-255-3726
pwilkes@lionsgate.com
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SOURCE Lionsgate