SIGNS LICENSING DEAL
April 04 2003 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:6357J
Medal Entertainment & Media PLC
04 April 2003
For release at 07.00, 4 April 2003
MEM PLC SIGNS EXCLUSIVE LICENSING DEAL
WITH CARLTON VISUAL ENTERTAINMENT
Medal Entertainment and Media plc (MEM) has signed an agreement with Carlton
Visual Entertainment (CVE) giving it exclusive direct marketing rights to the
Carlton Visual Entertainment library. CVE, a subsidiary of Carlton
Communications Plc's Consumer Product Division, is one of the leading
independent video and DVD distributors in the UK. Under the terms of the deal,
Leisureview Limited, MEM's video distribution arm, will now be the sole direct
marketing distributor of all the titles in the CVE library throughout the UK and
Eire for a period of 5 years. The value of the contract is undisclosed,
although under the terms of the agreement MEM will share all net revenues
generated on a 50-50 basis with CVE.
CVE's library covers not only the Carlton TV catalogue, with titles such as
Inspector Morse and Auf Wiedersehen Pet, but also the extensive Rank Films and
ITC libraries, including amongst others The Ipcress File and A Tale of Two
Cities. Leisureview will manufacture, distribute, market and sell the titles
through existing mail order, direct mail and direct TV advertising channels.
Any other direct marketing specialists will in future source products through
Leisureview.
Steve Ayres, Chief Executive of MEM, commented: "To my knowledge this deal is
unique in the industry, giving us a clear run at direct marketing a substantial
number of the UK's favourite TV dramas and films. Leisureview has a strong
marketing team headed by Tony Knight, previously head of direct marketing at
Britannia Video. This deal is a major step forward for the Group to achieve its
aim of becoming a major force in the exploitation and distribution of
intellectual property rights, particularly in the growth areas of TV, home video
and DVD. I am confident that the deal will produce significant revenue streams
for both us and Carlton."
Gerry Donohoe, Managing Director of Carlton Visual Entertainment, added: "We are
pleased to have signed this deal with MEM. Leisureview is an accomplished
direct marketing specialist and we are confident that this will maximise the
revenue from direct marketing channels over the coming years, which will
complement the retail success that we are experiencing via our library, through
the enormous growth of DVD."
For further information, please contact:
Steve Ayres, Chief Executive John West / Rosie Brown
MEM plc Tavistock Communications
Tel: 020 8427 2277 Tel: 020 7600 2288
Gerry Donohoe, Managing Director
Carlton Visual Entertainment
Tel: 020 7486 6688
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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