City Lights Media Group Announces Video and Digital Distribution Agreement With WEA Corp.
Strategic partnership includes video and digital distribution of feature films, television programming, documentaries and special interest
City Lights Media Group today announced a strategic partnership with WEA Corp., Warner Music Group Corp.'s (NYSE: WMG) U.S. sales and retail marketing company, for U.S. video and digital distribution of City Lights' produced and acquired feature film, television, documentary and special interest programming.
City Lights Media Group, based in New York City with an office in Los Angeles, is a fully integrated media company that includes one of the largest post-production facilities in the country. City Lights creates, markets and distributes hundreds of hours of television programming for major cable networks, produces exclusive content for broadband and hand held digital devices, in addition to developing, producing, acquiring and distributing feature films and special interest fare.
WEA Corp., named 2006 “Large Distributor of the Year” by the National Association of Retail Merchandisers (NARM), distributes audio and video product in the U.S. for WMG and its family of award-winning record labels. Beginning in spring 2007, City Lights Home Entertainment intends to release between 20-25 programs per year through WEA's distribution network.
“WEA is thrilled to join forces with City Lights to distribute their diverse portfolio of television, film, documentary and special-interest video content. We look forward to supporting their top notch releases with our national distribution and marketing resources,” said John Esposito, President and CEO, WEA Corp.
“City Lights has been pursuing its objective of transitioning from a service facility and producer of content to a broad based producer and distributor of content in all spheres,” says Danny Fisher, CEO and principal of City Lights along with brothers Jack and Joe Fisher, Michael Almog, and TV president Dave Noll. “We have found in WEA an enthusiastic and creative partner that shares our vision of diversity of both content and delivery systems of the future.”
Sal Scamardo, president of City Lights Home Entertainment states, “It's a rare opportunity to be able to shape and launch a new company, particularly one with the extraordinary resources and talent pool that City Lights possesses. Together with WEA's amazing team, including John Esposito and Vice President Allan Golden, we look forward to creating and nurturing a brand that represents entertaining, diverse and high quality programming that consumers want.”
About City Lights Media Group
City Lights Media Group has become one of New York City's most respected and fastest growing media companies, engaged in film and television financing, production and distribution and operating one of the largest post-production facilities in the country. City Lights Pictures executive produced John Waters' "A Dirty Shame" for New Line Cinema and produced supernatural thriller "Tamara" for Lionsgate from "Final Destination" creator Jeffrey Reddick. City Lights Pictures is completing post-production on "Descent," produced by and starring Rosario Dawson, directed by Talia Lugacy, and produced by Morris S. Levy's M.E.G.A. Films. City Lights is also in post-production on "The Ten," a comedy spoof of The Ten Commandments directed by David Wain and starring Paul Rudd, Jessica Alba, Winona Ryder, Adam Brody, Famke Janssen and Gretchen Mol. City Lights Pictures is in development on "Interrupted," a feature film adapted from legendary director Nicholas Ray's posthumous autobiography, "I Was Interrupted," to be directed by Philip Kaufman. City Lights Television is currently in production on over 200 episodes of television for networks including AMC, TLC, Court TV, Discovery, HGTV, WE, DIY, Oxygen, Weather Channel, and MTV. Series currently airing include AMC's "Movies 101," HGTV's “Hammered” and “Don't Sweat It,” and TLC's “Cover Shot.” City Lights Digital's broadband series include its popular daily show “Heavy News” on Heavy.com.
About WEA Corp.
WEA was the first major music distribution company in the U.S. and has continued to set the standard for sales and marketing in the music industry for more than thirty years. In addition to the Warner Bros., Elektra and Atlantic labels, WEA distributes audio and video releases from Rhino Entertainment, Asylum Records, Word Entertainment, Time-Life Music, Warner Music Latina and Curb Records, as well as several other labels. WEA's e-Commerce department works with online and traditional retailers for all commercial, digital and wireless transactions on behalf of Warner Music Group's (WMG) U.S. labels. The department develops and delivers sales and marketing programs to promote WMG's artists to online retailers and other partners.
Headquartered in New York, WEA Corp. has regional offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. Source: WEA Corp.