ZillionTV Secures Content Deal with Lionsgate

ZillionTV, a company that is attempting to launch a subscription-free IPTV/OTT service (note: the company recently replaced founding CEO, Mitch Berman, with Jack Lawrence, who was previously CFO and COO at toymaker, Corgi International; shortly prior to that, it announced that it was delaying its commercial launch until the second half of next year, and that it was pursuing a direct-to-consumer strategy to supplement its telco-targeted strategy; it was subsequently reported to have laid off nearly a third of its staff--for more background, see the articles published on itvt.com, October 21st, October 12th and September 21st), said Monday that it has added Lionsgate to its roster of studio partners. To date, the company has also announced content partnerships with Disney, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox Television.

According to ZillionTV, Lionsgate will offer current feature film releases and TV programming, as well as content from its library of around 12,000 film and TV titles, via all three viewing options that ZillionTV plans to offer to consumers: pay-per-view, buy-to-own and advertising-supported (note: ZillionTV says that "a selection" of Lionsgate's catalog titles will be available on an ad-supported basis, requiring viewers to watch a set of ads at the start of each film).

Content covered by the new deal includes "Mad Men," "Weeds," "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail," "The Haunting in Connecticut," "My Bloody Valentine 3D" and "Rambo." "We are delighted to add Lionsgate's diverse range of television and film properties to the ZillionTV Service," former CEO, Mitch Berman (who now holds the title, executive chairman), said in a prepared statement. "Lionsgate has already established itself as the leading next-generation studio committed to finding new and exciting ways to connect with its consumers and it offers an impressive array of commercially successful and critically acclaimed feature films and television programming in addition to its enormous library of filmed entertainment content. This agreement demonstrates that content providers can benefit from new revenue streams without having to pass along costs to the viewer. The ZillionTV Service is subscription-free and in the case of a selection of Lionsgate catalog titles, offers advertising-supported programming for free." Curt Mavis, Lionsgate's president of digital media, added that ZillionTV has "distinguished itself with a strong business model and an impressive content offering."

ZillionTV--which says that, while it is still focused on forming partnerships with communications service providers, it is now offering its service directly to consumers in areas where it is not available through such a partnership--claims that its free ad-supported viewing model will allow consumers to select advertising categories based on their interests. If they prefer, they will be able to decline to select any ad categories and simply watch randomly displayed ads, the company says.