Electus International Secures Global Presence for Fashion Star in Nearly 75 Countries Including Australia, Canada, Brazil, Korea, Germany, France and Turkey, as Well as Across Asia and Latin America

NEW YORK, April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ben Silverman's multimedia entertainment studio Electus, an operating business of IAC (Nasdaq: IACI), today announced that its global distribution arm, Electus International, has secured finished tape distribution deals for the first season of Fashion Star, its hit reality fashion competition series hosted and executive produced by Elle Macpherson, with major networks in nearly 75 countries– including Australia (Network 10), Canada (CTV), French Canada (Mlle, a specialty channel of TVA), Korea (CJ E & M), and Brazil (Globosat), as well as across Asia (Diva Universal) and Latin America (Fox International Channels Latin America). Electus International has also secured local format deals in Australia (Network 10), Germany (Tresor TV), France (Shine France) and Turkey (Sera Films), with many more deals closing this week in Cannes. In the 10-episode competition series, Macpherson is joined by fashion icons Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie and John Varvatos who serve as celebrity mentors. Fashion Star is part of an ever-growing Electus slate that will be brought to market at MIPTV in Cannes, France in April 2012. Fashion Star currently airs in the U.S. on Tuesday nights at 10pm on NBC.

Fashion Star gives 14 unknown designers a life-changing opportunity to win a multi-million dollar contract to launch their clothing lines in Macy's, H&M and Saks Fifth Avenue – three of the largest retailers in the U.S. Contestants are put to the test to see how they react in a variety of real-world scenarios to determine who has the vision and desire to build a fashion empire. With top experts as their guides and mentors throughout the process, competing designers have to be as adept in the business of fashion as they are in their creativity.

Each episode kicks off with an exhilarating fashion show featuring musical performances, dancers, and models in front of a live studio audience. Every fashion show will be built around a weekly challenge that is designed to further develop each designer's brand. 

Buyers from Macy's, H&M and Saks Fifth Avenue serve as the judges, making on-the-spot decisions each week as they bid against each other to purchase the work of these up-and-coming designers. The night following each episode, the winning designs are available online and in retail stores in the U.S. In the end, the designer who most successfully combines fashion and business will become the next "Fashion Star" and receive the prize of a lifetime – an exclusive capsule line in each of the three retailers.

"The Fashion Star format is one-of-a-kind in reality fashion entertainment as it brings commerce and entertainment together through undiscovered designers, celebrity mentors and influential retailers in an exciting way that the world has never seen before," said John Pollak, President of Electus International. "With Fashion Star, TV viewers now have the opportunity to not only watch, but to actively participate in building the world's next major fashion brand, and we are thrilled to bring this compelling show to audiences around the world." 

The Fashion Star format was developed by Ben Silverman of Electus (NBC's The Biggest Loser, The Office, and The Tudors), Rick Ringbakk of Emmy Award-winning 5x5 Media (Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution), and E.J. Johnston and James Deutch of EJD Productions.

The show is executive-produced by Elle Macpherson, Ben Silverman of Electus, Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth of The Magical Elves, Rick Ringbakk of 5x5 Media and EJ Johnston and James Deutch of EJD Productions.  Electus International retains all international distribution rights.

For embeddable clips and full episodes from Fashion Star, please visit NBC.com's official show site: http://www.nbc.com/fashion-star/.

For artwork and a complete press kit from the show please visit the NBCUniversal Media village website at http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/.

Please follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NBCFashionStar and on Twitter @NBCFashionStar.

About Electus
Electus is the first integrated multimedia entertainment studio to unite producers, creators, advertisers and distributors under one roof and produce all forms of content for distribution across a variety of platforms around the world. Headed by Ben Silverman in partnership with IAC [NASDAQ: IACI], the company connects advertisers, distributors and content creators early on in the development process, enabling marketers and advertisers to be a true partner in campaigns and content creation. Electus International, the global distribution arm of Electus, is responsible for all international sales and distribution for Electus' programming and its studio partners as well as programs and formats from other well-known 3^rd party providers. For more information on Electus, visit www.electus.com.

Media contacts:
Electus
Stacy Simpson
(212) 314-7326
[email protected]

Sunshine Sachs
Jessica Berger
(212) 691-2800
[email protected]

SOURCE Electus