LIONSGATE TEAMS WITH UNIVISION COMMUNICATIONS INC. TO LAUNCH THE FIRST SPANISH-LANGUAGE PREMIUM MOVIE STREAMING SERVICE

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Sep 12, 2016, 04:00 ET

New Premium On Demand Movie Service Will Tap Base of More Than 50 Million Hispanic Consumers in the U.S.

Deep Line-up of Popular Spanish-Language Hits to Include Instructions Not Included and Current Breakout Comedy No Manches Frida

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), the premier next generation global content leader, and Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), the leading media company for Hispanic America, are teaming to launch a premium subscription video on demand (SVOD) service for the booming Hispanic movie-going audience in the U.S., it was announced today by UCI President & Chief Executive Officer Randy Falco and Lionsgate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer. Launching early next year with a deep line-up of titles, this is the first premium SVOD movie service designed specifically for the tens of millions of Spanish-speaking and bilingual Hispanic consumers in the U.S.

The service will include Spanish-language box office hits spanning the comedy, family, kids, horror and drama genres and current titles from across the Spanish-speaking world, with many available on the same date as their theatrical release in Latin American markets. It will also encompass titles from Lionsgate's joint venture with Televisa, Pantelion Films, and Hollywood films from Lionsgate's 16,000-title library and other catalogs dubbed into Spanish.

Pantelion Films, the first major Hollywood Latino studio, has rights to more than 70% of the top-grossing films from Mexico over the past five years, including such blockbusters as Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S., the animated hit Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos, and the breakout comedy No Manches Frida, which opened recently with the highest per screen average of any national release.

The service is positioned to become the leading Spanish-language premium movie offering in the U.S. The venture will capitalize on the marketing and distribution expertise of Univision, which will offer the new service to cable and satellite operators individually as well as in tandem with its own Univision NOW, a subscription service for its broadcast networks Univision and UniMas. Univision will also license titles from its classic Latino cinema library to the new service.

"Our premium movie service checks all the boxes for success – a world-class partner in Univision, films from the Pantelion brand that has great equity among Spanish-speaking audiences, strong management, terrific intellectual property and a well-defined market opportunity," said Feltheimer. "This new service has all the ingredients to be the leading premium movie channel for Hispanic audiences in the U.S. as well as a great addition to our growing portfolio of SVOD services."

"Hispanic movie-goers are one of the fastest-growing segments of the entertainment business today, and this platform offers a unique value proposition combining premium content, advanced technology and tremendous accessibility," said Falco. "We're pleased to bring our marketing and distribution experience to an exciting new service driven by current and classic Spanish-language films and Hollywood favorites that will resonate with our audience. Univision's experience and vast reach coupled with Lionsgate's and Pantelion Films' successful track record demonstrate the tremendous opportunity of the Spanish-language movie audience in the U.S."

The new premium movie service joins a growing portfolio of Lionsgate SVOD services that already includes Tribeca Shortlist, launched with Tribeca Enterprises last fall, Comic-Con HQ, which debuted in July, and superstar Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud comedy platform which premieres early next year.

ABOUT LIONSGATE

Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader with a diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, international distribution and sales, branded channel platforms, interactive ventures and games, and location-based entertainment. The Company has nearly 80 television shows on 40 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses. These include the ground-breaking hit series Orange is the New Black, the fan favorite series Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the hit drama series The Royals, the Golden Globe-nominated dramedy Casual and the breakout success Greenleaf.

The Company's feature film business spans eight labels and includes the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, the Now You See Me and John Wick series, Nerve, CBS Films/Lionsgate's Hell or High Water, Sicario, Roadside Attractions' Love & Mercy and Mr. Holmes, Codeblack Films' Addicted and breakout concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion Films' 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 rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as a 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. www.lionsgate.com

ABOUT UNIVISION COMMUNICATIONS INC.

Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) is the leading media company serving Hispanic America. The Company, a leading content creator in the U.S., includes Univision Network, one of the leading networks in the U.S. regardless of language and the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the country available in approximately 93% of U.S. Hispanic television households; UniMás, a leading Spanish-language broadcast television network available in approximately 87% of U.S. Hispanic television households; Univision Cable Networks, including Galavisión, the most-watched U.S. Spanish-language entertainment cable network, as well as UDN (Univision Deportes Network), the most-watched U.S. Spanish-language sports cable network, Univision tlnovelas, a 24-hour Spanish-language cable network dedicated to telenovelas, Fusion, a 24-hour English-language news and lifestyle TV and digital network, ForoTV, a 24-hour Spanish-language cable network dedicated to international news, and an additional suite of cable offerings - De Película, De Película Clásico, Bandamax, Ritmoson and Telehit; Univision Television Group, which owns 59 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; digital properties consisting of online and mobile websites and apps, including Univision.com, the most visited Spanish-language website among U.S. Hispanics, Univision Now, a direct to consumer video service, Uforia, a music application featuring multimedia music content, The Root, the leading online news, opinion, and culture destination for African-Americans and a stake in The Onion, the nation's leading comedy and news satire brand; and Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio group in the U.S. which owns and operates 67 radio stations including stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico. UCI's assets also include a minority stake in El Rey Network, a 24-hour English-language general entertainment cable network. Headquartered in New York City, UCI has television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States. For more information, please visit corporate.univision.com.