Jim Packer, president of worldwide tv distribution at Lionsgate, is betting the upcoming spin off of his Hollywood studio’s movie and TV manufacturing and library enterprise will grow to be a franchise machine.
“It’s clear it’s going to be an IP-focused firm. It’s going to supply, distribute, movie and TV,” Packer informed the Gabelli Media & Leisure Symposium throughout a session that was webcast. He pointed to the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua and set for an April 2025 launch.
“The excitement that we’re getting each time a photograph will get launched is sort of loopy. And I believe that’ll be the largest film we’ve ever had,” Packer forecast. On the mental property entrance, he additionally pointed to Lionsgate’s Starvation Video games film collection, which has introduced in round $3.3 billion in field workplace thus far.
“We’ve taken that franchise and it doesn’t map to Harry Potter, however from a monetary standpoint and an IP standpoint, it’s as necessary to us as Harry Potter is to Warner Bros,” Packer informed the Gabelli convention. His feedback adopted Suzanne Collins and her writer Scholastic on Thursday morning saying {that a} new installment in The Starvation Video games collection, the novel Dawn on the Reaping, shall be launched subsequent yr.
Films are key for Packer as his distirbution staff typically will get titles after their preliminary theatrical launch to promote throughout TV and different ancillary platforms. And with the rise of streaming and different digital platforms, together with ad-driven FAST channels, Packer stated Lionsgate has a bunch of latest TV prospects to promote content material to.
He argued Lionsgate stays agnostic when it comes to promoting authentic content material to rival platforms, and isn’t centered on solely feeding the Hollywood studio’s premium Starz service. “I wouldn’t go so far as (vice chairman) Michael Burns, who all the time says we’re a benevolent arms vendor. I don’t like that time period. I’m open to doing enterprise and we do enterprise with everybody,” Packer stated.
(In 2016, Burns informed CNBC that he regarded Netflix as a buyer like another because the streaming big stepped up its personal authentic content material manufacturing. “We’re a benevolent arms vendor, so we’ll promote to anybody,” he informed the community.)
Packer stated he has to weigh the scale of a platform trying to license content material from his studio, along with the {dollars} positioned on the desk. “In a scenario the place any individual goes to supply my staff extra per-month on a film like John Wick or Starvation Video games for one month, versus any individual desires to purchase 5 months at rather less, we would go 5, as a result of it’s a stability of the 2,” Packer insisted.
The calculations for content material licensing have been sophisticated by most streaming platforms, together with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, more and more launching cheaper, ad-driven tiers.
“Lots of my patrons are (asking) what purchaser had it proper earlier than me and the place they promoting adverts towards it, as a result of I’ve to promote adverts towards it. In order that’s one other layer now as a result of virtually each single certainly one of our SVOD shoppers has adverts,” Packer stated.