Television
September 25, 2000
Warner Bros. International Television Distribution Acquires International Television Distribution Rights To Byron Allen’s Library Of Celebrity-Driven TV Programming
(September 25, 2000 - Burbank, CA) - Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD) has acquired the international television distribution rights to the 600-plus-hour programming library of celebrity-based interviews from Byron Allen’s entertainment network and superstore, EntertainmentStudios.com. The announcement was made today by Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. International Television, and Byron Allen, Chairman and CEO of EntertainmentStudios.com.
WBITD will begin offering the library to its international clients at MIPCOM 2000, with broadcasters having the option of airing the full episodes of the various series included in the deal or adapting the interviews for their own magazine-style shows. The programming from EntertainmentStudios.com’s current first-run series includes “Entertainers with Byron Allen,” “The American Athlete” and “Kickin’ It.”
“We are very pleased to announce that Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, the world’s leading programming distributor, will handle our library overseas,” said Allen.
“The explosion of thematic satellite and cable channels internationally has created a great demand for entertainment news and celebrity interviews,” said Schlesinger. “We are going to offer this great library of celebrity-based programming to our broadcasters with the flexibility of airing these series as stand-alone episodic programming or as elements within their own entertainment magazine shows.”
EntertainmentStudios.com produces and distributes seven hours of first-run programming each week. The company’s roster includes “Entertainers with Byron Allen” entering its seventh season, “The American Athlete” which will air its 100th episode this April and “Kickin’ It” going into year three. “Every Woman,” a half hour weekly femme profiler, and “Global Business People,” spotlighting successful business leaders, are both entering their sophomore year, and Allen also produces “Destination Stardom” with legendary producer Al Masini (“Entertainment Tonight,” “Star Search”). Bowing this season is “EntertainmentStudios.com,” a daily half-hour celebrity-driven television magazine show that aligns with a Web site by the same name.
Warner Bros. International Television is one of the world’s largest distributors of television programming, licensing more than 39,000 hours of television programming and movies dubbed or subtitled in more than 40 languages to broadcasters in more than 175 countries. # # #