Home Entertainment
January 13, 2003
Warner Home Video Teams Up With NFL Films For Marketing & Distribution Of NFL Titles
(January 13, 2003 – Burbank, CA) – Warner Home Video (WHV), the leader in home entertainment, the National Football League (NFL) and NFL Films, announced today a three-year partnership for marketing and distribution of NFL titles in North America.
Combining the production and creative expertise of NFL Films with the marketing and distribution power of WHV, the two companies will co-develop a year-round line-up of DVD and video products targeting football fans.
The partnership will kick off with the biggest event of the year, Super Bowl XXXVII. WHV will release the Super Bowl DVD on February 11 in record time – a sixteen-day turnaround from the championship game. The Super Bowl Champions video, historically among the top-selling sports video of all-time, will feature an unprecedented three hours of extended programming and deliver a complete Super Bowl experience. For the first time, the DVD will include action from every series; pre-game and post-game analysis; behind-the-scenes footage from Super Bowl week; and coverage of the regular season, playoffs and Super Bowl in the colorful, dramatic fashion that only NFL Films can produce.
Later in 2003, NFL Films will produce two more original releases that will coincide with key marketing events on the NFL calendar, including a 2003-2004 season Kickoff video, and four additional titles that tap into the league’s rich, storied history, timed with key gift-giving periods such as Father’s Day and the Holidays. These historic videos will be packaged into high-end collectible gift sets and feature footage never-before-released on video, player profiles, expert insights and special features that will bring football fans closer to the sport they love.
WHV will leverage its distribution power through mass merchants, electronics stores, video retailers, sports retailers and in-stadium stores to make NFL videos available
in more outlets than ever before. By tapping into the marketing power of parent company
AOL/Time Warner, WHV will help provide maximum exposure for the videos to sports fans across the country.
“The sports genre is one of the fastest growing segments of the video business and DVD is an ideal format for sports content, given its collectable nature and the exciting special features that can be added for the sports fan,” said Jim Cardwell, President, WHV. “We’re thrilled to be in business with the NFL and NFL Films to help bring 170 million enthusiastic football fans closer to the game through unique DVD content.”
“This is a great partnership between the top entertainment brand and the best in home video marketing and distribution,” said Peter Murray, NFL Vice President of Partnership Marketing and Corporate Sales. “We are excited to provide fans with a variety of titles throughout the year, starting with what promises to be a fantastic Super Bowl XXXVII."
About NFL Films
Since 1964, NFL Films has revolutionized the way America watches football and set the standard in sports filmmaking. The exclusive all-access sound, stunning cinematography, stirring orchestral music and poignant storytelling are the trademarks of NFL Films. Winner of 82 Emmy Awards, NFL Films is widely recognized as the most honored filmmaker in sports. With its “script-to-screen” production facility and more than 100 million feet of NFL archival footage, the 38-year-old company operates as one of the last great, self-contained “Hollywood” studios, producing more than 400 hours of original programming annually for broadcast and cable networks and the Internet.
About Warner Home Video
With operations in 78 international territories – more than the video division of any other studio – Warner Home Video commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. WHV’s film library is the largest of any studio, offering top-quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment Company, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment. # # #