BARCELONA—Private Media Group, Inc. announced today that it would begin the exclusive management of Bluebird Films' content distribution worldwide, via all media channels.
Following Private’s announcement that it would open its distribution network to a select group of American and European high quality studios, this partnership is to date the most substantial in a series of deals to manage other studios' content. The collaboration reaffirms Private's position as a world leader in global content distribution.
Under the terms of a five-year agreement, Private is in charge of bringing Bluebird's content to market across its distribution network, a set of leading platform operators which has invited the company to fill additional shelf space in its new role as an aggregator. The current distribution network includes broadcasting (Sat-TV, Cable, IPTV, DTT, etc.), mobile, Internet e-commerce, DVD and Blu-ray platforms. With respect to IPTV and mobile distribution, the network represents 38 major platforms in 24 countries and 1.2 billion mobile phone users via 104 mobile operators in 45 countries.
“Bluebird has the catalog we have been seeking," noted Private CEO Ilan Bunimovitz. “With our access to global markets, we can rapidly catapult Bluebird to international success. They have the content and we have the market reach, and the ability to manage it across multiple channels globally. It is an elegant match where Private satisfies increased demand on all platforms while Bluebird gains unparalleled global distribution. Going forward, we expect this arrangement to have a significant impact on our bottom line.”
With a catalog of over 300 unreleased quality HD adult movies titles, a production schedule of 16 movies per month, Bluebird Films was highly sought-after by major distributors.
“When you’ve invested significant $ value over five years to develop your catalog, you take a good hard look before you partner with anyone to distribute it,” said Bluebird Films CEO,Nicholas Steele. “There was simply no one with the combination of services Private offers: they have a proven track record on brand management, they understand the emerging channels across the world, they fathom the particularities of producing content for a global audience, and, with Gamelink, they are leaders in online distribution.
"Initially, our intention was to carry out the distribution on our own, but when we saw that Private has a suite of top-notch services and its global distribution network ready to go, time to market, quality and reach were the deciding factors for us.”
A unique co-owned platform company, Bluebird Private Inc, has been formed to ensure complete inter-company co-operation in the entire shoot-to-sell process - from initiation of production through to B2B and B2C delivery.
