A big chunk of the $48 million Penthouse Media Group Inc. raised in private financing in September is going toward the completion of a new 47,000-square-foot multipurpose studio facility near downtown Los Angeles.
The complex, expected to open in early June, will house office and production facilities, including four “pod” rooms for live webcam shows, a studio for still photography, two sound stages for creating live and pre-recorded video broadcasts, and an audio production area for creating radio and downloadable audio broadcasts.
All the production areas are modular so they can be collapsed and expanded as necessary to accommodate production needs, and the entire facility is designed for digital production and transmission.
The new facility is part of PMG’s plan to compete directly with the Playboy Network, the Playboy-owned Spice network, and New Frontier Media’s TEN (The Erotic Network).
According to Jim English, the president of PMG’s entertainment division and former president of Playboy Entertainment Group and Playboy TV Networks Worldwide, the company’s new Penthouse TV initiative initially will include two broadcast channels: one for standard definition video (aimed primarily at cable television providers) and one that offers programming in true high-definition format (primarily for satellite television providers who have the appropriate bandwidth to handle the transmission).
Among the list of projects planned for the new facility is an increase in PMG’s library of high-def content. Everything produced at the new facility will be shot in the 720P HD format at 24 frames. In addition to the monthly Penthouse Pet videos PMGI has produced for many years, the company also will lens a series of “visualized” scenes culled from the large number of reader-submitted letters Penthouse magazine receives each month. The planned Penthouse Letters and Penthouse Variations video series will blur the lines between reality and fantasy, English said, giving Penthouse fans another way to consume the content they crave.
PMG’s entertainment division also plans to produce at least 12 original, full-length, sexually explicit movies each year. Six of the projects will be directed by top-notch, award-winning directors, and the remaining six will be directed by protégés and up-and-comers. Although English would not reveal the names of directors with whom PMGI is in talks, he said all are well-known and highly regarded.
“This is going to be must-see video,” English said. “The mantra among our production staff is ‘hot babes having hot sex.’ If we’re not delivering that, we’re not giving the audience what it wants.”
Penthouse TV will distribute Penthouse-branded content to consumers via digital Video-on-Demand and linear pay-per-view and subscription channels throughout North America. English said the offerings will be competitively priced.
“This is a very exciting time,” he said. “It’s another opportunity to do what I do best: join content and emerging technologies. The Penthouse brand is known everywhere in the world, and now with new ownership, management, and funding, Penthouse will bring a much-needed shot in the arm to cable and satellite and will set the stage in new arenas such as wireless.”
