Demand for RHI content remains strong among networks
RHI Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: RHIE), a leading distributor of new
made-for-television (MFT) movies, miniseries, and other television
programming, announced five significant distribution deals with NBC and
SCI FI. Meteor and The Storm are set to air on NBC in
summer 2009, and Riverworld, Phantom, and Alice are
to premiere on SCI FI in the 2009-2010 television season.
For RHI, these deals illustrate the strong demand from major broadcast
and cable networks for quality, event-oriented content to round out
programming line-ups. They also build on RHI’s historical success
showcasing the made-for-television and miniseries formats with brands
under the NBC Universal umbrella.
RHI Entertainment President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Halmi Jr.
said, “In this and any media market environment, as networks contemplate
how they are going to fill their programming schedule, we offer a
solution that provides tremendous value and the potential for strong
ratings. The good news for our customers is that they don’t need to
surrender quality to keep their own costs in line. RHI offers events
that push the envelope artistically, and have more attractive economics
attached to them.”
Mr. Halmi continued, “We are excited about our film slate for 2009 and
believe that these films, along with the others that we will be
distributing this year, will provide value to us in terms of the first
license, but will also refresh the value of our library.”
Significantly, two of the titles in these deals – Riverworld and The
Phantom - are backdoor pilots for potential series which RHI will
distribute. This is part of a concerted strategy for RHI to diversify
its product mix and expand its model to include series programming.
As to this new initiative, Halmi said, “The company believes that we
have the business affairs, production and distribution infrastructure
already in place to more aggressively and successfully enter this
segment of the business without significant investment. Further, the use
of certain movie and miniseries projects as backdoor pilots allows us to
transition to this new model from a position of strength.”
NBC
Following on the success of The Last Templar, which premiered on
NBC in January 2009, RHI miniseries Meteor and The Storm
are slated to make their debut on the network in June and July of 2009.
Premiering on NBC on June 7th (Part One) and concluding on
June 14th (Part Two), the action-packed miniseries Meteor
stars Emmy winner Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) and
Marla Sokoloff (The Practice) as scientists who discover that two
massive rocks have collided in space.
