Vialta Signs Licensing Deal With Artisan Entertainment; Vialta Also Invests Ten Million Dollars in the Company
FREMONT, Calif., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Vialta Inc., (OTC Bulletin Board: VLTA - news) a developer of consumer electronics and digital home entertainment products and services, has entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with Artisan Home Entertainment, and agreed to provide up to $10 million to the entertainment company in a combination of license fee payments and investment in subordinate notes. Artisan Entertainment is a leading independent producer and distributor of theatrical, television and home entertainment product.
The licensing agreement allows Vialta to include content from Artisan's library of more than 7,000 titles in ViMagazine, scheduled to launch summer 2002. ViMagazine's DVD-format will contain up to 14 hours of entertainment choices, from feature films and cartoons to documentaries, lifestyle programs and music. Some of the content will be free, and the rest will be available on a rental or purchase basis.
``This licensing deal and investment are significant steps toward establishing ViMagazine as a new distribution system that delivers entertainment content directly to a consumer's home,'' said Didier Pietri, president and chief executive officer of Vialta. ``ViMagazine allows end users to access a broad variety of entertainment from the convenience of their home, giving them the ability to view programs whenever they want to,'' Mr. Pietri continued. ``Consumers can even preview content and easily search an index of all previous issues to quickly find the perfect entertainment choice. ViMagazine puts exciting entertainment at your fingertips,'' Mr. Pietri concluded.
Added Artisan Home Entertainment President, Steve Beeks, ``Artisan is pleased to support Vialta and this exciting new format which clearly aligns with our ongoing commitment to the DVD platform. Artisan will provide the ViMagazine with a wide variety of content including top motion pictures, award-winning favorites, action adventure blockbusters, documentaries and children's programming.''
In addition to entering into a licensing agreement, Vialta has also agreed to make a subordinated debt investment in the entertainment company. This is consistent with Vialta's commitment to providing high quality entertainment on ViMagazine today, and over the long term. This Artisan deal is the first of several content agreements, all contributing towards further expanding the depth and breadth of ViMagazine's entertainment content.
Artisan Entertainment Inc. is a leading independent entertainment company that develops, produces and distributes entertainment product in the theatrical, home entertainment and television arenas through its two wholly owned operating divisions, Artisan Pictures and Artisan Home Entertainment.
The Artisan Pictures division is responsible for the development, production, marketing and distribution of the Company's annual slate of theatrical films. Artisan Pictures' television division develops and produces made-for-television movies, series programming, and miniseries for nearly all of the broadcast and cable networks. Artisan Pictures currently has a joint venture with Marvel Enterprises to develop, produce and distribute character- based programming across multimedia outlets.
Vialta, Inc. is a developer of consumer electronics and digital home entertainment products that embrace the convergence of entertainment, audio, video, communications and the Internet. The company's products offer an effective, convenient and secure means of delivering digital content and information to the consumer. Vialta was formed in July 1999 with an initial funding of $140 million, and is publicly traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol ``VLTA.'' The company is headquartered in Fremont, California with offices in Los Angeles, Toronto, Hong Kong and Beijing. More information about Vialta can be found at www.vialta.com .
SOURCE: Vialta Inc. |
