Contentfilm PLC - Completion of CBC Acquisition

RNS Number:0438S
Contentfilm PLC
10 April 2008

Date: 10 April 2008

On Behalf of: ContentFilm plc ('ContentFilm' or 'The Company')

Embargoed until: 0700hrs

ContentFilm plc

- Completion of CBC Television Library acquisition

- US and International rights to over 1,000 hours of television
library product, plus potentially an additional 1,000 hours related to other
titles

- Library acquisition is in addition to separate acquisitions of
new series "The Border" and "Heartland"

- Significant increase to Company's revenues and gross margins
arising from the acquisitions

The Board of ContentFilm plc (AIM: CFL), a pre-eminent owner of media rights
supported by strong film, TV, DVD and digital sales divisions, is pleased to
update shareholders on the completion of the Company's acquisition of the CBC
library following the original announcement of the deal on 19 December 2007 and
the announcements of the acquisitions of Season One of "The Border" and "
Heartland" on 31 January 2008 and 10 March 2008 respectively. Further, we
announced the acquisition of Season Two to both "The Border" and "Heartland" on
19 March 2008.

The deals and their implications can be summarised as follows:

• Company took on the new series of "The Border" and "Heartland" and
very quickly executed a successful sales strategy

• Overall the deals are accretive to the Company's revenues and margins
and already include record sales announced on 25 March 2008, related to the
new series

• The library rights acquired by the Company are all US and
international rights transferable by CBC related to over 1,000 hours of
television product, plus an additional 1,000 hours related to other titles.
The titles were produced in-house by the CBC and externally by third party
producers.

• The term for the CBC produced titles and for third party produced titles,
vary from producer to producer.

• Rights specifically excluded from the deal are those relating to CBC's
Canadian rights, the CBC archives, stock footage sales, and certain US and
Canadian DVD rights

• Terms of the deals are confidential, however the Company is paying an
up front advance for securing the library rights and in return is receiving
a distribution fee. Part of the distribution fee is enhanced until
recoupment of the advance. CBC is receiving an ongoing profit participation
on all gross receipts arising on sales of the CBC produced titles in the
library

• CBC has closed down its international sales operations and ongoing
international sales overhead costs will be the responsibility of the
Company.

• The Company has established an operation and office in Toronto

• As a proportion of the increased revenue and margin, increased
overhead to service the deals will be minimal, as the library of rights will
be assumed within the Company's existing television distribution operations

• The CBC library includes a significant amount of non-fiction product.
This acquisition marks the establishment of a new division within Fireworks
called Fireworks Factual Entertainment. This is an important strategic move
for the Company and marks the expansion of the Fireworks business into
non-fiction programming

The library acquisition follows two earlier transactions with CBC whereby
ContentFilm acquired the rights to Season One of the "The Border" and
"Heartland". Subsequently the Company has acquired from the independent
producers, the rights to Season Two of "The Border" and "Heartland". In total
the acquisitions equate to 57 hours of new series product together with a
potential of over 2,000 hours of library product.

Taken together, ContentFilm expect these acquisitions to deliver significant
revenues and margins in its first year of operations. The Company has strong
visibility on these numbers due to sales already achieved as announced on 25
March 2008. Further revenues and margins are expected into the future.

For many years the Company has been at the forefront of selling Canadian and US
produced television product to international distributors and it has one of the
largest libraries of independently owned television product in the industry.
The CBC acquisition is an important addition to the Company's library and
further demonstrates its leading position in Canadian television distribution.

The Company expects the CBC library to be highly complementary to its existing
library, driving ongoing distribution fees for the Company - and profit
participations for the CBC - for several years to come.

Commenting on the CBC deal, John Schmidt, CEO of ContentFilm, said:

"We are delighted to acquire this library from the CBC, one of the world's
premier broadcasters. The library is a perfect fit with our existing library
which has a wealth of Canadian produced television product. We look forward to
continuing to build our relationship with the CBC and to working with them to
exploit the library in the best interests of both parties.

"Additionally, we are excited about the expansion of our operations in Canada
and the opening of our new Toronto office. We will continue to build our
relationships with the wealth of television production talent in Canada. The
creation of Fireworks Factual Entertainment is a positive step for our
television business and adds a new sales channel alongside our traditional
strength in scripted entertainment.

"Notwithstanding the strategic advantages of this deal, the financial
implications are also positive for the Company. We are pleased with the
earnings in Year One and we expect the library will provide positive earnings
for many years."

- Ends -

Enquiries:

John Schmidt/ Geoff Webb www.contentfilm.com

ContentFilm PLC Tel: 020 7851 6500

Emma Kane/ Sanna Sumner/ Anna Dunkin contentfilm@redleafpr.com

Redleaf Communications Ltd Tel: 020 7822 0200

Neil Elliot/ Tom Price

Evolution Securities Ltd Tel: 020 7071 4300

Notes on ContentFilm PLC:

- Further information on the Company and details of the individual titles
that make up the Company's available library is at: www.contentfilm.com

- Publication quality photographs are available through Redleaf Communications.

- ContentFilm International is the film sales and finance arm of Content.
It specializes in high quality and commercial feature films, acting as an
executive producer to assist the film's producer in securing finance and then
marketing and selling the film throughout all the world's territories. The
latest productions include 'Closing the Ring', directed by Lord Attenborough
and starring Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer and Mischa Barton,
'Black Book' directed by Paul Verhoeven, 'Thank You for Smoking' which
generated more than $20 million at the US box office and the acquisition of
worldwide rights to 'Outpost'. It is being managed in an executive capacity
by Jamie Carmichael, President of ContentFilm International.

- Fireworks International is Content's film and television library sales
division with over 2,400 hours of programming including motion pictures,
primetime and children's TV series, mini-series and made-for-television
films. It specialises in assisting TV producers to finance their programming and
then marketing and selling the programmes throughout the world, in the
traditional media and on digital platforms. Historically its content has
included commercial and high-quality multi-episodic programming produced in the
USA and Canada. New series of this nature include the supernatural drama 'Blood
Ties', the mystery drama series 'Whistler' and children's series 'Young
Dracula'. It is being managed in an executive capacity by Greg Phillips as
President of Fireworks International.

- Allumination FilmWorks is Content's DVD distribution arm in the U.S.
Allumination acquires domestic home entertainment rights from studios and
independent producers and distributes DVDs of its licensed content to retailers
throughout the U.S. Additionally, it acquires satellite and cable television
rights as well as international theatrical and home entertainment rights and
sells those rights on to other domestic and international distributors. It also
distributes audio product under the American Beat Records label. Allumination
has a portfolio of approximately 700 quality titles in all major categories
including various music specials and children's/family feature titles and its
titles include 'The Saddle Club' and 'How William Shatner Changed the World'. It
is being managed in an executive capacity by Kerry McCluggage as Chairman of
Allumination and Cheryl Freeman as CEO of Allumination

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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