'Power' Generates Big Money for Starz
by EG
A $100 million check is a nice way to start a relationship. That’s the amount generated for Lionsgate, from the licensing of Starz original series “Power” and others to Hulu — a sum unanticipated at the time of the $4.4 billion pact that combined Lionsgate and Starz in December.
The Hulu deals are a reflection of how the enlarged studio is capitalizing on new opportunities, from the addition of key hires such as Jared Goetz to help drive distribution, to synergizing with Liberty Global, which under John Malone owns a 3.4% stake in Lionsgate.
Capitalizing on Starz content is one of the challenges facing Goetz, who has just joined Lionsgate to lead sales in North America. Having overseen film and TV sales to Netflix, Amazon and Hulu during his long tenure at Disney, he has the digital experience Lionsgate craves as potential new buyers, including Facebook and Apple, enter the market.
“He did billions of dollars’ worth of deals,” says president of Lionsgate’s worldwide TV and digital distribution group Jim Packer, to whom Goetz reports. “We need that expertise. In one way, his hire future-proofs our team.”
Read the rest of this article at Variety.
Power is executive produced by rapper 50 Cent.