Lions Gate agrees to exclusive film deal with China's iQIYI
Film and TV company Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. on Friday said it's reached an agreement with one of China's largest online video platforms iQIYI, for the service to stream Lions Gate films. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The long-term deal gives iQIYI subscription video on demand and pay-per-view video on demand rights to some of Lions Gate's most popular, as well as third-party feature films. The deal gives iQIYI an exclusive window to offer films such as "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay--Part 2," "Now You See Me 2" and "Sicario" to its more than 500 million unique visitors. China is one of the world's fastest growing markets for feature films, and this move indicates a continued commitment from Lions Gate to make its films available to the global community. On Monday, the company announced a partnership with Skydance Productions for a new global distribution pact. "In China, more and more people are paying to watch movies online," iQIYI's Senior Vice President Yang Xianghua said in a statement. "We hope that this cooperation between Lions Gate and iQIYI will not only bring Chinese users an even better selection of premium movies, but will also promote more innovative partnerships in China's online video industry." Shares of Lions Gate are up more than 25% in the year to date, outperforming the S&P, which is down 2%.
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