MGM announces direct-to-DvD Science Fiction movies

[Michael]

[Michael]

I found the original Variety article here:

CANNES -- The Lion is back on the Croisette for this week's Mip TV, this time to roar about its international channels biz and its stalwart "Stargate" TV franchise, the longest-running sci-fi skein in history.
And back home, MGM's newly revived home entertainment unit is trumpeting an ambitious slate of project extensions, based on properties already in the Lion's den.

At a press lunch Tuesday in Cannes, the studio's international networks prexy Bruce Tuchman put the accent on the company's "rapid expansion" of channels, both in terms of geographical reach and subscriber growth.

Since Mipcom last October, "we've made tremendous progress," he said.

Company has set up a joint-venture channel in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania with Liberty Global, and with partner ITI in Poland for an HD channel.

Launches in India, Russia and Korea also are on the upswing with subs.

The MGM channel brand has not yet cracked the difficult but potentially lucrative U.K., French and Italian markets. The studio is not willing to pay for carriage in those difficult territories, but believes its moves to convert many of its movies to high-def will eventually help it get a foothold in those territories.

Source: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117963...id=14&cs=1