Warner pacts for Paramount/DreamWorks distribution in China
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 11/7/2007
NOV. 7 | Warner Home Video has struck further studio alliances in its efforts to combat piracy in China, agreeing to distribute Paramount Home Entertainment and DreamWorks Animation DVDs in the country.
CAV Warner Home Entertainment, a joint entertainment distribution venture formed in February 2005 between Warner’s DVD unit and China Audio Video, will steer select Paramount and DreamWorks titles to about 20,000 Chinese retailers across 50 cities. The venture value prices the DVDs—which normally are priced at the equivalent of a few U.S. dollars per unit—in order to encourage the Chinese to purchase films legally.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has been distributing its titles in China through CAV Warner since September 2005.
This latest studio pact for Warner, unveiled Wednesday in Beijing, kicked off on Nov. 1 with the launch of Paramount’s Transformers in China, which has already become a top-selling title in the country, according to Warner. Transformers bowed in the U.S. on Oct. 16.
CAV Warner will next street in China DreamWorks’ Shrek the Third on Nov. 28, following its Nov. 13 U.S. bow.
“The addition of two major Hollywood studios’ product in China—Paramount and DreamWorks Animation—further strengthens our efforts in building a legitimate video business in China,” said Mark Horak, executive VP and general manager of worldwide operations and new packaged media for Warner. “By providing a wide selection of high quality, competitively priced DVDs, we will be offering a more attractive alternative to lower quality, pirated product.”
In a statement, a Paramount Home Entertainment International executive said, “Warner has demonstrated that securing key retail outlets in China is necessary to supplant pirated content with legitimate product to fight piracy in the market. Our relationship with Warner Bros. allows us the best opportunity to reach the most consumers with two of the year’s most highly anticipated releases of Transformers and Shrek the Third.”
