FOX Guarantees At Least Four Additional Seasons of Hit Television Show;
SonyBMG to Continue to Serve as Record Label for Idol Artists
NEW YORK, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 19 Entertainment Limited, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of CKX, Inc. (Nasdaq: CKXE), together with Simon
Cowell, Fox Broadcasting, FremantleMedia and SonyBMG, issued a joint
announcement today confirming they had reached agreements that will guarantee
at least four, and as many as six, more seasons of American Idol beginning
with American Idol 5, which is set to air starting in January 2006. As part of
the deal, Fox announced that it had reached an agreement with Cowell to keep
him on the hit series for at least five additional seasons.
Though the specific financial terms of the new agreements were not
disclosed in the joint announcement, 19 Entertainment did confirm the
following elements of the deal:
-- Under the terms of the new agreement with FOX, 19 Entertainment and
FremantleMedia will receive a significantly increased license fee per
season from FOX, reflective of the previously announced increases in
advertising rates for the coming season. Additionally,
19 Entertainment will receive an annual payment tied to its recording
agreement with SonyBMG.
-- In addition to guaranteeing at least four more seasons, the agreement
provides for an automatic renewal for up to two additional seasons upon
the show achieving certain readily obtainable minimum ratings in the
fourth and potential fifth years of the deal.
-- Commencing with American Idol 5, FOX, whose parent company News Corp.
has recently announced substantial investment in internet-based
properties, will, at its own expense, build and host americanidol.com,
which is expected to become the show's official website.
19 Entertainment, FremantleMedia and FOX will work together to develop
content for the website, and will share the revenue generated under an
agreed upon formula. 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia, however,
retain the exclusive right to develop and offer premium services on the
website.
-- 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia have granted to FOX certain
wireless telephony rights, including show-related or inspired
ringtones, realtones and video footage. The parties will share the
revenue generated from exploitation of these rights under an agreed
upon formula.
-- FOX has agreed to pick-up at least two original shows produced jointly
by 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia over the next five years. This
is in addition to FOX's recent decision to renew 19 Entertainment's
summer hit So You Think You Can Dance?.
-- 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia will produce certain agreed upon
shoulder programming to be broadcast on the Fox Reality Channel and the
TV Guide channel.
-- SonyBMG will continue as the designated record label for winning
American Idol contestants and 19 Entertainment will receive from
SonyBMG a larger percentage of the revenue from the sales of recorded
music from future American Idol artists.
For more detailed information regarding the agreements see CKX's Current
Report on Form 8-K, which may be obtained at http://www.ckx.com or at the SEC's web
site at http://www.sec.gov.
CKX acquired 19 Entertainment and its rights to American Idol in March of
this year hoping to capitalize on the increase in the demand for globally
recognized entertainment properties such as American Idol, resulting from
advances in personalized distribution methods that allow consumers to exert
greater control over the timing and method of content consumption. CKX
believes the best evidence of this trend are the new agreements with FOX and
SonyBMG and CKX's increased share of the revenue produced by American Idol.
In response to the joint announcement, Robert F.X. Sillerman, the Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of CXK commented, "We believe the significant
increase in our economic share from American Idol under these new agreements,
and the unlimited potential offered by partnering with FOX on internet rights
and wireless platforms shows the increasing value of content in a world of
newly developing and more personalized methods of entertainment distribution.
These deals substantiate everything we believed when we chose to focus on
acquiring premier content and partnering with its creators." Mr. Sillerman
added "With this important step behind us, we can now accelerate our plans for
additional growth from our existing properties and through additional
partnerships and acquisitions."
Commenting on the new agreement with FOX, Simon Fuller, creator of
American Idol and the Chief Executive Officer of 19 Entertainment, said "We
are extremely excited that FOX has recognized the phenomenon of American Idol
by providing the unprecedented guarantee of at least four and up to six more
seasons of the show." Mr. Fuller continued "We look forward to working with
FOX and our partners at Fremantle to build upon the success of the show and
expand the American Idol content and brand into the evolving worlds of
internet and mobile content distribution."
19 Entertainment also announced that it has settled its outstanding
litigation with Simon Cowell and FremantleMedia. While the specific terms of
the settlement remain confidential, 19 Entertainment confirmed that it will
receive a minority interest in certain intellectual property and programming
related to the X-Factor television program as well as other specified rights
with respect to the show.
About CKX, Inc.
CKX, Inc., a company controlled by Robert F.X. Sillerman and affiliates,
is engaged in the ownership, development and commercial utilization of
entertainment content. To date, the company has focused on acquiring globally
recognized entertainment content and related assets, including the rights to
the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley, the operations of Graceland and
proprietary rights to the IDOLS television brand, including the American Idol
series in the United States, the Pop Idol series in the United Kingdom and
local adaptations of the IDOLS television show format which, collectively, air
in over 30 countries around the world. We plan to continue to make strategic
acquisitions of, or partner or align with, companies or individuals that
control various forms of established entertainment content, which may include
intellectual property rights in music, film, television programming, written
works and characters, rights to names, images and likenesses, video games,
corporate brands and other related assets For more information about CKX,
Inc., visit our corporate website at http://www.ckx.com.
About 19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment, based in the United Kingdom, is a leading creator and
producer of entertainment properties, including American Idol in the United
States, Pop Idol in the United Kingdom, as well as versions of the Idol format
in more than 30 countries around the world. The company has recording
contracts with and/or manages or has managed former American Idol and Pop Idol
participants, such as Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken,
Ruben Studdard and Fantasia as well as some of the world's best-known
musicians and other artists, including the Spice Girls, Annie Lennox and
S Club 7. 19 Entertainment created and co-produces the hit television show
So You Think You Can Dance? which aired on Fox during the summer of 2005 and
was the number one rated show in its time slot. The company has also entered
into an exclusive global joint venture with David Beckham, one of the most
recognized athletes in the world, and Victoria Beckham, an influential symbol
in both the fashion and music worlds.
SOURCE CKX, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.ckx.com
CONTACT:
Sean Cassidy, +1-212-981-5233, Ed
Tagliaferri, +1-212-981-5182, or Robert Zimmerman,
+1-212-981-5118, all for CKX, Inc.
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