Business

AtomFilms Broadens Its Distribution. AtomFilms, a website devoted to short films, is teaming up with Warner Bros. Online, NBC's Snap.com, RealNetworks, On2.com, Atomic Pop, and StreamSearch. AtomFilms will provide short form entertainment to these company's websites. These Internet companies join Atom's existing distribution partners that span both online and traditional industries, including: HBO, Sundance Channel, Continental Airlines, Air Canada, Excite@Home, Go Network, Reel.com, Film.com, College Broadcast Network, and SonicNet. AtomFilms also launched the latest version of its entertainment Web site, featuring new content channels and utilizing the Atom Programming Architecture (APA), for advanced A/V programming of short films, animations and digital media. This database system allows consumers to interact with the content via reviews and publishing features, and enables AtomFilms to collect consumer information and use it to deliver online entertainment programming to its distribution partners and its own online community. AtomFilms offers hundreds of "shorts" ranging from dramatic films to interactive animations and digital media. The new AtomFilms Web site delivers daily programming as well as regularly updated offerings in each of five new content channels: Audience, Download, Spotlight, Film and Animation. "AtomFilms is a pioneer in online programming for the Web and we are excited about teaming up with them to leverage their knowledge and expertise," said Thomas Frank, senior vice president, Media Publishing & Programming, RealNetworks, Inc. "We recognize that there is incredible consumer demand emerging for short form entertainment and working with AtomFilms will allow us to deliver quality short films and animations in a way that meets the specific entertainment needs of our diverse consumer audiences."

Sony Formalizes Family Entertainment Group. Sony Pictures Entertainment has formalized the name of its newest business unit, Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group (SPFE), and appointed Gary Hirsch as senior vice president and general manager of the division. Reporting to Sander Schwartz, president of the relatively new division, Hirsch will oversee new business development opportunities for the division and its day-to-day operations, including business affairs, human resources, studio operations, production and marketing. Hirsch comes to Sony's SPFE from Columbia Pictures, where he served as senior vice president of business affairs since 1992. He joined TriStar Pictures in 1987 as director of business affairs and was promoted to vice president of business affairs two years later. Sony Pictures Entertainment's Family Entertainment Group, which was established last February, produces animation and live-action properties for television and theatrical release around the world. The division currently produces Godzilla: The Series, Men In Black: The Series, Jumanji and Extreme Ghostbusters. For fall 1999, the division's television programming slate includes three new series. Big Guy And Rusty The Boy Robot, premiering on Fox Kids Network, is a 26-episode animated action series based on the Dark Horse comic book by Frank Miller and Geoff Darrow. Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, premiering on Bohbot Kids Network, is a 40-episode, 3-D CGI animated action series based on Robert Heinlein's novel of the same name. Dragon Tales, a 40-episode, animated preschool fantasy adventure series co-produced with Children's Television Workshop, will premiere on Monday, September 6, as part of PBS' Ready to Learn block.

Karramarro (Crab Island). © Irusoin.

MIPCOM Announcements. The tradeshow for television programming producers and distributors takes place October 4-8 in Cannes, France. Basque, Spain-based animation studio IRUSOIN is nearing completion of Karramarro (Crab Island), a made for television animated feature with rights available for worldwide TV and video release. The original story is about a group of kind, song-loving pirates, focused on luckless Dimitri, a pirate who cannot sing, and a parrot who is the only clue to tracking down a fabulous pirate's treasure. Crab Island will be shown at MIPJR and MIPCOM99. The film was directed by Joxan Muñoz and Txabi Basterretxea and the animation was produced by Spain-based Lotura Films, Stromboly, Dirus, Al Oeste and Dibulitoon. . . Toronto-based NELVANA is producing thirteen episodes of Maggie And The Ferocious Beast. The series is based on the children's book by Betty and Michael Paraskevas. It is set in an imaginary place called Nowhere Land where, Maggie, a five year old girl, and her stuffed animals, the Ferocious Beast and Hamilton Hocks, "climb the highest mountains, cross the widest deserts, sing loud and harmoniously, and savor the sweet spice of a pumpkin pie." Nelvana will offer the series, which has yet to be sold, at MIPCOM. . . On Monday, October 4 at 4 pm Jean-Marie Messier, president of Vivendi, a French multimedia, communications and power company, will deliver the keynote address for the special three day forum on convergence, TV Meets the Internet @ MIPCOM. The address will be entitled "21st Century Television: Visions for Next Generation Broadcasting.". . . Rome, Italy-based RAI TRADE will offer Brother Jacob, an animated edutainment series for children about a storytelling monk, as well as Gone With The Wings, an animated series for children based on a series of books by Romano Scarpa about the winged inhabitants of a "Venice above ground.". . .

Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone (left) and CBS president Mel Karmazin.

Viacom Proposes Merger With CBS. Viacom Inc., which owns MTV and Paramount Pictures, has offered to buy CBS Corp., one of the Big Three US television broadcasters, for $37 billion in stock, the largest media transaction ever. The new company, which will still be called Viacom, will be led by Sumner Redstone who will remain Viacom's chairman and chief executive. CBS President and Chief Executive Mel Karmazin will be president and chief operating officer. The deal is part of what is expected to be a wave of consolidation in the TV industry after last month's approval by the Federal Communications Commission of new rules allowing companies to own two TV stations in the same market. Viacom's massive holdings, which include Nickelodeon, theme parks, a majority stake in video-rental chain Blockbuster Inc., cable television network Showtime, and 50 percent of the UPN broadcast network, will be combined with CBS' television station network, as well as its huge collection of US radio stations and outdoor advertising properties to create an entertainment giant that will rival Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner Inc. The price tag of $37 billion is nearly twice the $19 billion that Disney paid for the Capital Cities/ABC network in 1995, the current record for a media deal. Viacom was created during the 1970s when the US Justice Dept. forced CBS to divest itself of some of its programming properties. The deal puts the Democrat Clinton Justice Dept. in the position of approving the recombination of properties that were forced to separate by the Republican Nixon administration. It is possible that the Justice Dept., which must review the proposed merger, will object to the heavy concentration of programming properties. Karmazin said that the combined CBS and Viacom TV station group will cover 40% of the U.S., above the FCC's 35% limit. Karmazin said that Viacom and CBS will attempt to change that limit, but they will divest or swap some stations if necessary to close the deal. The deal will also give the combined companies a duopoly position, that is, two TV stations, in six markets, but Karmazin said last month's ruling by the FCC to allow duopolies makes it likely the pairings will stand. The FCC will also have to decide whether to let the new Viacom retain its 50% interest in TV network UPN alongside CBS. Current rules forbid the Big Four networks (CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox) from owning a second national network.

Nickelodeon Opens Animation Studio In New York. Nickelodeon is opening a new animation studio in New York City at 1515 Broadway which will be known as Nickelodeon Animation Studio New York (NASNY). The digital animation studio and development laboratory will open in October, although the move has already taken place. Among the series that will be produced at the new studio will be Blue's Clues, Little Bill, and Garbage Boy, a new weekly segment for KABLAM!. The studio will house 140 employees including 70 animators/digital designers. All phases of production other than voice-overs will be handled in-house. NASNY will complement Nick Digital, Nickelodeon's animation studio which is also at 1515 Broadway, Viacom's New York headquarters. Nick Digital serves as the high-end special effects house (using 3D and 2D animation) as well as research and development facility for Nickelodeon On-Air, VH-1, MTV, and Nick International.

Disney Halts Peter Pan Production. Disney's sequel to its 1953 Peter Pan, which had been in production at Disney's Toronto and Vancouver studios, has been put on hold, resulting in layoffs of animators and staff at the Canadian studios. The rumors that the studios are being completely shut down appear to be untrue at this time, but the total number of employees who have been laid off is unknown. According to Laurel Whitcomb, a Disney spokeswoman, the Peter Pan sequel "was in early stages of production and needed to go back into development for retooling of the story."