E1 Entertainment Adds France to Global Distribution Network

- First releases scheduled for July 2010 -

TORONTO, April 8 /CNW/ - E1 Entertainment (E1), one of the world's premiere independent entertainment distributors, is adding another major market to its territory list, expanding its international operations to France. With the move, E1 grows its strong presence in Europe and positions itself for growth in the French market and internationally.

"E1's global success has been directly tied to our ability to develop and service a global distribution network," said Patrice Theroux, President, Filmed Entertainment at E1. "We're thrilled to be bringing the E1 brand to France, enhancing our robust distribution operations in Europe and leveraging our expanded network to position us for further growth internationally."

E1's strong programming acquisition strategy has created a powerful international distribution division and the company is proactively expanding its extensive library of international titles, including actively acquiring rights for the countries in its distribution network. The company's ongoing investment in production and rights acquisition across the film, children's and TV drama genres has fueled its expansion, allowing E1 to maximize revenue generating opportunities while minimizing risk.

E1 has acquired several films for distribution in France including the French-Canadian thriller, "7 Days" (Les 7 jours du talion); "Dorian Gray" starring Colin Firth and Ben Barnes; "Love Ranch" featuring Helen Mirren, Joe Pesci and Brian Cranston, and "$5 a Day" starring Christopher Walken and Sharon Stone. Television titles to be released soon on DVD include E1's own productions CBS show "The Bridge", ABC series "Copper" and Syfy series "Haven."

"The initial list of titles for release in France is an excellent snap-shot of the quality programming available through our extensive film, TV and children offering," said Theroux. "In France, we will offer content through numerous channels with E1 International Television overseeing sales to international digital outlets and local television networks and E1-branded DVD titles being released through Aventi Distribution. This approach, like the one we recently announced in Australia and New Zealand, allows us to acquire rights on a larger scale and distribute across multiple formats including DVD, TV and digital into an expanded list of territories."

Since its formation in 2003, Aventi Distribution has grown rapidly to become a major independent distributor of home entertainment content in France. Aventi manages the exclusive distribution of approximately 3,000 titles and has successfully built strong relationships with independent publishers and its customers.

Aventi exclusively distributes the catalogues of key entertainment enterprises such as BAC Films, M6 Video (SND), Opening, CTV etc. With sales team of 15, the company has more than 3,000 live customer accounts that include Auchan, Carrefour, Casino, Fnac, Leclerc, Media Saturn, Virgin and Amazon.

Richard Lechartier of Aventi stated: "I am delighted that Aventi will be the E1's home entertainment distribution partner in France. In recent years E1 has been acquiring some major titles, not only becoming a key player the home entertainment category, but in the overall global filmed entertainment industry. The team and I are very excited about bringing E1's exciting catalogue to the French market and we look forward to developing a lasting and successful relationship."

    
    About E1 Entertainment
    ----------------------
    

E1 Entertainment (AIM: ETO) is a leading independent entertainment content enterprise that acquires and exploits world-class film, television and music properties around the globe. Its four primary businesses units (E1 Television, E1 Films, E1 Music and E1 Distribution) operate in Canada, the U.S., the UK and Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands and Belgium, providing extensive expertise in film distribution, television and music production and distribution, kids programming, and merchandising and licensing. E1's growing content library, which currently includes more than 4,000 feature films, 2,700 hours of original television programming and 15,000 music tracks, is distributed across all media formats in more than 190 countries.

For further information: Scott MacFadyen, E1 Entertainment, [email protected], [phone]