Liberty Media

Starz, Manga Entertainment Shows Added to iTunes Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 25, 2008 - 11:12am.

Burbank, Calif. - Liberty Media's (NASD: LINTA) Starz Media said on Tuesday that it has added programming from Starz Entertainment and Manga Entertainment to Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store. The company added shows including Starz's "Head Case" and "Hollywood Residential," as well as Manga's "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" and "Tokko."

Electronic Arts, Starz Media Team on "Dead Space" Feature Film

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 24, 2008 - 10:50am.

Redwood City, Calif. - Video game developer and publisher Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) announced on Monday that it has partnered with Liberty Media's (NASD: LINTA) Starz Media unit to develop an animated movie prequel to its sci-fi game "Dead Space."

Liberty Media Acquires Controlling Stake in Bodybuilding.com

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 7, 2008 - 8:38am.

Englewood, Colo. - Liberty Media (NASD: LINTA), which owns interests in a broad range of media and entertainment companies, announced on Monday that it has acquired a controlling stake in Bodybuilding.com, a fitness site and retailer of sports nutrition products.

Liberty Media to Acquire FUN Technologies for $94 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2007 - 7:37am.

Toronto - John Malone's Liberty Media (NASD: LINTA) said on Friday that it will acquire Toronto-based FUN Technologies, a provider of online casual and fantasy sports games and sports information, in a deal valued at about $94 million.

Starz Media Launches Manga.com Entertainment Site

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 26, 2007 - 12:54pm.

Los Angeles - Manga Entertainment, a unit of Liberty Media's Starz Media, on Friday announced the launch of Manga.com, a site that will feature streaming video, product-related information and other editorial content on Japanese manga. The site will offer original entertainment, as well as clips from Manga Entertainment's library, which includes TV and movie titles such as "Ghost in the Shell," "Ninja Scroll" and "Street Fighter."

Liberty Media to Buy Remaining Common Shares of FUN Technologies

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 5, 2007 - 10:27am.

Toronto - FUN Technologies, a developer of online casual and fantasy sports games and sports information, said on Friday that John Malone's Liberty Media has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares it doesn't already own, for about $3.57 per share.

Starz Licenses Japanese Manga Classics to Heavy.com

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 27, 2007 - 4:37pm.

New York - Liberty Media's cable TV venture Starz Media said on Monday that it has licensed 40 hours of popular Japanese manga content for distribution on its soon-to-relaunch Manga.com, as well as to independent site Heavy.com. The deal includes popular franchises "Ghost in the Shell," "Astro Boy" and "Ninja Scroll."

Analysis: GSN Needs To Play Its Own Game Of High Stakes Poker

Authored by Jay Baage on July 11, 2007 - 6:38am.
GSN President and CEO Rich Cronin said Tuesday that he is departing the network at the end of the month, but did not give a reason why. While Cronin under his six years with the network led a team that pioneered interactive television games and expanded its distribution from 31 million to 64 million homes, the channel still suffers from a bit of an identity crises.

Liberty Media Offers to Buy Balance of Games Firm FUN Technologies

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 22, 2007 - 11:31am.

Englewood, Colo. - Media conglomerate Liberty Media announced on Friday that it has made an offer to acquire the 47% of casual fantasy and sports games publisher FUN Technologies it does not already own, for about $3.27 per share.

Intelsat to Sell Majority Stake to BC Partners for $4.6 Billion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 19, 2007 - 12:09pm.

Washington - British private equity firm BC Partners on Tuesday agreed to acquire a 76% stake in Intelsat, the provider of satellite communications services, in a deal that values the company at $5.03 billion.

Intelsat Reportedly on Auction Block; EchoStar, Liberty Among Bidders

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 15, 2007 - 11:47am.

Washington - Intelsat, a provider of satellite communications services, has put itself on the auction block, with major bidders including the team of EchoStar Communications and Liberty Media, according to various media reports.

Hotel VOD Firm LodgeNet Completes $380 Million On Command Acquisition

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 5, 2007 - 1:22pm.

Sioux Falls, S.D. - LodgeNet, a provider of in-room broadband and interactive entertainment services to hotels, announced on Thursday that it has completed its $380 million acquisition of rival On Command from Liberty Media, creating a network that serves more than 1.8 million hotel rooms in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Liberty's Starz Sues Disney Over Exclusive Web Movie Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 22, 2007 - 12:17pm.

Los Angeles - Liberty Media's Starz Entertainment cable TV network has sued Disney's Buena Vista Television unit, over the sale of Disney movies on Web services like iTunes and Wal-Mart Downloads for which Starz claims it held an exclusive license, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Starz Media to Distribute Video on Azureus P2P Network

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 12, 2007 - 12:26pm.

Palo Alto, Calif. - Azureus, a BitTorrent-based peer-to-peer file-sharing application, announced on Monday that it has signed an agreement with Liberty Media's Starz, to distribute Starz video content on its Zudeo file-sharing network.

Vongo Adds 250 Titles From Parent Starz to Movie Download Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 23, 2007 - 1:46pm.

Englewood, Colo. - Liberty Media's Starz Media on Tuesday announced a multi-year licensing agreement with Vongo, Starz Entertainment's broadband video download service. The deal will provide Vongo with more than 250 new movies and other video titles for on-demand rental, or purchase and download through its service. Vongo offers unlimited streaming access to 1,000 movies and 2,500 videos, as well as a streaming Starz TV channel, for $9.99 per month.

LodgeNet to Buy Rival Hotel VOD Firm On Command for $380 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 14, 2006 - 7:04am.

Sioux Falls, S.D. - LodgeNet, a provider of broadband and in-room interactive entertainment to hotels, announced on Thursday that it has signed an agreement to acquire rival On Command for $380 million.

Liberty Media Invests in Korean Online Virtual Pets Game "GoPets"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2006 - 6:27pm.
Seoul, Korea - GoPets, a Korea-based operator of an interactive 3D online world for virtual pets, announced on Monday that it has received an undisclosed sum as a strategic investment from Liberty Media.

Liberty Media's Starz Debuts Film Studio, Plans 8-12 Movies Annually

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 13, 2006 - 2:34pm.
Englewood, Colo. - Liberty Media's Starz announced on Monday the launch of a motion picture studio, Overture Films, that plans to produce 8-12 full-length feature films per year.

The company named Chris McGurk, a former MGM executive, as CEO of Los Angeles-based Overture Films. Overture's target is for about 60% of the films to be original productions, with the rest to be acquired.

Kudelski Group Buys Control of OpenTV for $132.3 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2006 - 3:02pm.
San Francisco - OpenTV, a developer of interactive TV software and services, announced on Thursday that Switzerland-based Kudelski Group, a developer of digital TV content protection technologies, has acquired voting control of the company from John Malone's Liberty Media in a stock deal valued at $132.3 million. As part of the deal, Liberty will pay San Francisco-based up to $19.7 million.

Liberty Media Closes First Phase of Acquisition of IDT, Stan Lee's POW

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 20, 2006 - 12:09pm.
Beverly Hills, Calif. - Liberty Media announced on Wednesday that it has completed the first stage of its acquisition of IDT's entertainment division, which includes a stake in Marvel Comics maven Stan Lee's POW Entertainment and six character franchises created and co-produced by POW. The $186 million deal includes other IDT assets including Film Roman and Anchor Bay Entertainment, all of which will now fall under Liberty's Starz Entertainment. Liberty Media owns stakes in a variety of cable TV programming, cable and satellite TV provider and other media firms.