Vimeo said Lionsgate is the first Hollywood studio to partner with the OTT specialist for the debut of a television store with global reach.
Vimeo said the new service is making high-end premium scripted U.S. content available in more than 150 countries, with Lionsgate on board to license and feature the bulk of its catalog of TV series, including Orange is the New Black, Casual, The Royals, and Mad Men, alongside catalog series and titles that include Weeds, Nurse Jackie, Boss, Blue Mountain State and Manhattan.
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They said Lionsgate movie titles will be added to the Vimeo service for rental in the U.S. subsequent to launch.
Vimeo’s service is slated to launch on October 18 at the MIPCOM 2016 Global Market in Cannes, with kickoff ceremonies led by Jim Packer, Lionsgate president of worldwide television & digital distribution; and Sam Toles, Vimeo's head of global content acquisitions and Distribution Sam Toles.
"We're proud to launch Vimeo's first ever transaction-based global television store with Lionsgate's acclaimed television series," Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of Vimeo parent company IAC, said in a statement. "Their television slate includes nearly 80 series on 40 different networks, and they are a great partner with whom to kick off a service that will bring premium scripted shows from the U.S. to our hundreds of millions of viewers around the world. They are the first of many top Hollywood studios we expect to attract in the months to come."
"Our collaboration with Barry Diller and Vimeo is the latest example of our commitment to partner with world-class platforms to serve online, next generation consumers," added Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. "We're proud to be the exclusive launch partner of platforms such as Vimeo that are transforming the face of entertainment and bringing our content to consumers around the world through an expanding array of touchpoints."
Separately, Vimeo also launched a new membership plan for its core video hosting services, Vimeo Business, that’s aimed at small- and mid-sized businesses, startups, and agencies.
Vimeo Business runs $599 per year, and includes lead-generation features, such as clickable calls-to-action and email capture forms in the embedded player and performance tracking and analytics.
