The filmed entertainment division operates in three territories:
- UK – through the Contender Entertainment Group
- Europe - through RCV Entertainment BV
- Canada – through Seville Pictures, Paradox and Koch Canada
- USA – through Koch Vision and Koch Lorber
It focuses on acquiring and exploiting filmed entertainment rights across all media – theatrical, DVD, TV and digital.
The Music division produces and releases music from established artists and exploits its catalogue assets across both physical and digital formats through Koch Records.
Filmed Entertainment
Contender Group
Contender is a rights ownership and exploitation business and one of the largest independent distributors of content on DVD in the UK. It was founded by Richard Bridgwood in 1995 and based in central London, with approximately 40 full time staff. Its expertise lies in theatrical and home video distribution, TV production and distribution, and licensing and merchandising. The company operates across a number of genres, which include film, children’s, TV drama and general/factual entertainment.
The business is split into two main divisions
- Filmed Entertainment
- acquires content rights for UK and Ireland from independent third party producers for distribution across all media
- is primarily focused on the acquisition of TV programmes for exploitation on DVD. Current titles include: Spooks, Life on Mars, and Bratz
- established its theatrical division in 2004 and has released 13 films to date and has a film library in excess of 170 titles. In 2004 it acquired Medusa which provided a library including Hong Kong Legends (Hong Kong movies of major icons) and Premier Asia which sources best movies from Japan, Thailand and Korea
- the recent announcement of the Summit output deal makes Contender one of the leading film distribution companies in the UK
- Rubber Duck Entertainment
- established in 2001 to create pre-school children’s animation content. It now produces and distributes children’s animation content
- generates revenue from TV broadcast sales, home video and merchandising licenses
- current titles: Tractor Tom (first aired in 2003) and Peppa Pig (first aired 2004)
- current broadcasters: Nickelodeon Junior, Channel Five
- business uses pre-sales and co-production arrangements
- international sales territories include Scandinavia, France and Germany
- new titles currently in development: Humf, Little Kingdom
RCV Entertainment BV
RCV is a leading indpendent film distributor and content owner in Benelux. Founded in 1979 it owns the long term rights to over 1900 titles across all media (Theatrical, Home Entertainment and TV). Based in Hilversum, in the Netherlands the business employs 45 people who focus on acquiring and exploiting, primarily US, independent produced motion pictures. Recent releases include The Golden Compass, Fracture, Hairspray, Miss Potter and Perdition. RCV has established relationships with all the major US independent producers including Liongate, Icon, Focus, New Line, Summit and Lazslore.
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Seville Pictures
Seville Pictures is an integrated producer, distributor and international sales agent of feature films and television programming. The company’s headquarters are in Montreal.
Founded in 1999, Seville is one of Canada’s leading domestic film distributors specialising in domestic, US Independent and foreign films, as well as feature length documentaries. Some of the company’s most successful releases include Volver, Talk To Her, Swimming Pool, 8 Women, Live & Become, Goodbye Lenin! and Joyeux Noel.
Seville is also involved in the production of independent films, as producer and/or executive producer. Past productions are: Heading South (Vers le sud), Russian Ark, Posers, Hatley High, White Skin (La Peau Blanche), The Myth of the Male Orgasm, The Drive, Perpetrators of The Crime and These Girls. In particular, Russian Ark, by Alexander Sokurov, was the first digitally shot feature to be shown in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2007, Seville is co-producing and/or executive producing feature films Shake Hands with the Devil, based on Lt. General Romeo Dallaire’s best-selling novel, and the follow-up to the internationally successful Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, Global Metal.
With Canadian distribution rights to 500 independent features, and worldwide rights to more than 100 features and documentaries, including The Decline of the American Empire, Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, Bon Cop Bad Cop, and the children’s television series Mighty Machines, Seville’s catalogue is one of the largest in Canada.
The recent announcement of the Summit output deal cements Seville’s position as one of the leading film distribution companies in Canada.
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KOCH Vision
KOCH Vision was founded in 1999 to spearhead entry into the US home video market. Currently a leading independent supplier of a broad range of product genres including award-winning children’s and fitness programs, documentaries, music, British television and more. It is the home of such notable properties as SELF Fitness, Yoga Zone, McLeod's Daughters, Soundstage, Popular Mechanics for Kids, Wire in the Blood, Mile High, American Masters – Les Paul: Chasing Sound. KOCH Vision partners with and represents properties from ABC News, BBC, Condé Nast, Granada, Hearst, NBC Universal, PBS, Ragdoll, Southern Star, Target Entertainment and other major international producers and content owners.
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Koch Lorber Films
Koch Lorber Films is the New York based theatrical distributor and DVD label dedicated to the best in recent and classic world cinema and independent documentaries. It entered the market in 2003, and with vision and resources attuned to the art-house theatrical and collectible DVD market. Koch Lorber Films curates the distribution of high quality cinema to discerning audiences - delivering the classics of yesterday and tomorrow.
http://www.kochlorberfilms.com/
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Paradox Entertainment Group
Paradox has been a leading independent home video label in Canada for over 15 years. Distributed labels include; A&E Home Video, Image, Entertainment, Tartan Films and Acorn Media. Paradox also represents a number of US TV networks including A&E TV, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Military Channel, Travel Channel, WGBH [PBS]. It’s genre strengths include British TV, Music DVD, Criterion, Feature Film, Anime, Documentary and Comedy.
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KOCH Canada
KOCH Canada is a dominant force in independent music and video distribution in Canada. Its label roster includes: KOCH Records, Death Row, WWE, Hopeless Records, Shanachie, Putumayo World Music, Relapse Records, Bloodshot Records, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Babygrande, Tzadik, Savoy Jazz, Detroit Public Television, Borealis, Maxamus, Foreign Media Group, and many more. KOCH Canada sales, marketing and promotion staff is made up industry professionals covering all markets and accounts: Through the years Koch has established itself as the premier partner for video and music labels looking for a full service partner in Canada. Koch provides their partners with sales, marketing and promotional tools unmatched by another independent.
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Music
Koch Records
Based in New York City, KOCH Records, commenced operations in 1994. These record labels were formally united under the KOCH umbrella when Velvel Records was acquired from its founder Walter Yetnikoff in May 1999. The Velvel acquisition facilitated and enlarged recording operation by providing additional infrastructure, key executives and a strong international network outside the existing KOCH territories.
KOCH Records has quickly grown to become North America's largest independently distributed record company and is one of the fastest growing independent record labels in the US. KOCH’s record labels cover all musical genres from adult-contemporary to rock, urban to country, children's to classical. Its bestselling franchises have been successfully complemented by a growing roster of both established artists and developing talent. KOCH recently concluded a long-term exclusive license agreement with Death Row Records and thereby secured a pre-eminent rap catalogue. KOCH Record’s rapid expansion is reflected in its growing number of Billboard Top 200 albums.
KOCH has assembled a strong executive team with both major and independent record label experience and has built a dedicated staff of 40 professionals. By leveraging its established distribution and marketing capabilities, KOCH has been able to rapidly capitalise on the widening gap between major and independent labels by catering to established talent, production companies and franchises, as well as emerging artists. KOCH has strategically positioned itself to successfully develop and market artists which do not (or no longer want to) fit the major-label mould, but who are also beyond the operating capabilities of smaller independents.
http://www.kochentertainment.com
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