EM.TV AG and DeAPlaneta have expanded their joint venture, Planeta Junior from Spain and Portugal, into Italy, through the Italian media group DeAgostini, which holds a 50% share in DeAPlaneta, together with the Planeta Group. With the marketing expertise of DeAgostini in Italy, the partners intend to make Planeta Junior one of the leading players in the Italian market.
Planeta Junior will acquire distribution rights to EM.TV´s entire catalogue of children and youth entertainment for Italy, Spain and Portugal. DeAPlaneta will also bring a large portion of its catalogue into the joint venture.
This new arrangement will split the ownership of Barcelona-based Planeta Junior, with 33.3% of shares owned by EM.TV and 66.6% by DeAPlaneta. Previously Planeta Junior was owned 50/50 by EM.TV and DeAPlaneta. The shareholders intend to build upon the success of the Planeta Junior brand in Spain and Portugal and to market it throughout the entire value chain TV, video, publishing and classic merchandising.
"This agreement strengthens and extends DeAPlaneta´s existing relationship with EM.TV in one of our key markets, Italy, said Agustí Mezquida, md of DeAPlaneta. We expect that it will be the first step in widening our partnership to other territories of mutual interest."
As one of Italys most important media companies, the DeAgostini Group is an ideal partner for us, said Patrick Elmendorff, president of TV distribution for EM.TV AG. It has many years of experience and valuable contacts in TV production and sales, publishing, home entertainment and merchandising. With the new agreement, EM.TV is placing the existing relationship with DeAgostini on a sound basis and is securing a long-term and robust presence in the Italian media market.
Established in October 2000, Planeta Junior is the result of a joint venture between EM.TV & Merchandising AG, (now EM.TV AG), and DeAPlaneta, a group of companies devoted to producing and distributing audio-visual content and made up of the Planeta and DeAgostini groups. The joint venture focuses on children´s entertainment content including television, cinema, video and books as well as the licensing of properties for publications, merchandising products and promotion activities. Today Planeta Junior is an established brand for childrens programming in Spain and Portugal.
DeAPlaneta was founded in 2000 by the Planeta Group and the DeAgostini Group. The DeAPlaneta Group has focused its activities on cinema, including the creation of a portfolio of documentaries and fictional programmes for distribution through cinema, video and television, as well as marketing products for childrens and teenagers entertainment through Planeta Junior. The DeAPlaneta Group benefits from the synergy between the publishing and entertainment companies of its parent groups: DeAgostini, one of the main Italian groups operating in various sectors from publishing to media, and Planeta, a media group and the leading Spanish publishing group with wide experience in producing cultural, educational, informative and entertainment material.
EM.TV AG produces and distributes worldwide programs for children and youth markets, as well as markets the merchandising rights to the shows. With around 25,000 half-hour episodes, the companys library is one of the worlds largest. The second strategic core segment, Sport, encompasses the European merchandising rights for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, as well as shareholdings in sports broadcaster DSF and the online platform Sport1. EM.TV also holds 100% of PLAZAMEDIA, Germanys largest TV production company in the sport sector. For more information, visit www.em-ag.de.
