HOLLYWOOD, Calif — Whoever said digital media wasn't profitable wasn't talking to Lionsgate's Curt Marvis.
The president of digital media told Beet.TV that the company's digital business is realizing 95% profit margins across new media venues like iTunes, Amazon, CinemaNow, Hulu and YouTube.
The caveat is overall dollars are still tiny compared to the mothership of traditional media, he said during an interview at the NATPE LA TV Fest.
"We run it lean and mean and it's a small contributor," he said. "Lionsgate will do $1.5 billion in revenue and digital will be a small portion, but our growth is enormous and digital as a priority is huge."
The film and TV studio is best known for movies like the "Saw" series and Tyler Perry flicks as well as TV shows like the critically acclaimed and Emmy-winning "Weeds" and "Mad Men." Lionsgate is also invested in digital properties including horror flick site Fearnet.com, guy-centric property Break.com and the new premium online-on-air movie channel Epix. Lionsgate is also currently pitching to networks a multiplatform lottery-style TV show called "Instantly Rich" that will integrate text messaging into the content of the reality show. Each week, a contestant will win one million dollars and contestants become eligible, participate and win via text messaging, Marvis said. "The show [will] air twice a week and then they try to get as many votes as they can using online networks, Twitter, Facebook," he said.
A launch date will be set when a deal is made, he added.
Daisy Whitney, Senior Producer
