LIONSGATE APPOINTS LEADING MEDIA EXECUTIVE ROHIT JAIN AS MANAGING DIRECTOR TO HEAD ITS NEW OFFICE IN INDIA

Company Expands International Content Platform into World's Fastest Growing Media Market

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and MUMBAI, India, Oct. 23, 2017 /CNW/ -- Global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) has named leading media executive and entrepreneur Rohit Jain, a 20-year veteran of the Indian media industry, to head its new office in Mumbai, India, the Company announced today.

Jain has served for the past seven years as Deputy CEO of Videocon d2h, a media company that he helped grow from a start-up to over $1 billion in annual revenues through a combination of organic growth and strategic transactions.  Jain helped orchestrate Videocon's successful listing on Nasdaq in 2015 followed by the announcement of its merger with Dish TV India in 2016.

Lionsgate India will spearhead all licensing to local linear and digital platforms in the territory from feature films, television series and library content under the Lionsgate and Starz brands.  It will work closely with the studio's theatrical distribution partners to maximize box office for Lionsgate films, and it will partner with local production companies to develop intellectual property for theatrical release as well as distribution across other media platforms.  Lionsgate India will also explore investment opportunities throughout the Indian media market.

Boasting the world's second largest consumer population and fastest-growing middle class, India has achieved double-digit annual growth across television, film, interactive games and delivery of content to digital platforms.  With over 800 television channels, more than 30 over-the-top platforms, 8,500 theatrical exhibition screens and an evolving interactive game business, opportunities for content producers and distributors are continuing to increase.

"We've been focused on the enormous opportunity created by the Indian marketplace for years, and Rohit checks off all the boxes as the right executive to lead our business there," said Lionsgate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer.  "Lionsgate brings to this territory a global content platform, an entrepreneurial mind set, and the agility of a next generation digital age company.  Rohit is ideally qualified to leverage these strengths into accelerating growth and new business initiatives in the years ahead."

"I'm thrilled to join Jon and the rest of the Lionsgate team as we continue to build the Company's brand in India," said Jain.  "India is the next logical frontier for Lionsgate's multiplatform content creation, marketing expertise and digital initiatives, and I'm incredibly excited at the opportunities that lie ahead."

Prior to his tenure at Videocon, Jain worked at Aon, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte.

Lionsgate has been steadily expanding its global content platform with the continued growth of Lionsgate UK into a leading film and television production and distribution company, a growing operation in China that has established strong relationships with nearly all major platforms in the territory and increased the studio's box office gross by 63% from last year, and a new Canadian office that was opened in Toronto earlier this year.

In the past few years, the Company has tripled its revenue from India and launched the hit Hindi-language film Brothers, a remake of Lionsgate's critically-acclaimed Warrior.  A Hindi-language remake of the studio's action hit comedy Red is also in the works.  Rohit Tiwari of Morris Street Advisors, who had previously served as Lionsgate's local sales agent in India, has transitioned to a consulting relationship to Lionsgate India."

ABOUT LIONSGATE

The first major new studio in decades, Lionsgate is a global content platform whose films, television series, digital products and linear and over-the-top platforms reach next generation audiences around the world.  In addition to its filmed entertainment leadership, Lionsgate content drives a growing presence in interactive and location-based entertainment, gaming, virtual reality and other new entertainment technologies.  Lionsgate's content initiatives are backed by a 16,000-title film and television library and delivered through a global licensing infrastructure.  The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with original, daring and ground-breaking content created with special emphasis on the evolving patterns and diverse composition of the Company's worldwide consumer base.  

For media inquiries, please contact:

Peter D. Wilkes
Lionsgate
310-255-3726
PWilkes@lionsgate.com

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SOURCE Lionsgate