CBS, Lionsgate Television and King Join Together on New
Format Created by Matt Kunitz for
Broadcast on the CBS Television Network and Distribution
Internationally by Lionsgate
LOS ANGELES, and SANTA
MONICA, Calif., and LONDON,
Oct. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/
-- CBS has ordered CANDY CRUSH, a new one-hour, live action
game show series based on the globally renowned mobile game
franchise. CBS, Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF) and King will join
together on the new format created and executive produced by
Matt Kunitz that will be distributed
domestically by CBS Television Distribution and internationally by
Lionsgate.
In the game Candy Crush Saga, players match colorful
candies in combinations of three or more to win points, defeat
obstacles and progress through more than 2,000 levels. Candy
Crush Saga and its sister title, Candy Crush Soda Saga,
are two of the top 10 grossing mobile games in the U.S. On average,
18 billion game rounds are played every month around the
world.*
In the series, the game that has become a worldwide phenomenon
comes to life as teams of two people use their wits and physical
agility to compete on enormous, interactive game boards featuring
next generation technology to conquer CANDY CRUSH and be crowned
the champions. A host will be announced at a later date.
"We are huge fans of Candy Crush and, like so many
others, we know the 'rush' of advancing to the next level of the
game," said Glenn Geller, President,
CBS Entertainment. "We're excited to work with Lionsgate and
King to adapt one of the world's most popular and entertaining game
franchises for television and make it available to its massive,
passionate fan base who can watch and play along at home."
"The Candy Crush franchise is a world-renowned property,
so when the head of our interactive and games division,
Peter Levin, brought this IP to
Lionsgate, we instantly knew it would make an incredibly visual,
physical and fun TV program," said Kevin
Beggs, Chairman, Lionsgate Television Group. "CBS is a
leader in unscripted television, which makes it the ideal home for
CANDY CRUSH, and we're very happy to have Matt shepherding the
production as we partner with the team at King on this series with
the tremendous second-screen potential."
"We have a very entrepreneurial culture at Lionsgate, so we look
for awesome worldwide IP like Candy Crush and work together
across divisions to bring it to fans on every platform possible.
Everyone who has played it knows that Candy Crush is an
exciting, visual switcher game with great characters, and Matt and
our alternative television team are working closely with
Sebastian Knutsson and his creative
team at King to bring it to life on CBS," said Peter Levin, President, Interactive Ventures and
Games for Lionsgate, and executive producer on the series. Levin
worked with Striker Entertainment's Russell
Binder, King's licensing agent in the U.S., to facilitate
licensing Candy Crush IP for this television show.
"The Candy Crush franchise lends itself perfectly to the
kind of larger-than-life, physical game shows that I love to
produce and CBS is the perfect home for it," said executive
producer Matt Kunitz ("Wipeout,"
"Fear Factor"). "As a Candy Crush Saga player myself, I am
excited to amp up the action and visuals in our huge Candy Crush
Arena."
"The Candy Crush franchise has been loved by players
around the world on mobile so it's very exciting to be working with
Matt and the team to bring the fun and challenge of the Candy
Crush games to television. We hope our players will be
entertained by what is set to be a high-energy, challenging game
show," said Sebastian Knutsson,
Chief Creative Officer, King, and executive producer of CANDY
CRUSH.
CANDY CRUSH will be produced by Pulse Creative in association
with Lionsgate Television, King Ltd. and CBS Television Studios.
Matt Kunitz, Peter Levin, Russell
Binder, Nicki Sheard, VP
Brand at King, and Sebastian
Knutsson will serve as executive producers. Knutsson
is King's Chief Creative Officer and is one of the founders of the
company. He created Candy Crush Saga.
*Candy Crush Saga average monthly game rounds as of
Sept. 2016.
About CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a mass media company
that creates and distributes industry-leading content across a
variety of platforms to audiences around the world. The Company has
businesses with origins that date back to the dawn of the
broadcasting age as well as new ventures that operate on the
leading edge of media. CBS owns the most-watched television network
in the U.S. and one of the world's largest libraries of
entertainment content, making its brand — "the Eye" — one of the
most recognized in business. The Company's operations span
virtually every field of media and entertainment, including cable,
publishing, radio, local TV, film, and interactive and socially
responsible media. CBS's businesses include CBS Television Network,
The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros.
Entertainment), CBS Television Studios, CBS Studios International,
CBS Television Distribution, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home
Entertainment, CBS Interactive, CBS Films, Showtime Networks, CBS
Sports Network, Pop (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and
Lionsgate), Smithsonian Networks, Simon & Schuster, CBS
Television Stations, CBS Radio and CBS EcoMedia. For more
information, go to www.cbscorporation.com.
About Lionsgate
Lionsgate is a premier next generation
global content leader with a diversified presence in motion picture
production and distribution, television programming and
syndication, home entertainment, international distribution and
sales, branded channel platforms, interactive ventures and games,
and location-based entertainment. The Company has nearly 80
television shows on 40 different networks spanning its primetime
production, distribution and syndication businesses. These include
the ground-breaking hit series Orange is the New Black, the
fan favorite series Nashville, the syndication success The
Wendy Williams Show, the hit drama series The
Royals, the Golden Globe-nominated dramedy Casual and
the breakout success Greenleaf.
The Company's feature film business spans eight labels and
includes the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, the Now
You See Me and John Wick series, Nerve,
CBS Films/Lionsgate's Hell or High Water, Sicario,
Roadside Attractions' Love & Mercy and Mr.
Holmes, Codeblack Films'
Addicted and breakout concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion
Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing
Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in
box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates.
Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of
approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is
an important source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation
for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and
Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality
entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com
About King
King is a leading interactive entertainment
company for the mobile world. It had 409 million monthly active
users as of second quarter 2016 across web, social and mobile
platforms, and has developed more than 200 exclusive games that are
enjoyed all around the world through its king.com and
royalgames.com websites, Facebook, and mobile distribution
platforms such as the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, Microsoft
Windows App Store and Amazon Appstore. King was acquired by
Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) in February 2016. King has game studios in
Stockholm, Malmö, London, Barcelona, Berlin, Singapore, and Seattle, along with offices in San Francisco, Malta, Seoul,
Tokyo, Shanghai and Bucharest.
Press
Contacts:
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CBS:
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Phil
Gonzales
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818-655-1580
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phil.gonzales@cbs.com
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Diane
Ekeblad
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818-655-1585
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diane.ekeblad@cbs.com
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Lionsgate:
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Joanna Dodd
Massey
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310-255-3602
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jmassey@lionsgate.com
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Cristina
Castaneda
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310-255-5114
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ccastaneda@lionsgate.com
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King:
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Sarah
Georgiakakis
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44 (0)
7867-473-558
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sarah.georgiakakis@king.com
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements:
Information in this press release that involves King's
expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future,
including statements with respect to CANDY CRUSH are
forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number
of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause King's actual
future results to differ materially from those expressed in the
forward-looking statements set forth in this release include
unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the
risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual
report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form
10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon
information available to King and Activision Blizzard as of the
date of this release, and neither King nor Activision Blizzard
assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when
made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not
guarantees of the future performance of King or Activision Blizzard
and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of
which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ
materially from current expectations.
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SOURCE Lionsgate