Electus International Signs Multiple Format Deals, Securing Local
Series Commitments For Fashion Star In Asia
NEW YORK, Dec. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ben Silverman's multimedia entertainment studio
Electus, an operating business of IAC (Nasdaq: IACI), today
announced that its global distribution arm, Electus International,
has licensed the format for Fashion Star, its hit reality
fashion competition series, securing local series commitments in
Korea (SBS E!), Vietnam (VTV3) as
well as being optioned to Endemol in India. Fashion Star is part of an
ever-growing Electus slate that will be brought to market for the
first time at the Asia Television Forum in December. Earlier this
year, Electus International closed a finished tape deal for
Fashion Star to premiere across 20 countries in Asia through DIVA Universal. Fashion
Star Season 2 will air in Spring 2013 on NBC.
"Asia is an incredibly
important market for Electus International, so I'm thrilled to
announce that we're kicking off our push into local productions
through series commitments of Fashion Star in Korea and
Vietnam, said John Pollak, President of Electus International.
"Fashion Star is a unique and compelling format that resonates
universally as it fuses entertainment with commerce to build the
next big fashion brand."
In the original U.S. format, Fashion Star gives unknown
designers a life-changing opportunity to win a multi-million dollar
contract to launch their clothing lines in Macy's, H&M and Saks
Fifth Avenue - three of the largest retailers in the country.
Contestants are put to the test to see how they react in a variety
of real-world scenarios to determine who has the vision and desire
to build a fashion empire. With top fashion experts Jessica Simpson, Nicole
Richie and John Varvatos as
their guides and mentors throughout the process, competing
designers have to be as adept in the business of fashion as they
are in their creativity. Each episode kicks off with an
exhilarating fashion show featuring musical performances, dancers,
and models in front of a live studio audience. Every fashion show
will be built around a weekly challenge that is designed to further
develop each designer's brand.
Buyers from the top retailers (Macy's, H&M and Saks Fifth
Avenue) serve as the judges, making on-the-spot decisions each week
as they bid against each other to purchase the work of these
up-and-coming designers. The night following each episode, the
winning designs are available online and in retail stores in the
U.S. In the end, the designer who most successfully combines
fashion and business will become the next "Fashion Star" and
receive the prize of a lifetime - an exclusive capsule line in each
of the three retailers.
The Fashion Star format was developed by Ben Silverman of Electus (NBC's The Biggest
Loser, The Office, and The Tudors), Rick Ringbakk of Emmy Award-winning 5x5 Media
(Jamie Oliver's Food
Revolution), and E.J. Johnston
and James Deutch of EJD
Productions.
The show is executive-produced by Elle
Macpherson, Ben Silverman of
Electus, Jane Lipsitz and
Dan Cutforth of The Magical Elves,
Rick Ringbakk of 5x5 Media and EJ
Johnston and James Deutch of EJD
Productions. Electus International retains all international
distribution rights.
For embeddable clips and full episodes from Fashion Star, please
visit NBC.com's official show site:
http://www.nbc.com/fashion-star/.
For artwork and a complete press kit from the show please visit
the NBCUniversal Media village website at
http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/.
Please follow us on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/NBCFashionStar and on Twitter
@NBCFashionStar.
About Electus
Electus is the first integrated
multimedia entertainment studio to unite producers, creators,
advertisers and distributors under one roof and produce all forms
of content for distribution across a variety of platforms around
the world. Headed by Ben Silverman
in partnership with IAC [NASDAQ: IACI], the company connects
advertisers, distributors and content creators early on in the
development process, enabling marketers and advertisers to be a
true partner in campaigns and content creation. Electus
International, the global distribution arm of Electus, is
responsible for all international sales and distribution for
Electus' programming and its studio partners as well as programs
and formats from other well-known 3rd party providers.
For more information on Electus, visit www.electus.com.
Media contacts:
Electus
Justine Sacco
(212) 314-7326
Justine.sacco@iac.com
Sunshine Sachs
Jessica Berger / Whitney Kuhn
(212) 691-2800
berger@sunshinesachs.com / kuhn@sunshinesachs.com
SOURCE Electus