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PodcastOne inks first look development deal with Patrick Wachsberger's Picture Perfect Federation

Press Release · Los Angeles CA, USA ·

This article is at least a year old

PodcastOne, a leading podcast platform and a subsidiary of LiveXLive Media (NASDAQ: LIVX), announced today that it has entered into a multi-year first look pact with Picture Perfect Federation, the joint venture between Picture Perfect Entertainment and Federation Entertainment led by Patrick Wachsberger, for the development of scripted serial podcast content, a popular and rising category in the ever increasing business of podcasting which is on track to being a multi-billion dollar industry by 2023.

Under the development deal, Picture Perfect Federation’s Wachsberger and a team of executives led by Ashley Stern, President of Federation Entertainment of America, and Sera Tabb, Vice President of Development for Picture Perfect Federation, are expected to expand upon PodcastOne’s diverse and top rated list of banner programming, which currently includes true crime genre podcasts A&E’s Cold Case Files and I Survived, Court Junkie, American Nightmare, and Final Days on Earth, some of the most listened to hosted podcasts including the The Adam Carolla Show, Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe, Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen, The Jordan Harbinger Show, Hotboxin with Mike Tyson and The LadyGang and podcasts from global music superstars Pitbull, Anitta and T-Pain, and introduce scripted content across multiple genres with an eye to package the resulting audio IP for television, film and streaming platforms as co-productions of Picture Perfect Federation and PodcastOne.

“Patrick and his team are true professionals with unparalleled success in the movie, television and scripted world. The partnership with PodcastOne will complement their expertise with over 10 years of experience in the audio space developing weekly interview style and successful scripted programming. Together, we are going to supercharge our story telling and fan development capabilities to create a slate of programs that will be exciting for audiences, advertisers and production houses looking to be involved with our amazing IP,” said Kit Gray, President of PodcastOne.

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Wachsberger added, “The popularity of podcasts has grown astronomically over the past decade and continues to be a format that attracts a great audience. We very much look forward to our collaboration with the incredible team at PodcastOne which will provide Picture Perfect Federation with a fantastic opportunity to grow into this medium and produce fantastic new projects that will translate from audio to film and TV.”

During his 30-year motion picture industry career, Wachsberger has become one of the leading international film executives in the world. During his most recent tenure as Chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, the company’s feature film slate generated nearly $10 billion at the global box office led by the critically-acclaimed breakout sensation “Wonder,” the global box office phenomenon “La La Land,” winner of six Academy Awards®, two-time Oscar® winner “Hacksaw Ridge,” and the blockbuster franchises “Twilight,” “Hunger Games,” “John Wick,” and “Now You See Me.” Other recent hits include “The Hitman’s Bodyguard,” “The Big Sick” (in partnership with Amazon Studios) and “The Shack.” In 2019, Wachsberger departed Lionsgate and embarked on a television venture with top international studio, Federation Entertainment, under the moniker Picture Perfect Federation. The new entity is dedicated to developing and producing premium television content for both the US and international markets with top talents from around the globe. The company recently announced that it will develop “Impossible” written and directed by Siân Heder who previously wrote and directed “CODA,” produced by Wachsberger and acquired by Apple at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

Federation Entertainment, launched by President and Founder Pascal Breton in 2013, quickly established itself as Europe’s leading independent international studio and production company. With offices in Paris, Los Angeles, Madrid, Rome, Berlin, and Tel Aviv, the company focuses on the creation, production, financing and distribution of high-quality original productions for the global marketplace. Federation Entertainment is the producer behind “Marseille,” Netflix France’s first original series. Federation’s rich portfolio also includes major award-winning and international successes such as the cult spy series The Bureau; the financial thriller Bad Banks; the Netflix original hit series Baby; Find Me In Paris, the premium live action hit for tweens; Partisan, Best Series Award at CanneSeries 2020; In Treatment, the adaptation of cult format BeTipul by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache for ARTE; Around the World in 80 Days starring David Tennant, produced for the European Alliance (France Televisions, ZDF, Rai), BBC and PBS Masterpiece; as well as Varane and Destin de Champion to name a few.

In addition to “Impossible,” Picture Perfect Federation has a number of high-profile series and films in the works. First up is Federation’s greenlit series “The Banker’s Wife” for Amazon with Lesli Linka Glatter directing, Meredith Stiehm showrunning, and producer Sherry Marsh. Picture Perfect Federation has also been aggressively optioning IP with New York Times bestseller, The Accidental Empress and Sisi: Empress on her Own for television, the genre bending thriller, Rules For Vanishing as a TV series, and teamed up with Anonymous Content on the Ramses book series from famed Egyptologist Christian Jacq.

About PodcastOne

PodcastOne is a leading advertiser-supported podcast company, offering a 360-degree solution for both content creators and advertisers, including content development, brand integration and distribution. Acquired by LiveXLive Media in 2020, the two entities have subsequently teamed to create a new video podcast (Vodcast) network under the LiveXLive umbrella. Amassing more than 2.25 billion downloads per year with 400+ episodes distributed per week across a stable of hundreds of top podcast programs, including influencer talent like Adam Carolla, Kaitlyn Bristowe, Steve Austin, Jordan Harbinger, Heather Dubrow, The LadyGang, Dr. Drew, Brett Favre, Michael Cohen and top-rated true crime shows including Court Junkie, A&E’s Cold Case Files, American Nightmare, First Degree and more. Its shows are distributed across its own platform as well as LiveXLive’s owned-and-operated channels on mobile, mobile web, desktop and SmartTV’s. PodcastOne is the brainchild of Radio Hall of Famer, Norm Pattiz, also the founder of Network Radio-giant, Westwood One.

About Picture Perfect Federation

Picture Perfect Federation is a joint venture formed by entertainment industry leader Patrick Wachsberger’s Picture Perfect Entertainment and Pascal Breton and Lionel Uzan of studio Federation Entertainment. The new entity is dedicated to the development and production of premium television series and films for the global marketplace on all platforms as well as engaging in international co-productions. The studio is poised to develop, deficit finance, and distribute premium content across the globe. The team of Wachsberger, who most recently served as Chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture group, and Breton and Uzan, Chairman and CEO of Federation Entertainment respectively, brings decades of combined creative and financial expertise to the venture as well as a deep understanding of financing and the direct relationships to engage production and financial partners from around the globe. Partners Wachsberger and Ashley Stern, President of Federation Entertainment of America, represent the joint venture in Los Angeles. With additional divisions in Paris, Rome, Tel Aviv and Madrid, leading international studio Federation Entertainment has series in production across the globe like the hit ZDF thriller “Bad Banks," Omri Givon’s Keshet series “The Grave,” Netflix France original “Marianne,” Hulu’s “Find Me in Paris,” France’s number one series, “Le Bureau des Légendes” for Canal +, and an upcoming co-production of “Around the World in Eighty Days” starring David Tennant for BBC/France TV/Rai/ZDF.

About LiveXLive Media, Inc.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, LiveXLive Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIVX) (the “Company”) (pronounced Live “by” Live) is a leading global all-in-one streaming artist-first platform delivering premium music and entertainment content and livestreams from the world’s top artists, expertly curated streaming radio stations, podcasts, and original video and audio on-demand content, as well as personalized merchandise, connecting artists to millions of fans every day. The Company has streamed over 1,800 artists since January 2020 and has created a valuable connection between bands, fans and brands by building long-term franchises in audio, video, podcasting, pay-per-view (PPV), livestreaming, and specialty merchandise. LiveXLive is available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire, and through OTT, Samsung TV, STIRR, Sling, and XUMO, in addition to its own app, online website and social channels. The Company’s wholly owned subsidiary PodcastOne, generates more than 2.25 billion downloads per year with 400+ episodes distributed per week across a stable of hundreds of top podcasts. The Company’s other major wholly owned subsidiaries are LiveXLive,Slacker Radio, React Presents and Custom Personalization Solutions. For more information, visit www.livexlive.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter at @livexlive.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are “forward-looking statements,” which may often, but not always, be identified by the use of such words as “may,” “might,” “will,” “will likely result,” “would,” “should,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “continue,” “target” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including: the Company’s reliance on one key customer for a substantial percentage of its revenue; the Company’s ability to consummate any proposed financing, acquisition or transaction, the timing of the closing of such proposed event, including the risks that a condition to closing would not be satisfied within the expected timeframe or at all, or that the closing of any proposed financing, acquisition or transaction will not occur or whether any such event will enhance shareholder value; the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern; the Company’s ability to attract, maintain and increase the number of its users and paid subscribers; the Company identifying, acquiring, securing and developing content; the Company’s intent to repurchase shares of its common stock from time to time under its announced stock repurchase program and the timing, price, and quantity of repurchases, if any, under the program; the Company’s ability to maintain compliance with certain financial and other covenants; the Company successfully implementing its growth strategy, including relating to its technology platforms and applications; management’s relationships with industry stakeholders; the effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic; changes in economic conditions; competition; risks and uncertainties applicable to the businesses of the Company’s subsidiaries; and other risks, uncertainties and factors including, but not limited to, those described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on June 26, 2020, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on February 16, 2021, and in the Company’s other filings and submissions with the SEC. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligations to update these statements, except as may be required by law. The Company intends that all forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

This is a press release which we link to from Podnews, our daily newsletter about podcasting and on-demand. We may make small edits for editorial reasons.

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