NENT Group invests in new US production company Picturestart

• NENT Group invests alongside range of leading industry partners
• Picturestart founded by Erik Feig (‘La La Land’, ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Twilight’)
• NENT Group to have first look rights to selected Picturestart productions for the Nordic region

Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) has invested in a minority stake in the new US production company Picturestart together with a range of high profile industry partners. Based in Los Angeles and founded by renowned producer Erik Feig, Picturestart will create, co-finance and produce premium scripted content for young adult viewers around the world.

Picturestart was founded in 2018 by Erik Feig, previously President of Summit Entertainment and co-President of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. Feig has produced or supervised films with collective global box office takings of over USD 14 billion, including Academy Award winners ‘La La Land’ and ‘The Hurt Locker’, as well as youth-oriented hits such as the ‘Twilight’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ series.

The company’s extensive development slate of films, series and digital content has already attracted top tier Hollywood creative talents, with the first projects expected to enter production in the next 12 months. Picturestart has assembled an experienced management team and has recently signed strategic content and distribution partnerships with Warner Bros. and Lionsgate.

NENT Group’s investment will secure a long term pipeline of high quality English language content for NENT Group’s Viaplay streaming service, as NENT Group will have first look rights to selected Picturestart productions for the Nordic region. The agreement also creates co-financing and development opportunities for NENT Group’s original productions and further expands NENT Group’s growing presence in the US market.

NENT Group is investing in Picturestart alongside Warner Bros. Pictures, The Scholastic Corporation, Endeavor Content and Erik Feig himself. Anders Jensen, NENT Group President and CEO, will join the Picturestart board of directors.

Anders Jensen, NENT Group President and CEO: “As the Nordic region’s leading entertainment provider, we understand the passion of young adult viewers for exceptional storytelling. Picturestart is a unique opportunity to build a content frontrunner that engages this fast growing audience across multiple platforms. Our investment reflects NENT Group’s objective to be the leading streaming provider and content producer in the Nordic region, and for our content to have a global appeal. It follows our recent partnership with FilmNation and we expect to make further investments in the US and other key markets. NENT Group is a local leader with a global mindset, and we are looking to create and finance even more exciting content with like-minded companies and creators around the world.”

Erik Feig: “Great storytelling that digs into who we are, who we want to become, who we love, and why we live is relatable to everyone, no matter your stage or age in life. I am incredibly proud of Picturestart’s partnership team and honoured to have their support for this venture.”

Picturestart’s management team

Ryan Lindenberg, Executive Vice President of Production, joins from Berlanti Productions, where he directly oversaw and produced ‘You’ for Netflix, ‘Riverdale’ and ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’.

Lucy Kitada, Executive Vice President of Production, joins from Michael DeLuca Productions, where she packaged and oversaw ‘The Babysitter’s Club’ reboot for Netflix and ‘Long Way Down’ for Universal.

Jessica Switch, Vice President of Production, joins from Section 8 and previously Lionsgate where she worked with Erik Feig on ‘Nerve’.

Investing in original drama

NENT Group’s premium streaming service Viaplay offers original productions, international films and series, kids’ content and live sport. NENT Group is set to premiere a minimum of 20 original productions every year.

In January 2019, NENT Group announced a UK-based joint venture with award-winning independent studio FilmNation Entertainment to develop, produce and finance premium scripted television content for global audiences.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Nordic Entertainment Group AB (publ) (NENT Group) is the Nordic region’s leading entertainment provider. We entertain millions of people every day with our streaming services, TV channels and radio stations, and our production companies create content that is experienced around the world. We make life more entertaining by telling stories, touching lives and expanding worlds – from live sports, movies and series to music and original shows. Headquartered in Stockholm, NENT Group is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘NENT A’ and ‘NENT B’).

Contact us:
press@nentgroup.com (or Tobias Gyhlénius, Head of Public Relations; +46 73 699 27 09)
investors@nentgroup.com (or Stefan Lycke, Head of Investor Relations; +46 73 699 27 14)

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