eOne, Wild Bunch strike multi-year deal in France

The deal comes into effect June 1. Wild Bunch will handle home video and digital rights for eOne in France through its direct distribution arm Wild Side. Wild Side will also handle TV sales for eOne’s feature films, with eOne Television International continuing to handle the television content in that territory.

”Patrice and his team have been friends and partners for years. This agreement is a natural outcome of both a close relationship and a shared vision of the evolution of distribution activities in this digital age,” said Vincent Grimond, Chairman and CEO of Wild Bunch.

“Over the past few years, we’ve had the privilege of collaborating with Wild Bunch across our territories worldwide and we couldn’t ask for a more trusted partner, said Patrice Theroux, President, Filmed Entertainment, Entertainment One. “As eOne continues to grow in Europe and across the globe, we remain committed to maximizing rights ownership and looking for new opportunities to exploit our content on a multi-territory and multi-platform basis. We’re confident that Wild Bunch can also offer eOne the resources for theatrical distribution and other exciting opportunities in France through the coming years.”

“We sincerely appreciate the Aventi team’s successful efforts in launching and maintaining eOne in France since our 2010 launch into the French home entertainment market. We’re grateful for all their hard work and commitment,” said Jon Bourdillon, eOne UK’s Director, Home Entertainment. Some of the catalogue titlesAventi currently distributes will continue to be handled by them through home video promotions until the end of the year.

The first home video titles under the partnership will include Call Me Fitz and the second seaso of The Walking Dead.