Verde Media Group Inc. is a publicly traded company listed on the OTC Markets trading under the symbol VMGI. The Company operates a managed media financing company with production, distribution, and development functions.
Market opportunity and background
Film
Worldwide box office for all films reached $29.9 billion in 2009, up 7.6% over 2008’s total. International box office made up 64% of the worldwide total, while U.S. and Canada made up 36%, a proportion consistent with the last several years. U.S./Canada box office and international box office in U.S. dollars are both up significantly over five years ago. Sales revenue of the top 100 DVDs for 2009 topped almost $4 billion. Blu-ray and digital downloads remain bright spots. Sales of the Blu-ray high-definition discs were up 74%, and rentals were up 36%. Digital distribution revenue, which included download-to-own and video-on-demand rentals, grew by 27%, to $617 million in the United States.
The significant domestic and international interest in the film industry and the combination of creativity and commercial opportunity it provides will leverage the Companies abilities to reach maximum potential for its shareholders. The Company believes the key growth drivers in the film market are the expansion in audience and the digital mediums that are used to deliver content.
Television
Verde Media Groups business model differs from many other companies in the independent television production sector as it retains control and ownership of all of the rights in its programming beyond the first-run rights granted to the broadcaster. Traditionally, most independent television production companies have been forced to give up these rights to the broadcaster in order to secure distribution. The company will only enter into deals that allow significant control and ownership of all the rights to each project developed, produced, or distributed from the Companies library. These rights are valuable, as in addition to the revenues generated from the primary rights licensed to the broadcaster, the company is able to generate substantial additional revenue streams through exploitation of the ancillary and secondary rights in its programming brands.
The business model also departs from the traditional ‘cost plus’ approach adopted by many independent production companies. Under the ‘cost plus’ approach, independent producers work with broadcasters to approve a detailed budget for a project, and then factor into the budget a profit element of usually between 8 to 15 per cent.. In contrast, the Company has adopted a ‘value’ pricing model, whereby the Company agrees a ‘fair-value’ price for a program or series with a broadcaster. This gives the Company greater control over how much profit it can take from each production.
Investment Objective
The investment objective of Verde Media Group is to achieve total return for Shareholders through investment in a diverse portfolio of films and television properties targeted at an audience across different genres, and distributed widely through all mediums. The Company intends to build a library of Intellectual Property Rights ("IPR") in various formats, including digital download, DVD, television and mobile technology that will be fully exploited. The revenue from these libraries will offer a more predictable and timely revenue stream. This approach allows the Company to focus on deriving profit from multiple revenue streams at an efficient cost base. Multiple revenues and a low central cost base allow a centralized focus on opportunities in areas where significant profit margins can be attained. The Company believes that it is well placed to take advantage of these opportunities and to capitalize on the growth that the industry is experiencing.
Operational Strategy
The Company will utilize proven cost effective business models to develop, produce and distribute and market properties that are budgeted between $3mm and $15mm.
The Company captures opportunities in the entire value chain of film and television creation by; (i) sourcing and evaluating prospective projects through a research-led investment process; and (ii) managing and structuring the production and distribution of such projects. In sourcing prospective projects the Company thoroughly evaluates the concepts, scripts, directors and cast in respect too current market data, tastes and trends. The Company then assesses the feasibility of the project in relation to budget, scope, timescales and the risks and rewards of each opportunity. Once a project has been approved by the Board, the Company seeks to retain full ownership of all rights relating to each project, although in certain situations the Company may invest in a project where it may not acquire all rights. Distribution and Marketing of the projects will be handled by using a low cost method of outsourcing larger more capital intensive campaigns too reputable companies that Verde Media Group has co-production relationships with. Smaller campaigns will be handled in-house directly by the company and its television and film distribution division. |