April 8, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Contact: Susie Najera at Grupo Najera sanpresents@yahoo.com
MASKED REPUBLIC ANNOUNCES THE BIRTH OF VIVA LA LUCHA PPV SERIES
NORTH AMERICAN TELEVISION DEALS ANNOUNCED WITH AVAIL-TVN AND iN DEMAND
The first lucha PPV series available in Hi-Definition, English and Spanish
New York, April 8, 2010 - Masked Republic,
in association with G-Funk Sports & Entertainment, today
trumpeted the launch of a new pay-per-view series, Viva La Lucha.
The partnership has inked programming and distribution deals for pay-per-view
(PPV) and Video on Demand (VOD) wrestling programs with Avail-TVN
and iN DEMAND L.L.C. in the United States to serve cable
TV subscribers around the country. Similar deals with additional PPV &
VOD providers in the United States and Canada are pending.
Masked Republic will bring together lucha libre’s biggest stars and
most spectacular performers under the Viva La Lucha (www.vivalalucha.com)
banner for shows to be filmed in Mexico and the United States. The agreement
calls for a new show approximately every 60 days, beginning with a June 2010
premiere. A first of its kind for a lucha libre series, each Viva La Lucha
program will be presented in high definition video with a choice of English
and Spanish audio commentary. A standard definition broadcast will also be
made available for each show.
A total of six cards are planned throughout 2010 and 2011. Masked Republic’s
CEO Ruben Zamora made the announcement today with G-Funk’s President
Ken Gelman. The debut event, entitled “¡Revolucion!,”
will be taped May 2 in Mexico City and will feature a spectacular array of
talent from Mexico, the U.S. and more. ¡Revolucion! is set to debut
on PPV on Friday, June 11.
Viva La Lucha will showcase some of the best, most athletic luchador performers
in wrestling today-- many never before seen outside of Mexico. Names like
Blue Demon Jr., Hijo De Rey Misterio, and the headliners of the hottest and
most controversial wrestling promotion in Mexico today, Los Perros Del Mal's
Perro Aguayo Jr., Damien 666, Halloween, Mr. Aguila, Charly Manson, and X-Fly
will be featured in the series, along with well-known American stars Sabu,
Pro Wrestling Revolution Champion "Border Patrol" Oliver John and
more.
“Wrestling fans around the world know these legendary stars,“
Zamora stated. “The launch of Viva La Lucha is a way for us to showcase
these athletes beyond the Mexican border and connect with wrestling fans on
a major level. We are excited to partner with G-Funk Sports & Entertainment
and look forward to bringing the best lucha libre wrestling to pay-per-view
throughout the United States and Canada.”
G-Funk Sports and Entertainment represented Masked Republic in its negotiations
with the PPV companies and the company will also handle all affiliate relations
for the wrestling programs moving forward. Viva La Lucha PPV affiliates will
have access to a newly created affiliate website, www.vivalalucha.com/affiliates
which will contain easy-to-implement marketing materials and all event information.
Each show will also be supported by a range of targeted national consumer
advertising and promotion.
According to Mr. Gelman, “Viva La Lucha will offer wrestling fans throughout
North America a reason to celebrate. These distinctive programs will present
a showcase for the most talented and athletic luchadors on the planet in spectacular
high definition and provide a popular new option for cable operators and satellite
providers as they expand their transactional and multi-cultural offerings.”
About Masked Republic
Masked Republic (www.maskedrepublic.com)
is the first integrated live event, merchandising and media organization in
the United States specializing in the emerging growth market of lucha libre
(Mexican wrestling). The company consists of numerous divisions including
talent representation, touring, merchandising, costume design and manufacturing,
publishing and multiple media platforms including television, home entertainment,
pay-per-view and digital. Corporate sponsorship opportunities are available
for the Viva La Lucha PPV series.
About G-Funk Sports & Entertainment
G-Funk Sports & Entertainment (www.g-funksports.com)
is a full-service agency dedicated to brand activation, strategic integration
and driving maximum return on investment for its clients, headed up by Award-winning
NHL and WWE marketing and television veteran Ken Gelman. G-Funk's strengths
center on three primary areas, Marketing Services (consumer promotion, affiliate
activation and events), Partnership Alliances and Content Management (including
distribution drives and launch strategies). Client partners include the National
Football League, Dragon Gate USA and Strikeforce.
About Avail-TVN
Avail-TVN is the largest digital media services company in North America.
Working with every major studio and television network, the company offers
a full content line up of MPEG-4 encoded live programming as well as video
on demand content in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 to multichannel video providers throughout
the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. The Avail-TVN platform is an open,
advanced technology, offering the most comprehensive, end-to-end solution
for licensing, managing, distributing and marketing linear and on-demand content
to virtually any platform today and is extensible to support the new services
of tomorrow. For more information, please visit www.avail-tvn.com.
About iN DEMAND L.L.C.
iN DEMAND L.L.C. is the pioneer and world leader in providing exciting transactional
entertainment delivered through television’s most innovative technologies.
iN DEMAND creates and delivers programming through cable Pay-Per-View (PPV),
Video-On-Demand (VOD) as well as on digital platforms. PPV programming includes
movies, boxing and mixed martial arts events and the digital out-of-market
subscription professional sports packages for MLB, the NBA, the NHL and MLS.
The company also offers a range of VOD products including first-run movies
and serves as the exclusive TV home of Howard Stern via its Howard TV On Demand
offering. Content is delivered in both SD and HD. iN DEMAND’s owners
are Comcast iN DEMAND Holdings, Inc., Cox Communications Holdings, Inc., and
Time Warner Entertainment - Advance/Newhouse Partnership. Further information
about the company can be found at www.indemand.com.
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