Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced a multi-year agreement with FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, Americas (FLW, Americas), the U.S. licensing division of FremantleMedia, one of the largest international creators and producers of program brands in the world and the co-producer and licensor of American Idol, that gives the company the exclusive interactive video game rights for American Idol. Pursuant to the agreement, FLW, Americas grants Konami the rights to develop games for current and next generation video game systems based on America's number one television program. The games will be distributed throughout America, Canada and Latin America with more details to be revealed at a later date.
"Not only is American Idol one of the biggest television programs in the U.S., but its format lends itself perfectly for making compelling video games," said Kazumi Kitaue, Chairman and CEO of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "With Konami's leadership and expertise in music video games and American Idol's popularity and strength as a recognized franchise, this is a powerful synergy that will greatly benefit the consumer."
American Idol, which just completed its fourth season in May 2005, continues to dominate television ratings and break viewership records. Last season's finale, produced by FremantleMedia and 19TV for the Fox network in the US, saw 30.3 million viewers tune in to watch Carrie Underwood be crowned as the newest American Idol. The debut of American Idol's fifth season will air this fall.
David Luner, Vice President Licensing for FLW, Americas, added, "The Idols format has already proven itself successful in a variety of categories including electronics, toys & games, wireless and online applications. We look forward to establishing a solid presence in the video games market with an industry leader like Konami."
As the industry leader in music video games, Konami has a strong line-up of titles that allow gamers to sing, dance, and mix music all in the comfort of their own living rooms. Among its catalog of top music games, Konami publishes the highly-acclaimed singing game Karaoke Revolution and the number one dance game, Dance Dance Revolution. Next year Konami will also release beatmania -- the first-ever DJ simulation game created for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system.
For more information, please visit:
www.konami.com/gs.
About Konami Corporation
Konami Corporation is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties, specializing in the home video game market. Konami Corporation's action and adventure titles include the popular franchises Metal Gear Solid(R), Silent Hill(R) and Castlevania(R), among other top sellers. The latest information about Konami can be found on the Web at www.konami.com. Konami Corporation is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiary offices, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the US and Konami of Europe in Frankfurt, Germany. Konami Corporation, the parent company of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM. Details of the products published by Konami Digital Entertainment - America can be found at
www.konami.com/gs.
About American Idol
Five-time Emmy Award-nominee AMERICAN IDOL was created by Simon Fuller of 19TV and developed by FremantleMedia. Executive producers are Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe for 19TV and Cecile Frot-Coutaz and Ken Warwick for FremantleMedia North America. 19 also manages such leading musical artists as Annie Lennox, Will Young, Kelly Clarkson, and Fantasia. FremantleMedia North America is one of America's foremost producers of reality-based entertainment programming for television, and has produced the IDOL format in more than 30 countries worldwide.
About FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, Americas (FLW, Americas) is the US licensing arm of FremantleMedia, one of the largest international creators and producers of program brands in the world, with leading prime time drama, serial drama, entertainment and factual entertainment programming in over 40 territories. FLW, Americas exploits FremantleMedia's many strong brands including the award winning, American Idol, the world's longest running game show The Price Is Right, the ever-popular Family Feud, and other classic game shows across multiple off-screen platforms including merchandising campaigns, interactive and wireless support, home entertainment and music publishing
www.fremantlemedia.com
About 19 Entertainment
19 is recognized as a leading creator, provider and promoter of globally successful, music based entertainment, or "Entertainment Brands". 19 has attracted a unique collection of expertise in people who work together to integrate and leverage activity across television, music film, merchandising, music publishing, recording, artist/writer and producer management, sponsorship and promotion. To date, 19 has been involved in the creation of 101 Number 1 singles and 81 Number 1 albums with an impressive tally of 233 Top 40 albums and 389 Top 40 singles.
"PlayStation" and the "PS" Family are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
