Echo Bridge fills library
JP Morgan Securities financing will help company grow
By Cindy Spielvogel -- Video Business, 6/23/2008
JUNE 23 | HOME MEDIA EXPO: Armed with a credit line from JP Morgan Securities, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment is in growth mode.
The new financing allows EBHE (Palms 28-109, 28-111) to increase acquisitions of everything from “individual shows and movies to large libraries and companies,” said Mike Newcomb, co-president of the company along with Nathan Hart. The recent acquisition of Alliance Atlantis International Distribution and its lineup of features, TV shows and animated children's titles from Goldman Sachs Capital Partners gave EBHE “one of the largest, if not the largest, content libraries of any independent DVD label,” said Newcomb.
The company's library includes more than 5,000 titles, which Echo Bridge fulfills itself and can use in custom packages for retailers, because it also owns manufacturing and distribution operations since its acquisition of Platinum Disc in 2005. “We can pick, pack and ship as fast, if not faster, than anyone else,” Newcomb said. “We can turn around special custom orders to get customers what they want,” added Hart. “We have our own design staff, so we can customize more.”
Located in Wisconsin, EBHE has full distribution capabilities “right here in our facility,” Hart said.
Upcoming releases from the company will include Tantrums and Tiaras, a documentary about Elton John that was directed by his partner, David Furnish. The title will be released in November.
Also, EBHE has begun releasing on Blu-ray Disc, with catalog titles set for the format and the possibility of day-and-date new releases as well. Titles already released on Blu-ray by the company include Artie Lange's Beer League, the TV version of The Poseidon Adventure and others.