Public Media Works, Inc. (EntertainmentXpress) announced that it has signed an agreement with Spot Venture Distribution Inc. and Signifi Solutions Inc. to jointly manage and expand Spot’s DVD movie and game kiosk business in the greater Toronto area and other Canadian locations.
For more information visit: www.publicmediaworks.com
Unedited press release follows:
Public Media Works to Launch DVD Kiosk Operations in Toronto, Canada
Collaborative Agreement With Spot Venture and Signifi Solutions Brings PMW a 50% Share in DVD Rental Revenue Effective December 1, 2010
SAUSALITO, CA–(November 15, 2010) – Public Media Works, Inc. (OTCBB: PUBM) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, EntertainmentXpress, Inc., entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Spot Venture Distribution Inc. and Signifi Solutions Inc., both based in Toronto, Canada. The agreement provides for the parties to jointly manage and expand the Spot DVD movie and game kiosk business in the greater Toronto area and other Canadian locations.
Signifi, the exclusive digital kiosk manufacturing partner for Public Media Works (PMW), designs software and manufactures digital self-service retail kiosks. Spot Venture Distribution Inc. (Spot) is a company that places and operates Signifi DVD movie and game kiosks.
Under the terms of the Collaboration Agreement, Spot will purchase and install the DVD kiosks and PMW will finance the operating costs, acquire and manage content and bring advertising revenue and marketing direction as additional value to the partnership. In exchange, PMW will receive 50% of net revenues from DVD rentals, sales and digital advertising.
“This is a solid, strategic opportunity to build on our existing partnership with Signifi, and at the same time, we will be brilliantly poised with Spot to serve a virtually untapped marketplace. Toronto is the largest city in Canada with more than 5.6 million people. Our goal is to expand our presence there as rapidly as possible to create a density in the marketplace,” said Bill Zabit, president of Public Media Works.
Spot has an installed base of 15 kiosks in Sobey’s grocery stores, Rabba Fine Food stores and high traffic convenience stores in Toronto. And under the terms of the agreement, Spot will use its best efforts to have an installed base of 30 kiosks by December 31, 2010 and 200 kiosks by December 31, 2011.
“Spot has strong retail ties and experience in managing locations. With PMW’s backing and Signifi’s support, we expect to see a greater speed of deployment as Spot rolls-out kiosks across the country with a primary focus in the Greater Toronto area,” says Shamira Jaffer, CEO of Signifi.
Last week PMW announced that Signifi is their exclusive kiosk manufacturing partner. Signifi, an IBM Retail partner, has become a leader in self-service kiosk solutions with the only fully-digital robotic platform available in the DVD rental marketplace. Signifi has grown over the past 10 years to become a successful technology company with global impact that has evolved from a technology development firm to a driver of self-serve retail solutions. Their proprietary back-end is integrated with the Esprida platform to offer enterprise-wide solutions for real-time reporting and advanced analytics.
“Our strategy for EntertainmentXpress is first and foremost organic growth, complemented by targeted acquisitions and collaborative ventures such as this one with Signifi and Spot. This type of arrangement allows us to explore business opportunities with strategic partners who are willing to finance kiosks in exchange for a share in the DVD rental and digital advertising revenue for those kiosks,” said Bill Zabit, president of Public Media Works.
EntertainmentXpress, a division of Public Media Works, provides a convenient way for consumers to buy or rent movies, games and other entertainment media through kiosks located in quick-serve food locations, grocery stores and other high-traffic, public venues. The company’s business plan also includes an out-of-home advertising model with onboard 3D screens (no glasses required) in kiosks that provide its retail partners an opportunity to share in ad revenue as well as in DVD rental and sales revenue.
About Public Media Works
Public Media Works, Inc. (OTCBB: PUBM) was founded as a forward-thinking entertainment company, created and operated by entertainment professionals, with the objective to discover, create, develop and distribute entertainment content to world audiences. The EntertainmentXpress subsidiary of Public Media Works is rolling out a network of conveniently located self-service kiosks which deliver demographically relevant digital media content to consumers. The company’s core business model focuses on the high-volume rental and sale of DVD movies, video games and other media through kiosks located in quick-serve restaurants, grocery stores and other high-traffic, public venues. Features intended to differentiate EntertainmentXpress in the marketplace are expected to include a broader variety of digital product offerings over time, retail partner branded kiosks, a fully integrated solution for in-store advertising, and kiosks designed to be converted into media filling stations to a variety of digital storage devices.