Great Cinema, Great Sports

New Dimensions of Film and Television

The media company Constantin Medien is embarking on new technical dimensions both in cinema and in television. At the present time the company is putting its skills in content and technology to the test in the form of trend-setting 3D projects in production and movie distribution and in the 3D television broadcast of major international sporting events. In this it has a comprehensive value chain at its disposal – from the original rights and the staging and production of content in movies and sport, through to their marketing.

3D is enabling cinema to soar to new heights – evidence of this was first provid-ed by James Cameron‘s »Avatar« followed by the current »Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D«. The fourth part of the »Resident Evil« series is a Canadian-German co-production of Constantin Film International GmbH and Davis Films/Impact Pictures Inc. The innovative technology used in its production is taking on a special significance.  The »3D Fusion Camera System« co-developed by James Cameron lends the stereo images not only a high digital resolution, but also a new plasticity and even more realistic 3D image composition. In September 2010 »Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D« shot straight to the top of the movie charts in the USA, Germany, Japan, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Spain and all other countries where it opened – an absolute first for an own production in the history of Constantin Film and German cinema. Overall the worldwide returns for the movie, which was made and edited for the first time completely in 3D, already amounted to 150 million dollars ten days after it opened.

»The technical innovation of 3D is for me comparable to the introduction of the video cassette, CD, DVD and Blu-ray – all of them quantum leaps. Technology is exercising a major influence on the economic development more than ever. It is crucial to accompany these developments from the very first minute.«

Bernhard Burgener, CEO Constantin Medien AG

All good things come in 3D

Since the end of August another 3D movie from Constantin Film has been running with great success in German cinemas. »Step Up 3D«, the third part of the streetdance spectacle, presents a gripping story about dance, love and dreams coming true in three-dimensional pictures.
On 7 October 2010 Constantin Film launched the first German 3D animated feature with »Konferenz der Tiere« (»Animals United«); inspired by Erich Kästner‘s 1949 literary classic, the producers and directors Reinhard Klooss and Holger Tappe present a breathtaking movie romp using state-of-the-art animation techniques and a topical subject. With this trendsetting project Constantin also confirms its leading position as the largest independent movie producer in Germany.

Three-dimensional sports highlights

The television of the future is also three-dimensional: As early as May 2010 the opening game of the 2010 Ice Hockey World Championships between Germany and the USA in the Veltins Arena at Schalke was broadcast in 3D – on the IPTV channel LIGA total!, which is operated by Constantin Sport Medien GmbH. The editorial responsibility for the live broadcast of the ice hockey match lay with the sports channel SPORT1, which presented not only the opening match but also a total of 30 matches in the Ice Hockey World Championships on free-TV. Germany‘s biggest sports TV producer PLAZAMEDIA presented the opening match of the 2010 IIHF World Championships on the highest technical level.

New multimedia umbrella brand SPORT1

This rapid technological progress also involves an increasing change in the consumers‘ behaviour regarding media use. The Constantin Medien Group is tackling these developments among other things by realigning its sports segment – in particular by introducing the multimedia umbrella brand SPORT1.

Credibility and planability are also central criteria for the advertising industry and for media agencies, which, in view of the chang-ing media usage behaviour, are demanding more and more a cross-platform marketing in the TV, online and mobile domains and the corresponding integration and networking of all communication models and measures. »The positioning of the brands in the Sports Segment with its complementary alignments provides Constantin Sport Marketing, as the new central marketer, with ideal conditions for developing and implementing new cross-media and integrated marketing concepts and models both within the Group, but primarily also with a view to opening up new customer segments«, according to Thomas Deissenberger, Chairman of the Management Board of Constantin Sport Marketing GmbH.

SPORT1 on all media platforms

The company thus covers the entire spectrum of services in the sports media domain – rights and licences, content, production and technology, distribution via all media platforms and central marketing.
Based on this and against the backdrop of increasing digitalization, the Constantin Medien Group is forging ahead with opening up new digital distribution possibilities: At the beginning of September 2010 the starting signal was given for SPORT1 HD – and hence for the diffusion of the SPORT1 program in high-resolution HD standard. »The co-operations concerning the diffusion of SPORT1 HD with HD+ and Entertain, by far the biggest IPTV platform in Germany, show that our attractive sports offerings in HD quality are for platform operators a major enhancement of their program schedules«, states Bernhard Burgener.
A further strategic and trendsetting step with a view to the positioning of the multimedia umbrella brand SPORT1 in the digital world was taken with the launch of the new pay-TV channel SPORT1+. More than half the program of SPORT1+ HD consists of native HD material, which is produced in especially high-resolution standard. SPORT1+ shows among other things 85 live and exclusive games from the TOYOTA Handball-Bundesliga as well as selected matches form the Beko Basketball Bundesliga. In addition the station will in the coming year be broadcasting the 2011 Basketball European Championships and the 2011 Ice Hockey World Championships – including 85 hours exclusively.
Technological innovations inspire and move – whether in the cinema, at home in front of the television or on the road via mobile devices. And yet, despite the advance of technology, attractive material remains the driving force for rising media consumption – in movies as in sports.
As an integrated media corporation, the Constantin Medien Group with its skills in the fields of content and technology is pursuing one objective: Given the complex and sensitive interaction of content and technology, to join with media consumers in tackling new dimensions.

Constantin Medien AG is a medium-sized media company focused on the Sports, Film as well as Sports- and Event-Marketing Segments. In the Sports Segment both the sports channel SPORT1 (formerly DSF) and the online sports portal SPORT1.de have, since 11 April 2010, been operating under the new multimedia umbrella brand SPORT1. In the IPTV field the subsidiary Constantin Sport Medien operates the Bundesliga live channel LIGA total!.
PLAZAMEDIA is one of the leading full-service production providers for TV and New Media, and Constantin Sport Marketing is the new central marketer for the brands of the Sports Segment. The Film Segment encompasses the Highlight Communications subsidiaries Constantin Film and Rainbow Home Entertainment. The Constantin Film group is the most significant independent German producer and distributor of cinema, video/DVD and television films. The Sports- and Event-Marketing Segment comprises the activities of the Highlight Communications subsidiary Team Holding AG, which, through its subsidiaries, markets the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Super Cup as well as the Eurovision Song Contest and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

Constantin Medien AG

Chairmen of the Board: Bernhard Burgener (CEO), Antonio Arrigoni (CFO)

Constantin Film AG

SPORT1 GmbH

PLAZAMEDIA GmbH

Constantin Sport Marketing GmbH