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With
a management team comprised of leading cable executives, Blackbelt
TV has assembled the largest martial arts entertainment and sports
library in the world from leading worldwide fight organizations
and Hollywood studios including Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Totaling nearly 15,000 hours, the library consists of some of the
greatest martial arts films of all times, including Enter the
Dragon, Once Upon A Time in China, The Karate Kid,
Drunken Master, Out For Justice; classic and new martial
arts television series like Kung Fu and Mortal Kombat Conquest;
Japanese animation; health, fitness and self defense programming
as well as original shows like Soul of the Champion.
Viewers
will see world championship bouts never before aired on US television
from countries including India, China, Japan, Russia, Europe, Korea
and Thailand.
Blackbelt
TV has entered into exclusive licenses within the martial arts genre
with two of the top providers of martial arts entertainment in the
US - Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution and Sony Pictures
Entertainment. The new channel will also import films and television
programming from all over the globe including some of the largest
Asian film libraries in the world, claims a press release.
Blackbelt
TV's programming unites the biggest celebrities in martial arts
entertainment including Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Chuck Norris,
Chow Yun Fat, Steven Seagal. In addition to the martial arts films
and TV shows, Blackbelt TV has entered into exclusive relationships
with leading promoters of championship fights and martial arts competitions
from around the globe.
The
channel will show world championship Judo bouts directly from the
International Judo Federation in Korea; explosive kickboxing from
the US, China and India via the World Championship Kickboxing; the
fury of Muay Thai Kickboxing directly from Thai Stadiums in Thailand.
Blackbelt's on-air look and feel will be created by its sister company
Threshold Digital Research Labs (TDRL), one of Hollywood's leading
digital animation and visual effects companies whose technology
alliance is with IBM. The feature film quality bumpers, interstitials
and Network IDs will be created by the same digital wizards that
produce special effects, theme-park attractions, and animation for
MGM, Miramax, Paramount and others.
The
network will generate additional forms of revenue by tapping into
the billion dollar martial arts ancillary markets through its Blackbelt
TV Network Enterprises Division. The division is responsible for
developing Blackbelt TV branded home video/DVD, music, video games,
apparel, toys, interactive television, on-line and off-line gaming,
martial arts instruction and a line of health, fitness and self-defense
products. Primary investors in Blackbelt TV include Threshold Entertainment,
Fusient Media Ventures, and Sirius Investment
Corp. Blackbelt TV is headed by leading entertainment and cable
executives with established track records in starting new enterprises
and producing successful branded, mainstream properties. Together
their credits include blockbuster feature films like True Lies
and Mortal Kombat; hit TV shows like Babylon 5; technology
breakthroughs like the first digital movie and digitally recorded
score; theme park attractions like King Kong, Robocop and Earthquake;
studio experience including Sony, Disney and Vestron; and cable
TV experience including BET, VH-1, Animax, Sony Entertainment Television,
Discovery Networks, and AXN .
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