Good news boosts Atlantis
The Toronto-based company said it's producing two TV movies for CBS for delivery this year. "Borrowed Hearts," a family drama starring Roma Downey ("Touched by an Angel"), is in post-production and will air this year. The other, to be produced in Toronto, is based on the story of Alex Kelly, the Connecticut teenager who fled the United States before his 1987 rape trial and lived as a fugitive in Europe for eight years until he was captured and sentenced in July to 16 years in prison.
Atlantis said it is developing a series of 10 movies for United Paramount Network in association with Singer/White Entertainment to air in 1998 and 1999. UPN plans to expand to four nights of programming next year from its current three, the fourth night to feature science fiction movies, a field in which Atlantis is carving itself a niche. Atlantis says it will retain worldwide distribution rights for the movies.
In other distribution news, the company announced that it has acquired worldwide rights outside of Canada for the new CBC soap opera "Riverdale," produced by Linda Schuyler's Epitome Pictures Inc. of Toronto, as well as rights outside of Britain for "The House of Angelo," a TV adventure movie produced by and starring Edward Woodward.
Lewis Rose, executive vice president and chief financial officer, has been named president, filling the job vacated two years ago by Kevin Shea, who joined CanWest Global Communications Corp. of Winnipeg to head up its Ontario TV operations. Rose continues as Atlantis' chief financial officer, a position he assumed when he joined the company in April 1996.
Atlantis reported that profit for the three months ended June 30 jumped to C$418,000 ($300,960) from C$110,000 ($79,200) a year earlier. Revenue climbed 24% to $18.7 million.
The second quarter traditionally is the company's slowest, Atlantis said, but profit was pumped up by delivery of 13 hours' worth of episodes of "The Adventures of Sinbad," "Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal" and "The Outer Limits." Lower operating costs, brought about by increased efficiencies, also contributed to the profit gain, the company said.
In the first half, profit more than doubled to $1 million while revenue was flat at about $41.8 million.
Atlantis plans to deliver 107 hours of programming this year, including two new series and four one-hour shows that have been renewed, compared with 88 hours in 1996.
Atlantis said its broadcasting division, Life Network, sponsored three U.S. specialty channels --- Television Food Network, Fit TV and America's Health Network --- that were recently approved for distribution in Canada by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Atlantis plans to apply to the CRTC this month for licenses to operate Canadian versions of these channels under arrangements similar to those it negotiated with E.W. Scripps for the Canadian Home and Garden Television. Life Network owns 67% of HGTV in Canada while Scripps, which owns HGTV in the U.S., not only holds a third of the Canadian channel but also has a substantial output deal.
