Liberty Livewire (Santa Monica) will change its corporate name toAscent Media Group (www.ascentmedia.com) on Wednesday, November 20,2002. As a result, effective that same day, the company’s NASDAQ tickersymbol for its Class-A common stock will change from LWIRA toAMGIA.
Ascent Media Group provides a wealth of services to content ownersin post-production, media-asset management and content distributionavailable through the company’s three service segments: Ascent MediaCreative Services (formerly Liberty Livewire Pictures), Ascent MediaNetwork Services (formerly Liberty Livewire Networks) and Ascent MediaManagement Services (formerly Liberty Livewire Media). Among the myriadservices offered within the company are telecine, online and offlineediting, visual effects, foreign language dubbing, sound editorial,sound mixing, digital asset management, encoding, uplink services,distribution to foreign broadcast, Internet delivery, systemintegration and video-on-demand. These services are offered on a globalbasis through over 100 facilities in five countries, provided by morethan 3,700 associates.
The re-naming of Liberty Livewire to Ascent Media Group is due to astrategic effort that began two years ago with the establishment ofLiberty Livewire in June 2000. Liberty Livewire was formed through aseries of strategic acquisitions that resulted in a global aggregationof media services companies that provide post-production, media-assetmanagement and content-distribution services.
The acquired businesses include Company 3, R!OT, Method, Rushes,Encore, Level 3 Post, Soundelux, Todd-AO, POP Sound, Digital Image,4MC, Audio+Video International, Group W Network Services, WaterfrontCommunications, A.F. Associates and Asia Broadcast Center. As a result,clients can take advantage of Ascent Media Group’s integratedend-to-end service capabilities; in essence, creating a one-stop shopfor all of their needs, from the creation of the asset through itsdistribution.
Acording to Bill Fitzgerald, Ascent Media Group’s chairman and CEO,”Ascent Media Group is investing extensively in the development ofnext-generation technology platforms and service applications such asvideo-on-demand, interactive television and store-and-forwardtechnology. In doing so, the company is setting the stage for futuredevelopment, while positioning itself to support new facets of contentcreation, management and distribution.”
Although most of Liberty Livewire’s companies will adopt the newAscent Media Group identity, a select number of legacy brands willpreserve their operating names. These include POP Sound, R!OT SantaMonica, R!OT Manhattan, R!OT Atlanta, FilmCore Editorial (SantaMonica), FilmCore Editorial (San Francisco, FilmCore Distribution(Hollywood), FilmCore Distribution (San Francisco), Company 3, Company3 New York, Method Name, Bink Digital, A.F. Associates Inc. and VideoRentals Inc. According to Ascent Media, the rationale for this decisionis because many clients who enlist post-production services oftenprefer the attributes afforded by a “boutique” brand.
The Ascent Media name will be adopted by the company’s UK and Asiaoperations in the first quarter of 2003.
