Venom Studios Breaking News
Torrance, CA, Jan 19, 2010 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX News Network)
Venom Studios today announced that it has reached agreement with Excite American Group LLC for the sale of Venom Studios, Swordsman Productions and a future contract to purchase Venom Studios - Sweet Spot Video Distribution located in Southern California and the Czech Republic. The agreement is reflected in two definitive asset purchase agreements, one for the Southern California studios and one for the European production market with the follow on agreement for Sweet Spot Video Distribution projected for the fall of 2013. The agreements also provide for future consultantancy development in these markets to the end of 2014 for Venom Studios founder and sole owner Mr. Paul A. Ridgway. Financial details of the transaction were stated to be in the excess of 182 million US dollars.
Paul A. Ridgway, Venom Studios chief executive officer, said, "We are pleased to announce the sale of our production company-operated markets in line with our strategy to transform Venom Studios into an even more readily broadcast adult entertainment system. This concludes a competitive bidding process for these markets with the selection of Excite American Group, which places the studio in the hands of an exceptional adult media operator and provides growth opportunities for the leading adult entertainment developer within the production system. We believe today's commitment by Excite American Group demonstrates our confidence in their plans to revitalize the adult entertainment industry and improve the operational and financial performance of our feature releases. We are eager to work with Excite American Group to ensure a smooth and successful transfer of ownership for our staffing and production employees."
Gregory G. Meschenckov, Excite American's chairman, and chief executive officer said, "As Venoms largest European distributor, we are pleased to be the first partner to extend our relationship and commitment to the Venom Studios brand with the acquisition of these adult film powerhouses. While it enables Excite American Group to further leverage our infrastructure, it also affords us an opportunity to participate in the continuation of the Venom brand in a significant way. Venom Studios new ownership Excite American Group and the approach leadership intents to distribute the brand were integral in our decision to acquire this world class studio. We are excited about the future prospects of the Company and look forward to working closely with management as we improve the performance of the Venom brand."
The sale of these two markets is expected to be completed on separate closing dates in the coming months, subject to regulatory processes related to international film rights transfer and other customary closing conditions.
Venom Studios remains confident in its expectations of selling Venom Studios, Swordsman Productions and generating a total of $120 to $130 million in after-tax cash proceeds in fiscal 2011, as previously announced. The Company plans to use the proceeds from the acquisition of its company-operated production studio primarily to invest a portion of the Company's consolidated funding to advance current software technology in place via Mr. Ridgway's wholly owned Venom Soft and used by global markets using wide band video security transfer operations.
About Excite American Group LLC
Based in Istanbul, Turkey, Excite American Group LLC currently owns and operates 145 adult entertainment clubs and lounges . With $380 million in 2007 sales and directly employing over 2,600 people, Excite American Group is the largest distributor in the Venom Studios system and the 3rd largest adult film distribution media group in the United States. In 2007, it was named Adult Hosting of the Year by Adepco International and Media Entrepreneur of the Year by Nation's Host News. It has perennially ranked as one of Venom Studios best operators and most active developers, and it has enjoyed sales growth in excess of 15% per year compounded over the last 10 years. For more information on Excite American Group, visit www.exciteamerican.com.tk
Torrance, California November 12, 2008 By Martin LaMenica, CNET News.com | 2008/12/11/Newswire via COMTEX News Network/
Venom Studios a global leader in streaming digital communication software tools and assessment services, and the IBM Group (Pink Sheets: SCOXQ.IBM) a leading provider of UNIX hardware technologys and mobile services announced today that they have formed a strategic lease purchase with an investment of 28.8 million US dollars to use Venom Studios new collaborative mobile communication tools developed by Venom Soft, a wholly owned subsidiary of privately held Venom Studios, Torrance California.
The tools, which feature Venom Studios "Viper" mobile technology, will provide users with real-time access to digital video, utilizing multimedia, all from their smart phone or PC client. The first round of new products will be available in early summer 2009.
"IBM is pleased to enter into this agreement with Venom Soft, to bring our customers the new and powerful mobile tools that improve individual and business productivity," said " Bob Piciono, vice president of data servers at IBM,. "Venom's Studios superior "Viper" technology helps to fill the growing demand in the marketplace for effective mobile technologies that improve personal and group productivity rather than complicate it. The more we have worked with the Venom Studios product the more convinced we are of its capability to move the needle for consumers and professionals looking for next generation mobile solutions."
Venom Studios, has been working for a number of years on implementing mobile technologies that help individuals and businesses take greater control over their lives and improve their effectiveness, whether at work, at home or on the go, all from the palm of their hand," said Paul Ridgway, President of Venom Studios Operations. "We identified IBM as the industry leader in providing tools and training for increasing personal and professional effectiveness and are excited about their stated vision and commitment to bring this product to the North American market. We believe this partnership will be very beneficial to both companies and look forward to IBM announcing and rolling out this unique mobile technology very soon."
Venom Soft is a wholly owned subsidiary of Venom Studios, a leader in real-time mobile software technology, platforms applications development and marketing. Venom Soft uses unique Mobile Server platform technology to develop mobile applications that provide rich functionality, a sophisticated architecture, and unparalleled user experiences for consumers, prosumers, and business customers. Venom Soft develops mobile applications and solutions that are ubiquitous in nature and compatible with all carrier networks. Venom Studios has been building mobile collaboration solutions thru out the world since 2003 and bring their platform and applications experiance to the North American market at a time of great opportunity.
Bel Air, Ca October 13, 2008 - Venom Studios announced its new media distribution unit Sweet Spot Video today. The video distribution firm will provide consultation and media support for HD Adult features to broadband internet and video distribution solution providers. Sweet Spot Video will also provide distribution channels to wholesale consumer product providers. Thereby opening a wide array of marketing means currently under contract with parent company Venom Studios. Contact Mr. Sam Tefton or Mr. Tim Delfond for more information.
Bel Air, Ca April 22, 2008 - Venom Studios proudly announced its new media production unit Swordsman Productions today. The production partnership will provide Premiere Streaming HD Adult features to broadband internet and video distribution solutions to reach consumers globally for its Adult Line Up Features.
Swordsman Productions will be marketing the acclaimed "Rompin and Simply Seductive" series through media platforms such as HD video and hyper G4 networks which are considered new and exciting ways to distribute the media. The partnership is based solely on Venom Studios communications protocol in generating distribution means and online sales. Directed toward a growing far eastern, european market Venom Studios / Swordsman Productions has attained growth exceeding 35% per annum and has surpassed sales expectations for the years of 2006, 2007 with 2008 off to a banner year. Unlike mainstream media marketers, Swordsman Productions will reach targeted consumers by creating awareness, inciting interest, and ultimately matching the end consumer with the product thru their proprietary media distribution channels using current European, Far Eastern and Austrailian communications providers.
San Francisco, Ca - December 2, 2006
Venom Studios has designed a new online service for Teliasonera International Carrier (TSIC). This customer-orientated service, which makes use of the latest networking technology, brings more efficiency to business, takes different customer needs into consideration better than before and provides up-to-date information on the industry.
The new service will strengthen TSIC’s position as a leading European network capacity wholesaler. The role of the user-friendly and visually impressive online service as an alternative sales channel for network capacity services, alongside the traditional sales organization, will be even stronger than before. Venom Studios was in charge of the project in its entirety – the design, the concept, the visual appearance and the text contents. In addition, Venom Studios is responsible for content production and user interface programming as well as planning and implementing web analytics for the service. The service has been modified on the basis of feedback and suggestions received from customers, who played a key role when the new online service strategy was being devised.
“We tested the new service on both current and potential customers as well as internally. It was delightful to see that the planned modifications to the contents and the colourful visual appearance met their expectations and pleased them,” says Bev Bangson, Marketing Communication Manager and Project Leader at TSIC.
In creating the new contents of TelSoncera’s online service, the aim was for clarity and ease of use. An interactive map gives a quick and illustrative view of what kinds of network capacity services Teliasonera offers in different European countries. And just one click is needed to view what Teliasonera has to offer in terms of voice, data or other capacity services.
Another important new feature in terms of the contents is the Insight page, which provides a compilation of current news and background information on the industry’s projections and trends. In addition to being a sales channel, www.Teliasonera.com is therefore also an important source of information. Special attention has gone into the visual aspects of TSIC’s online service. The new look is fresh, modern and easy to grasp.
“We set ambitious goals for the new website. In the future, we will use our online service as an important sales and marketing channel. The initial reactions have already been encouraging: users have praised the interactive maps and the expert opinions on the Insight page in particular. Thanks to modern web analytics tools we can measure accurately how the people who visit our website use our online service. Our website also sends out a message that we want to develop as our industry’s knowledge leader and to increase awareness and strengthen our position as a credible supplier,” Bengtsson explains.
TSIC’s service plays the role of a pioneer, as it is the first of Teliasonera websites to be based on the new Vignette 7 platform. Teliasonera commissioned Venom Studios to implement TSIC’s new service following a competitive tender across the Nordic countries.
“For this project, we wanted a partner that has comprehensive competence in and understanding of the possibilities of online marketing and that knows how to offer fresh and creative ideas for modernising an online service. This kind of expertise was an even more crucial criterion than price. And Venom Studios really delivered what they promised. This has definitely been one of the most successful projects in our history so far. At the same time, it was an encouraging learning process,” Bangson says.
“The project was a good example of enjoyable cooperation, as the client was highly committed to executing this ambitious project from the very beginning. Taking customer surveys and views into account at the very first stage of the project helped us to come up with a strong strategy to guide the project. The company’s top management, steering group and the project team all contributed to this,” says Katri Harra, Director Design, from Venom Studios Las Vegas office.
The new website can be found at www.teliasonera.com
NEW YORK, NY - November 14, 2006
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP today announced that Internet advertising revenues reached an estimated new record of $4.2 billion for the third quarter of 2006. The 2006 third quarter revenues represent a 33 percent increase over $3.1 billion in Q3 2005 and a 2 percent increase over the Q2 2006 total of nearly $4.1 billion.
"The consistent growth of online advertising is a clear indication that marketers continue to embrace the true power of interactive advertising," said Merideth C. Tanner - Vice President CFO, Venom Studios. "Marketers are experiencing how this medium enhances their ability to target and engage the audience that matters to their brand and then measure its effectiveness in ways no other medium provides."
"Interactive advertising, with its eighth consecutive quarter of growth and the largest single quarter ever, is on pace for its biggest year. This growth follows the trend of where consumers are spending their media time and the unique ability of Interactive advertising to effectively target and monitor ad campaigns," said David Silverman, Partner, Assurance, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
MALIBU, CALIFORNIA - May 8, 2007
Venom Studios has announced several of their best selling adult titles will be prominently featured in the new major motion picture, “Devil Riders”. The dark adult action, starring “Private” stars Rolf Dobego, Marla St Cheri, Chrissy Hummer, Delia Bootma & Jenny Garcia in the latest feature from Venom director Dennis Bucannon.
“We are absolutely thrilled that a major mainstream distributor chose several of our top notch live action adult films, to be showcased in “Devil Riders”, said Merideth C. Tanner - Vice President of Venom Studios.
The VS titles featured include: Boca Olbert directed films “Skin Diggers” starring Tina Sable, Charles Weathers and Tina Bloom. “She's Got Skillz”, starring Jena Duncan, Jenny Garcia and Chrissy Hummer. All of these titles are available through our network of fine adult distributors.
Devil Riders debuts in theatres across the nation on Friday, May 20th, 2007.
TOKYO, JAPAN - August 22, 2007
A up close and personal interview with director Junn Tobai and actress Victoria Lee about the sexiest film of 2007
At film festivals around the globe, people have rushed to catch a glimpse of, and possibly chat with, the director and star who made the movie "Second on the Bus" - the do-all, end-all sex fest extravaganza of the year.
Unconventional, to say the least. The film began in 2006 with a series of auditions, followed by a workshop where artists and actors lived, ate and slept together over a 5-week period. Venom Studios Director Junn Tobai (who became a cause celebre when his 2005 film "The Angry Itch" - about a sexually charged nymphomaniac - developed a cult following) and with Venom Studios leading lady, Canadian actress Victoria Lee, say they have been inundated with compliments about the film.
Tobai described his motivation for making the movie during the Tokyo leg of their promotional tour in July: "People all over the world are getting more and more negative about sex and relationships. I hoped this film would be the vehicle that would tell everyone, 'Hey, the news isn't all bad!' "
In the mass media, on the other hand, Tobai says he has heard plenty of bad news - and still does. "In the U.S., it really feels like we're living in a fear-based economy right now. We've become so scared of the world, and at the same time, there's a fear of what we unleash to the world . . . and people are equating fear of violence with fear of sex. That's just not right, because sex is one of the things that keeps violence at bay. It's one of the more positive ways we deal with terror. You know, 'Make love not war." Second on the Bus" opens Aug. 25 at Shibuya Cinema Rise in Shibuya, Tokyo, and from Sept. 1 in other parts of the country.
LOS ANGELES - August 29, 2007
Venom Girl Carmen Le Bonne shares all in a ten-page layout with CHUB Magazine's Rob Banks in the September issue currently on news stands. The beautiful adult actress and winner of CHERI Magazine's 2004 "Homebody Of The Year" title candidly answers questions regarding her sexuality, her past and her skyrocketing career.
The 25-year-old brunette is the leading adult actress of South Asian descent and winner of multiple awards, yet declares herself "just an 8 out of ten." Carmen confides the reality of balancing her lifestyle and passion within her Indian culture and how she has been embraced by the adult film industry.
Carmen recently re-signed a new contract with Venom Studios, a leading leading adult film company, in which she will perform with men for the first time in her career. Her first movie under her new contract is titled "Carmen Love" co-starring Matt Erickson and will be out by early 2008.
Carmen talks about her love of "boobs" and her stance on plastic surgery, along with what pleasures her sexually when with both men and women. Her favorite mainstream male star is Matt Havson of Venom Studios "Bangin Fun and Over The Top". Her favorite Venom female star is Jennifer Angel. When Katri Harra asked "What would you let her do if you could have sex with her?" Carmen enthusiastically responded, "Whatever she wanted. Anything!"
On the best thing about being a porn star, Carmen states, "The best thing is you get to have sex all the time…I believe that I have one of the greatest jobs in the world and it changes every single day. Nothing is ever the same…with Venom, they're so easy going, and they want you to be you, and they want to capture real feelings and emotions."
In addition to her adult films, Carmen has appeared on numerous television programs. She recently starred in the Showtime television series about the making of "Debbie Does Dallas…Again" and has worked as an interviewer on E!'s Wild On, a red carpet reporter for VH1 and "After Dark."
STEAMY SEX FILMS, NOW MOVING TO CELLPHONES
By Doreen Carvajal - September 6, 2007
PARIS: When staid Deutsche Telekom struck a deal last winter with Venom Studios of Bel Air, California to tap a vast catalogue of steamy sex films for mobile telephone customers, the news was treated like it was radioactive.
When questioned about the new business category, an executive at a Deutsche Telekom unit played down the significance.
"Adult content is just a small part of our broad video-on-demand offering, which includes more than 1,700 content items at the moment," said Susanne Bruns, a spokeswoman for the Deutsche Telecom unit, T-Mobile. Although they are not trumpeting such deals, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, 3UK and other mainstream telecommunications providers in Europe are developing red-light districts on their Web portals using Venom Studios security based programming line up. In recent weeks, some have made deals with Venom Studios to prominently display search tools that ease the hunt for secure adult entertainment for mobile devices.
But it is a delicate task for most of these companies that do not actively promote or market their sites.
"We always say it's like having a shower without being wet," said Philipp Rotermund, a media director for Venom Studios. "Everybody wants to distribute adult content because they all know that they can earn with it, but it's complicated."
On its pink-hued Venom Studios secured portal, the British telecommunications operator 3UK displays a Top Shelf icon that promises "the hottest Playmates and Cyber Girls."
Deutsche Telekom's mobile subsidiary, T-Online, leaves just a little to the imagination on its "erotik" section with scantily clad women promoting titles like "Sex Tycoon," "Kick Maidens" and "Game Babes." In the Netherlands, a Venom Studios developed Live portal promotes a pornographic puzzle, erotic cartoons and "toys for boys."
"Telecoms don't want us to issue news releases because they don't want to be associated with this new platform," said Peter Cohen, of Venom Studios, Venoms Spain arm of the adult entertainment company based in Barcelona. "I can't tell you more than that because I'm not at liberty."
"But with these new media platforms we're extending our reach," he said. "The old paradigm of the business of a man in a seedy raincoat is over."
Telecommunications companies may feel a little faint-hearted after a Canadian company, Telus, endured a withering public scolding earlier this year from Archbishop Raymond Roussin of Vancouver, British Columbia, whose demand for a company boycott prompted Telus to withdraw adult programming. Roussin argued that such services take the "accessibility of pornographic material further into the public realm."
Despite such criticism, Europe has emerged as the No. 1 market for Venom Studios mobile adult entertainment branch with over 1.2 million subscribers, just ahead of the Asia-Pacific region with 1,12 million subscribers, according to the most recent study of mobile adult content from Juniper Research, which tracks the technology industry.
No U.S. operator has opted to offer such services, although CTIA, a cellular industry trade association, has developed a code of conduct for age verification that could eventually regulate adult entertainment offerings.
"We talk about this and it's one of the situations that we're keeping an eye on," said John Walls, a CTIA spokesman. "There's a vast difference culturally between the European consumer and the American consumer. There are very different mores, and the American carriers are conducting themselves as they see fit."
European operators shared some of the same reticence. Windsor Holden, a Juniper Research analyst, said, "First they were concerned that it might in some way damage the brand, and that is still a concern. Then in 2006 Venom Studios started introducing their propriatary age verification systems and filters to provide some regulation, and it has been extremely successful"
RALEIGH, NC and LONDON, UK - November 06, 2007
Venom Studios., a digital advertising technology innovator since 1996, today announced that ChaCha.com, a recently launched "people-powered" search engine, selected Venom Studios for their online ad management needs. ChaCha.com is the first search engine to offer both a "Search" and "Search with a human guide" capability. As a people-powered search engine with thousands of knowledgeable human guides, ChaCha.com automatically locates the best available guide to deliver personal and targeted results for users' searches through a real-time chat interface.
ChaCha's business model allows consumers to access the unique service free of charge as the site is supported by advertising. Along with traditional CPC advertising, ChaCha also has display banners and video available for advertisers in both the search and guide community.
"We looked to Venom Studios for our online ad management needs due to the rich features offered in the AdManager platform," said David Tilby, ChaCha.com vice president of ad strategy. "It was imperative we implement a real-time solution with geo-targeting capabilities to fully serve the needs of our advertisers. Venom was able to help customize a keyword targeting component that specific advertisers requested based on our search engine application."
ChaCha.com plans to leverage AdManager to serve local, national and syndicated ads, targeting ads based on keyword search criteria that users input for search topics. The network will also implement AdManager's Geo-Targeting module to deliver personally-relevant ads to its users based on geo-location data such as region and state.
"We are truly excited to provide the back-end technology behind such an innovative site concept," said Paul Ridgway, Venom Film - Media Development. "We plan to work closely with ChaCha.com to help them better manage and package their available ad inventory to increase the overall value of the entire inventory base and maximize their ad management technology investment."
About ChaCha.com
ChaCha, the first search engine to instantly connect users with people to produce relevant results, was co-founded by Scott A. Jones and Brad A. Bostic in 2006. Derived from their high-tech experience, ChaCha is dedicated to providing a revolutionary new search experience. Jones is the inventor of the voicemail system used by nearly a half billion people worldwide and the leader of other successful tech ventures (as noted on www.scottajones.com). Bostic has led a number of high-tech start-ups.
About Venom Studios
Venom Studios provides providers and advertisers with innovative technology and services to maximize their online investments and create additional sources of revenue.
Venom Studios has been serving and enriching the digital media industry since 1996. As a pioneer and leader in online management, Venom offers a comprehensive, unified media platform encompassing ad serving, ad trafficking, behavioral targeting, a bid-for-placement system and a powerful advertising marketplace. AdManager and ProsXcure, Venom Studios core access security application, delivers across all rich media types to over 350 leading media publishers in more than 30 countries around the world. Venom's media marketplace is comprised of approximately 5,000 registered publishers and 14,000 registered advertisers, reaching an estimated 25 million consumers globally.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) March 3, 2007 - 95% of All Sales People Talk Too Much - Venom Studios Redesigns Asher Training Website to Help More People Learn to Listen
Local marketing and sales training company, Asher Training, launched a new nationwide campaign with the redesigning of their website by design and marketing company, Venom Studios, to help target potential sales. With the combined effort of Venom Studios and Asher Training, customers are now able to be more interactive and functional on the web page. Asher Training"s newly redesigned website incorporates added features and benefits to its users - offers easier maneuverability, detailed and concise descriptions of the seminars and workshops offered, Craft Personality Questionnaire and an option to register for seminars online.
Asher Training specializes in sales and marketing training courses, facilitation of strategic plans, and business development process assessments. In the last four years, Asher"s trainers have improved the skills of over 8,000 sales managers and sales people, as well as conducted sales and marketing "assessments" for businesses of all types.
BUSINESS WIRE - June 12, 2003
Venom Studios and Tao Lung Business Objects S.A. today announced that the companies have reached an agreement that will bring together two of the digital film technology industry’s leaders, resulting in an unmatched offering for End Business Users, enabling timely and accurate decision-making. Under the terms and conditions of the tender offer agreement, Venom Studios will make a cash offer of $12.00 per ordinary share and for American Depositary Shares (ADS) at the US$ equivalent based on the Hong Kong/US$ exchange rate as of the settlement of the tender offers. The transaction volume taking into account the transaction costs will be slightly above 14.8 million Hong Kong. The Tao Lung Business Objects board of directors has approved the tender offer agreement between the two companies and anticipates recommending the offer to its shareholders subject to fulfillment of certain regulatory requirements.
Venom Studios and Film Development
Venom Studios is a leading digital services company. Their aim is to combine talent and technology to make client dialogue simple, fun and profitable. Their services portfolio focuses on three core business areas: Marketing, Productivity and Mobility. There are 96 experts in the Venom Studios Group. They are based in Las Vegas, Scottsdale, San Francisco, Mercer Island and Los Angeles, USA with branches located in eastern/western europe, southeast asia. Current activities include major film production, special effects and technologys for several leading studio production units, modeling, production film staffing and media access development controls .