WASHINGTON, January 21 (RIA Novosti) – The US television and film company Starz announced Tuesday that it has signed a deal with Russian television producer Amedia to bring original series and films to Russia, including a pirate drama produced by Hollywood director Michael Bay.
Under the deal, Moscow-based Amedia will obtain the licensing and distribution rights for Starz content in Russia and the former Soviet Union, including the pirate drama “Black Sails”, which is set to premier Saturday in the United States.
The series, for which Bay serves as executive producer, is slated to premier in Russia and elsewhere in the region on Sunday. After that, Amedia plans to broadcast each episode of “Black Sails” the day after their respective premiers in the United States, Starz and Amedia said in a statement.
Bay is the director of numerous Hollywood blockbusters, including the “Transformers” series, “Armageddon” and “Pearl Harbor.”
Founded in 2002 by Russian producer Alexander Akopov, Amedia has produced dramas, mysteries, thrillers and comedies for Russian television.
Soviet-born US investor Len Blavatnik, who is ranked 44th on Forbes’ billionaire list and was worth around $16 billion in March, according to Forbes magazine, joined Amedia as a senior partner in 2005.
