Media Industry Veterans Scott Ehrlich, Larry Tanz and Keith Quinn Team up to Launch New Boutique Studio, Agility Studios

Business Wire, Nov 12, 2008

Financed by Mantucket Capital, Studio Brings On Key Hires Shannon Pruitt, Zev Suissa and Jason Turner

LOS ANGELES -- Media industry leader Scott Ehrlich and former LivePlanet heads Larry Tanz and Keith Quinn have formed Agility Studios, a multi-platform entertainment studio. The company is backed by Mantucket Capital, a private investment firm with over $1 Billion under management. The new venture will combine the executive team's five decades of media industry experience with Mantucket's resources in acquisitions and finance.

"For many years, studios and networks worked together in television to create an eco-system that produced and delivered great entertainment properties to consumers. Agility was formed as a studio to capture the opportunity, economically and creatively, opened up by the diversity of distribution platforms in today's media landscape," said Ehrlich, Agility's CEO. "Given the explosive growth of distributors in new media, we believe that there is a need to forge a new studio that supplies these distributors while creating opportunities for talent and solutions for advertisers."

Serving as a full service studio, Agility supports content creators with infrastructure services that include business and creative development, financing, distribution, sponsorship and advertising sales, operations, business affairs and back office support. Ehrlich will serve as the company's CEO, with Tanz taking the role of President and Chief Operating Officer, and Quinn will oversee programming and production as the company's Chief Creative Officer.

"Scott, Keith and I understand from our cumulative experience that distribution relationships, brand partnerships, infrastructure and production experience are the key ingredients for success in this industry, and Agility brings them all to the table," added President and COO Tanz. "In Mantucket Capital, we have a unique partner that provides both strategic and business support and enables us to scale quickly when we hit on something that works."

Tyler Tysdal, Managing Director of Mantucket Capital, will advise the company on finance and acquisitions as well as represent Mantucket on the Agility Studios Board of Directors. "All of us at Mantucket are genuinely excited to be part of the Agility team," said Tysdal. "Mantucket developed a passion and vision for the opportunity to create value in the midst of the unprecedented changes happening in media and entertainment. We looked throughout the industry for the right team and business model to partner with us and create a new industry leader. Agility Studios is the fruit of that effort and we're off to a great start."

Agility Studios will focus on content that begins in new media, with high growth potential within that arena or across multiple platforms.

"We have found the biggest opportunities in two key areas--talent who have embraced the web and successfully bootstrapped projects that have attracted massive audiences, and high-profile talent hungry to get in on the web. Advertisers and distributors are excited to work with both types," said Quinn, Chief Creative Officer, Agility Studios. "And we have found that creators are delighted to tap into a studio structure that supports their ideas and transforms them into business opportunities."

Agility Studio's team fills out its key hires with senior execs Shannon Pruitt (formerly of Fremantle and Mark Burnett Productions), Senior Vice President Integrated Sales & Sponsorships, Zev Suissa (formerly of DigWorks), Vice President Production & Development and Jason Turner (formerly of Fremantle), Vice President Distribution & Sales.

CEO Scott Ehrlich commented on the recruitment of the team, saying: "Shannon Pruitt is a seasoned dealmaker in high-stakes integration, sponsorship, marketing and advertising world with experience on some of the world's most valuable multi-platform properties, including American Idol and The Apprentice. That, combined with Jason Turner's relationships in new media distribution and Zev Suissa's network in the creative community, gives us confidence that we will continue to find, fund, distribute and monetize a wealth of great, platform appropriate, creative content."

About the Agility Studios Executive Team

Scott Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer of Agility Studios, is responsible for the company's business operations including strategy, marketing initiatives and developing key industry partnerships. A proven innovator in the creation and distribution of digital video, Ehrlich has bought and sold more than $200 million in digital content in the last seven years. Most recently he served as CEO of DigWorks, Inc. a Seattle-based digital business development and consulting company working with blue chip content companies and distributors including ABC News, iFilm, Sony Pictures Digital, DivX, and MSN. Prior to that he served as Vice President of Media Acquisition and Distribution for RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK). Earlier in his career, Ehrlich was the Senior Vice President and Executive Producer of News America Digital Publishing, Newscorp's first digital publishing group (NYSE: NWS).