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Power strikes Groundbreaking Deal with Metan to Become Exclusive Distributor in China For Legendary Procter & Gamble Productions' Daytime Drama Series

Metan Development Group First to Unveil Guiding Light and As The World Turns To Chinese Audiences

CANNES, MIPCOM – October 5, 2009 -- Metan Development Group (Metan) has inked a deal with Power to become the exclusive distributor of popular soap operas Guiding Light and As The World Turns in China, the companies jointly announced today. Both shows are produced by TeleNext Media, Inc. for Procter & Gamble Productions (PGP).

Metan’s President/CEO and Founding Partner Larry Namer said, “Guiding Light and As The World Turns, two of the most successful TV programs ever produced in the US, have captured the hearts of North American audiences for decades. We’re delighted to be the first to introduce these award-winning programs to audiences in China. We feel strongly that the series’ compelling storylines, relatable characters and program quality will have great appeal to audiences in China.”

Metan will be the exclusive distributor for 130 episodes of each series, available for the territory of China for the first time at MIPCOM 2009. Additional titles in Metan's slate include entertainment and celebrity-themed programs Hello! Hollywood and Icons.

Power’s George Sakkalli, Vice President Asia & Middle East commented, “China's vast television and new media market has great potential. Metan's unique approach and commitment will ensure that Power's content reaches many millions of Chinese viewers. I am delighted that Power has been able to introduce these much loved soaps to China.”

Brian T. Cahill, SVP, Managing Director, for TeleNext Media, Inc. said, “For a combined 123 years, Guiding Light and As The World Turns have been the gold standard of contemporary serial entertainment. We proudly support the partnership between Power and Metan that will make this perennially engaging entertainment available to the Chinese audience for the first time.” 

The deal was negotiated by Gordon Chu, Vice President, Business Development, Metan and on behalf of Power and PGP, Sakkalli and Cahill, respectively. John Ranck, President of Literacy & Language Dynamics, Inc. who worked under an agreement with Metan, also assisted in the negotiation. 

Guiding Light is distinguished as the longest-running drama in television history, winning an incredible 70 daytime Emmy Awards. The program was on air for 72 years, first on NBC radio in 1937 and then on CBS television in 1952. First-class production values, a dynamic, reputable cast and gripping, empathetic storylines combined to make the formula for a lasting success story. The show is set in the fictional mid-Western city of Springfield and focuses upon the complex lives and loves of the Bauer, Spalding, Lewis, Marler and Cooper families. 

As The World Turns is the second longest-running daytime drama in history and winner of 45 daytime Emmy Awards. The series has evolved to become a contemporary, groundbreaking drama, sustaining audience intrigue year after year. The adventures and misadventures of some of the town’s leading legal and medical families, including the Hughes and the Snyders, have guaranteed generation after generation of devoted viewers.

About Metan Development Group LLC

Launched in February 2009, Metan Development Group LLC (Metan) is a new venture created to develop and distribute entertainment content and media specifically for international markets. The company's founders are entertainment industry veteran Martin Pompadur, E! Entertainment Television co-founder Larry Namer and Amerilink founder Jean Zhang.

About Procter & Gamble Productions

Incorporated in 1949 as division of The Procter & Gamble Company [NYSE: PG], PGP creates relationships between consumers and brands through engaging content that is compelling, educational, and platform-neutral. PGP has a history of developing original content that engages consumers through storytelling using the latest technologies--which began in the 1930s when the company created soap operas on the radio, and evolved into television, award shows, television specials, movies of the week, sitcoms, and most recently into digital content that is relevant to the media habits and passion points of today's consumers. Current PGP properties include soap operas As The World Turns and Guiding Light, The People's Choice Awards, Gillette World Sport, and original content websites such as Petside.com.

About Power

Founded in 1995, Power has produced an impressive premium slate of feature-film quality mini series over the past six years and has been distributing television programming internationally for 12 years.  Power’s current slate includes the two-part mini series “The Day of the Triffids” for BBC1, co-produced by Power and Prodigy Pictures. The 2 part lavish mini series, The Devil’s Mistress, a Power/Company Pictures co-production for Channel 4; the 13-part network series, “Crusoe,” co-produced by Power, Muse and Moonlighting for NBC and “XIII: The Conspiracy,” starring Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff.

Collaborating with the world’s most respected broadcasters, Power’s productions and co-productions include the International Emmy Award-winning mini series “Henry VIII” (ITV), Power's original action-packed epic disaster mini series, “Flood” (ITV) starring Robert Carlyle, International Emmy-nominated “Virgin Queen” (BBC), World War II epic “Colditz” (ITV), the adaptation of Robert Harris’ contemporary thriller “Archangel” starring Daniel Craig (BBC), lively drama “Casanova” starring Peter O’Toole (BBC) and the multiple award-winning “The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant” (ITV/Network TEN).

Power's ongoing TV movie slate, includes six movies which were produced for the Lifetime Channel in the US last year. The company supplies primetime drama to more than 240 broadcasters and millions of TV viewers across the world and has produced more than £250 million worth of high quality TV drama to date. Visit www.powcorp.com.  Booth at MIPCOM H4.27

About TeleNext Media, Inc.

TeleNext Media, Inc. is a full-service production agency primarily known for producing the Emmy award-winning daytime serials As The World Turns and Guiding Light. TeleNext Media has produced twenty different daytime serials since 1933. Its current serials, As The World Turns and Guiding Light, together have received over 125 Daytime Emmy Awards. TeleNext Media, Inc. is also the producer of The People’s Choice Awards and continues to develop new multi-platform content in a variety of genres and strong industry partnerships, including the New York Television Festival. Headquartered in New York, TeleNext Media is a business unit of MediaVest, a full-service media and communications unit of Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG), a subsidiary of the Paris-based Publicis Groupe network.