SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 10-K
| x | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003
OR
| ¨ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission file number 000-25067
PRIVATE MEDIA GROUP, INC.
(Name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)
| Nevada | 87-0365673 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
3230 Flamingo Road, Suite 156, Las Vegas, Nevada 89121
(Registered office)
Carretera de Rubí 22-26, 08190 Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
(European headquarters and address of principal executive offices)
34-93-590-7070
(Issuers telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act: None
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act: Common Stock, $0.001 par value.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the past 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrants knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 1b-2 of the Act). Yes ¨ No x
At June 30, 2003, the aggregate market value of the voting stock and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $36,792,766. The aggregate market value has been computed by reference to the last sales price of the common stock on June 30, 2003.
On March 18, 2003 the registrant had 50,159,071 shares of Common Stock outstanding.
PART I
ITEM 1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
This Report includes forward-looking statements. Statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Report, including the statements under the headings Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Business and elsewhere in this Report regarding future events or prospects, are forward-looking statements. The words may, will, expect, anticipate, believe, estimate, plan, intend, should or variations of these words, as well as other statements regarding matters that are not historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current view with respect to future events and financial performance. These views involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those we predict in our forward-looking statements and from our past performance. Although we believe that the estimates and projections reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, they may prove incorrect, and our actual results may differ, as a result of the following uncertainties and assumptions:
| | our business development, operating development and financial condition; |
| | our expectations of growth in demand for our products and services; |
| | our expansion and acquisition plans; |
| | the impact of expansion on our revenue potential, cost basis and margins; |
| | the effects of regulatory developments and legal proceedings on our business; |
| | the impact of exchange rate fluctuations; and |
| | our ability to obtain additional financing. |
We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except to the extent required by law. You should interpret all subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf as being expressly qualified by the cautionary statements in this Report. As a result, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
THE COMPANY
OVERVIEW
Private Media Group, Inc., a US incorporated company, and its subsidiaries (together referred to hereinafter as Private Media Group, we or us) is a leading international provider of high quality adult media content for a wide range of media platforms.
Private Media Group, Inc. is incorporated in the State of Nevada. In accordance with Nevada law we maintain a registered office at 3230 Flamingo Road, Suite 156, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Our European headquarters are located at the offices of one of our principal operating subsidiaries, Milcap Media Group, S.L., whose addresss is Carretera de Rubí 22-26, 08190 Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain, telephone + 34-93-590-7070.
Any references in this report to Milcap Media Group refers to Milcap Media Group S.L. (Spain), and Milcap Media Limited refers to Milcap Media Limited (Cyprus).
We acquire worldwide rights to still photography and motion pictures tailored to our specifications from independent directors and process these images into products suitable for popular media formats such as print publications, videotapes, DVDs and electronic media content for Internet distribution. We distribute our adult media content directly, and through a network of local affiliates and independent distributors, through multiple channels, including (1) newsstands, video rental stores, travel retail and adult bookstores, (2) mail order catalogues, (3) cable, satellite and hotel television programming, (4) over the Internet via proprietary websites and broadband delivery services and (5) wireless telephony. In addition to media content, we also market and distribute branded leisure and novelty products oriented to the adult entertainment lifestyle and generate additional sales through the licensing of our Private trademark to third parties. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003, we had net sales of EUR 38.5 million and a net loss of EUR 0.6 million.
Our business was founded in 1965 and achieved initial success through our flagship publication, Private, the first full color, hard-core sex publication in the world. Today, we produce four X-rated periodical magazines: Private, Pirate, Triple X and Private Sex, as well as several special feature publications each year. As of December 31, 2003, we had compiled a digital archive of more than two million photographs and all of our 402 print publications. We expect to add two additional issues and hundreds of photographs each month to this archive. Approximately 300,000 copies of our print publications are distributed each month at an average retail price of approximately Euro 11.50. We distribute our publications through a network of approximately 250,000 points of sale in more than 40 countries, with strong market positions in Europe, Latin America, Australia and Canada. We believe that our distribution network has the potential to reach nearly 500,000 points of sale in our existing markets.
Since 1992, we have also acquired, processed and distributed adult motion picture entertainment. We acquire worldwide rights to motion pictures that meet our exacting standards for entertainment content and production value from independent directors, either under exclusive contracts or on a freelance basis. We then edit and process these motion pictures to ensure consistent image quality and prepare and customize them for distribution in several formats, including DVDs, videocassettes, broadcasting, which includes cable, satellite and hotel television programming, and the Internet. Our proprietary motion pictures and those produced by joint ventures in which we participate have received more than 100 industry awards since 1994, evidencing our success in setting high quality standards for our industry. As of December 31, 2003, our movie library contained more than 700 titles. We expect to add more than 100 titles in 2004.
We launched our first Internet website, www.private.com, in 1997. We now own a number of sites directed at specific customer bases, including www.privatespeed.com and www.private.com/shop. We also generate incremental sales by licensing our trademarks and proprietary adult media content for use on the websites of other companies.
Since 1997, we have expanded our presence in emerging electronic markets for adult media content, such as the Internet, broadcasting and are currently in the process of launching products developed for use on hand-held devices including both mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants. We believe that these technologies represent a substantial growth opportunity for us in the future.
In addition, we license our content to cable and satellite television operators as well as to hotels. We have also launched three television channels, Private Gold, Private Blue and Private Fantasy, that broadcast our content. Consumers pay for these products either on a pay-per-view basis or by subscription.
We operate in a highly regulated industry. This requires us to be socially aware and sensitive to government strictures, including laws and regulations designed to protect minors and to prohibit the distribution of obscene material. We take great care to comply with all applicable governmental laws and regulations in each jurisdiction where we conduct business. Moreover, we do not knowingly engage the services of any business or individual that does not adhere to the same standards. Since 1965, we have never been held to have violated any laws or regulations regarding obscenity or the protection of minors.
Private, Private Media, our Private logo, Pirate, Triple-X, Triple-X Files, Private Black Label, Private XXX, Gaia, Private Sex, Private Life, Private Style, www.privatespeed.com, Private Gold, Private Blue, www.private.com, www.prvt.com, www.privatelive.com, www.privatechannels.com, www.sex.se, www.privatepda.com, www.privatenightclub.com, www.privateathome.com, www.privatestars.com, www.private.com/shop, and www.privategold.com are some of our trademarks and trade names. Other marks used in this Report are the property of their owners, which includes us in some instances. Information on these websites is not a part of this Report.
Market Opportunity
Demand for adult entertainment products has grown substantially in recent years. We believe that the total worldwide adult entertainment market exceeds $56 billion annually. Of this market, we believe that our target market, including print publications, videocassettes, DVDs, broadcasting and the Internet, comprises more than $40 billion. We believe that two principal factors are driving growth in our industry: the relaxation of social and legal restrictions on distribution of adult
entertainment products and new technologies that facilitate the distribution of high quality adult media content to consumers in the privacy of their own homes. As a result of liberalized regulation of adult entertainment products, we now distribute our products in physical form in more than 40 countries worldwide with an aggregate current population of 1.1 billion, as compared to six European countries with a population of 144 million when the current management took over in 1991. We expect this liberalizing trend to continue, which should expand our potential markets further in the future.
The proliferation of easy to use electronic equipment, such as VCRs and DVD players, which allow consumers to view high quality video products in the privacy of their home, has boosted demand for adult media content compatible with these formats. For example, the installed base of DVD players in Western Europe and the United States doubled in 2001 and is expected to reach 48 million households by the end of 2003 in the US alone. Also, the evolution of the Internet as a channel of commerce and content distribution has stimulated additional demand for adult media content. In addition, advances in cable, satellite and hotel communications systems furnish another relatively new channel for the delivery of media content, including adult entertainment, into private homes, hotels and businesses.
More recently, the telecommunications industry has shown considerable interest in the use of adult content on hand-held devices such as mobile telephones, PDAs and other wireless activated devices. This provides an additional and exciting new source of potential revenues for us as one of the principal providers of adult content.
We expect these regulatory and technological developments to fuel increasing demand worldwide for adult media content, including demand for our products. In addition, we believe that market demand for content to fill new media outlets will lead mainstream media content providers to seek still more adult media content in the future. We expect that the high quality standards of the mainstream media, technological demands of multiple delivery formats and global marketing and distribution costs will increase capital requirements for providers of adult media content. While the adult entertainment industry is currently characterized by a large number of relatively small producers and distributors, we believe that the factors discussed above will cause smaller, thinly capitalized producers to seek partners or exit the adult entertainment business, leading to a consolidation of the adult entertainment industry.
Our Competitive Strengths
We believe the following strengths, among others, will enable us to exploit the growing global market for adult entertainment:
Extensive library of high quality adult media content
We have an extensive library of high quality adult media content. As of December 31, 2003, our library included still photographs developed for more than 400 back-issues of magazines and more than 700 movies. We hold exclusive worldwide rights to this entire content archive. This has enabled us to enter into global distribution arrangements with a wide range of media content providers, including leading international companies. To facilitate electronic distribution of our products, we have converted our entire archive of print images into a digital format. We are currently digitizing our motion picture archive as well, and have now stored most of our existing motion pictures in digital form. We believe that this electronic archive constitutes one of the largest libraries of high quality adult media content in the world.
Recognized brand name
We believe that our target customers associate the Private brand name with high quality adult entertainment products and services. This name recognition attracts leading producers of adult media content, as well as distributors and prospective joint venture partners interested in working with Private Media Group. We believe that the strength of our brand name leads to more favorable economic terms than we could otherwise obtain in our processing and distribution contracts, and enables us to negotiate favorable revenue sharing arrangements and joint ventures from which we derive significant licensing fees and royalty income. We have entered into joint venture and co-branding agreements with leading participants in our industry and other related industries, including Playboy and Penthouse. We seek to strengthen awareness of our brand name by consistently featuring the Private label prominently in our product packaging, cross-promoting our own products, selectively sponsoring athletes and distributing under the Private label complementary or ancillary non-media products that are consistent with an adult entertainment lifestyle. We believe that these activities engender a loyal customer base which, in turn, enables us to grow even with relatively modest external advertising and marketing expenditures.
Established market position and distribution network
We have a well-established worldwide distribution network which has been built up over the past 39 years, including some 250,000 points of sale in over 40 countries as of December 31, 2003. In many markets, we believe that our established presence hinders our competitors ability to break into the market. In some cases, exclusive distribution agreements improve our market position further. This broad distribution network provides an effective channel to introduce new products and services and new formats for existing products and services. For example, we were able to utilize our existing video distribution channels to reach customers with our DVD-based products. In electronic media categories, we have entered into strategic alliances with a number of leading international service providers. In addition, we have assembled an internal team of Internet specialists to maintain and improve our Internet infrastructure and electronic products and services. We believe that our broad, multi-format distribution network affords our customers convenient access to high quality adult media content in the format of their choice.
Flexible operating structure and access to substantial capital
We acquire adult media content from third-party directors on a project basis. This approach gives us substantial flexibility in terms of production volume and delivery time, significantly reduces our fixed production overhead and largely eliminates the risk to us of cost overruns in production. Because of our multiple product and service formats and broad distribution network, we can afford to hire top directors in the industry, which we believe results in a higher quality product for our customers. Similarly, we reduce our fixed processing costs by outsourcing editing and duplication functions for most of our products, although we retain oversight of the overall production process for cost and quality control purposes. As a public company with access to the capital markets we believe that we will have sufficient financial resources to increase our production and grow through acquisitions without sacrificing our high quality standards.
Experienced professional management
Our management team has extensive experience in the production and distribution of adult media content and in general business administration. Berth H. Milton, our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, has extensive knowledge of our industry and has successfully founded and developed other profitable businesses. Other members of our management team have broad expertise in content production, sales and marketing, technology and finance, and have contributed to our record of growth in our core business and in acquiring and integrating companies in related businesses.
Our Strategy
Our vision is to be the worlds preferred content provider of adult entertainment to consumers anywhere, at any time and across all distribution platforms and devices. We have developed the strategies described below to increase sales and operating margins while maintaining the quality of our products and services and the integrity of our brand name.
Develop strategic alliances and joint ventures with businesses outside of the adult entertainment industry to broaden our distribution channels. We are entering into strategic alliances and joint ventures with leading media companies outside of the adult entertainment industry to distribute our adult media content for use on popular and newly developing media formats, including revenue sharing relationships with cable and satellite television operators and Internet service providers with significant market positions. We expect these initiatives to widen the scope of our distribution network, enabling us to reach new customers while supplying our partners and licensees with content.
To be at the forefront of the adult entertainment industry in adapting new technology and distribution channels such as broadband distribution of our motion pictures. By actively seeking out and utilizing advanced technologies to distribute our content such as, broadband, Internet, cable and satellite television and wireless devices we expect to increase revenues with minimal incremental cost.
Increase market share through strategic acquisitions. The adult entertainment industry is currently fragmented and consolidating. We expect this trend to continue as small, privately owned companies seek to exit from the business. We plan to
expand our market presence and increase our market share by acquiring local distributors in the markets in which we compete. In addition, we may seek to acquire existing business enterprises in other related businesses opportunistically. To finance future acquisitions, we expect to use a combination of debt and equity. As one of the few companies in our industry with publicly listed common stock, we believe that we will have a significant advantage over most of our competitors in financing such consolidating acquisitions.
To complete the digitalization of our entire movie and photograph library in order to prepare our library for distribution in new electronic media. We have developed an extensive library of motion pictures and other pictorial content. Until recently, this library was archived on a master print, which would allow duplication in traditional media. New forms of electronic distribution provide us with an opportunity to use this content by distributing it through new forms of media, such as, Internet, broadband and wireless devices. To facilitate electronic distribution of our products, we have converted our entire archive of print images into a digital format. We are currently digitizing our motion picture archive as well, and have now stored most of our existing motion pictures in digital form.
Continue to increase and strengthen brand awareness. We have developed strong brand awareness within each of our magazines and videos targeted markets. We own the worldwide rights to all of our content. We seek to strengthen awareness of our brand name by consistently featuring the Private label prominently in our product packaging, cross-promoting our own products, selectively sponsoring sports and distributing under the Private label complementary or ancillary non-media products that are consistent with an adult entertainment lifestyle.
Our Principal Products and Markets
Magazine Publications
We are the publisher of Private, an international X-rated magazine. Private was founded in 1965, and was the first full color, hardcore sex publication in the world. Today, we produce four X-rated magazines which are released bi-monthly: Private, Pirate, Triple X and Private Sex. In addition, special editions are released monthly and a book, The Best of Private, is released annually. We distribute these magazines through newsstands and other retail outlets.
Movie Productions
Since 1992, we have acquired and distributed adult motion picture entertainment. These productions generally feature men and women in a variety of erotic and sexual situations, generally in both hardcore and softcore versions. We distribute these movies primarily on videocassettes, DVDs, through cable, satellite and hotel television programming and over the Internet. We maintain the ownership and copyrights of every movie we finance and produce.
We expect to produce approximately 80 X-rated and 36 R-rated movies in 2003, with distribution through a worldwide network that covers approximately 60,000 points of sale, including primarily video shops and adult book stores. We believe we have the potential to reach more than 155,000 points of sale. We have also worked together on creating labels with other recognized brands, including, in 2000 the introduction of a the Private Penthouse Video label in conjunction with Penthouse.
As of December 31, 2003, our movie library contained more than 700 movie titles. By the end of 2004 we expect the total to increase to more than 800 titles. Nearly all titles are available on videocassette and DVD. These products are sold by distributors, primarily to retail stores and wholesalers worldwide. Many of our original motion picture programs have also been re-edited and licensed to cable, satellite and hotel television operators.
Internet
We launched our first Internet website, private.com, in 1997. We now own a number of sites directed at specific customer bases, including privatespeed.com and private.com/shop. We also generate incremental sales by licensing our trademarks and proprietary adult media content for use on the websites of other companies.
The Internet team has combined Private Media Groups extensive media library with the most advanced technology to take advantage of the growth of Internet access and new distribution methods. Private has developed several key product offerings which include a subscription based service, broadband video on demand site, live sex chat service, adult personals, DVD rental service, and e-commerce shop.
In 2003, Private took the decision to outsource the Internet operations in order to lower operational expenses and increase its profit margin. This move will allow Private to focus solely on its strategic marketing and sales plan for the future growth of its catalogue of online products.
Other Markets
In April 1996, we launched our Private Collection International, Inc. line of adult pleasure products. We also license the Private name in connection with various lines of clothes, nutritional supplements, and energy soft drinks. Channels of distribution for licensed products include conventional distribution channels, e-commerce and television home shopping.
History
The parent company, Private Media Group, Inc., was originally incorporated in 1980 as a Utah corporation under the name Glacier Investment Company, Inc. for the purpose of acquiring or merging with an established company. In 1991, we changed our domicile to the State of Nevada. The parent company had no material business activity prior to its acquisition of Milcap Media Limited and Cine Craft Limited in June 1998.
On December 19, 1997 Private Media Group, Inc. entered into acquisition agreements with Milcap Media Limited and Cine Craft Limited to acquire all of their outstanding capital stock in exchange for 22,500,000 shares of Common Stock, 7,000,000 shares of the $4.00 Series A Preferred Stock, and 2,625,000 common stock purchase warrants. Private Media Group, Inc. completed these acquisitions on June 12, 1998. In connection with these acquisitions, in December 1997 the parent company changed its corporate name to Private Media Group, Inc. and declared a one for five reverse split of its Common Stock.
On January 28, 2000, we acquired all of the outstanding shares of Extasy Video B.V. for total consideration of Euro 3.2 million. The consideration consisted of 208,464 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 208,464 shares of common stock. The warrants are exercisable during the period January 28, 2001 to January 28, 2004 at an exercise price of $9.63.
In May 2000, we authorized a three-for-one stock dividend on our common stock, which was distributed to holders of record of common stock on May 30, 2000.
As of January 1, 2001, we acquired Coldfair Holdings Ltd., a company incorporated and organized under the laws of the Republic of Cyprus, for a total consideration of Euro 1.5 million payable in 248,889 shares of common stock. Coldfair Holdings is a company engaged in the marketing and sale of adult entertainment products and services.
Effective April 1, 2001, we acquired the inventory and certain contracts of our U.S. distributor, Private USA, in exchange for Euro 1.0 million and the assumption of Private USAs obligations under some contracts.
On April 8, 2001, Peach Entertainment Distribution AB (Sweden), a subsidiary of Private Media Group, Inc., sold its interest in Private Circle, Inc., a company engaged in the design, production and marketing of trendy casual apparel, for an adjusted consideration of Euro 2.9 million as of May 2001.
On December 31, 2002, we acquired all of the outstanding shares of Barbuda B.V., a company owning a building where we plan to move our European headquarters to for total consideration of Euro 10.0 million. The consideration consisted of cash and a note payable in the amount of Euro 6.6 million.
On May 30, 2003 the Company acquired certain assets, including governmental film board approvals and distribution rights from its former Canadian distributor, Software Entertainment Ltd. In exchange for Euro 0.7 million.
On November 26, 2003 the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire certain intangible assets from International Film Production and Distribution Limited, including certain rights and distribution and licensing agreements. The transaction closed on November 28, 2003. The consideration for the transaction was Euro 2.5 million.
INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
The adult entertainment industry has evolved rapidly in recent years. In spite of often intense political campaigning, there has been a general trend towards wider acceptance of adult entertainment content among the general public and mainstream media channels. New technologies have lowered costs and changed the way in which adult content is produced, distributed and viewed. Lower costs, in particular, have lowered barriers to entry and increased competition in the adult entertainment industry. The trend toward wider acceptance of sexually-explicit material and ongoing technological developments has created a large and growing global market for adult content.
Historically, the adult entertainment industry has attracted a considerable level of government and regulatory attention primarily due to obscenity, which has led to limitations on either the explicitness of content or the availability. Traditionally, to view adult material, consumers were required to purchase movies in a public environment or to go to an adult movie theatre or peepshow.
Through a process of evolution rather than revolution the adult entertainment industry has become more acceptable over time, with a relaxation of the regulations and guidelines governing the industry. For example, in the United Kingdom, one of Europes more restrictive countries with respect to adult entertainment, there has been a gradual relaxation of what is suitable for public viewing. The British Board of Film Classification, BBFC, has introduced the `R18 category, allowing distribution of hardcore adult videos through licensed sex shops for the first time. The approval from the BBFC, and subsequent theatrical release of movies such as The Idiots and Intimacy have also broadened what is regarded as acceptable adult content.
New technologies have helped to legitimize the industry and increase the size of the market. During the 1980s, the introduction of adult movies on videocassette and through broadcasting on cable and satellite television increased acceptance of adult media content by confining it to the privacy of the consumers home. More recently, the Internet has become a primary distribution platform for both suppliers and consumers of adult media content providing low-cost delivery and increased privacy. Although currently under-exploited, third generation mobile and handheld devices are likely to increase the market even further in the future, making adult media content viewing mobile.
The production and distribution of adult media content is very competitive. Hundreds of companies are now producing and distributing movies to wholesalers and retailers, as well as directly to consumers. The low cost of high quality video cameras and equipment has significantly lowered the barrier to entry for production of adult media content. According to Adult Video News, approximately 10,000 new adult video titles were released in the United States in 1999, up from 8,950 in 1998 and 1,275 in 1990. The bulk of this production is represented by low quality, amateur productions, made for only a few thousand dollars, as opposed to the larger, professionally produced movies with high production values. Around 20 major producers, such as Private Media Group, Vivid, Video Company of America and Metro, release most high budget adult videos and DVDs. See Business-Competition. In addition, because it costs as little as $ 5,000 to establish an Internet presence, there is significant competition among distributors of adult media content over the Internet. The proliferation of websites distributing adult media content has itself fueled a greater and ongoing demand for the creation and licensing of new adult media content.
We believe that the global adult entertainment market exceeds $ 56 billion annually. This covers memberships and subscriptions, escort services, magazines, sex clubs, telephone sex lines, cable and satellite pay-per-view programming, adult videos and toys and other related products and services. In 1998, Forrester Research estimated the U.S. adult entertainment market at $ 10 billion annually. This compares to total U.S. cinema domestic box office receipts for mainstream motion pictures of over $ 8 billion in 2002, indicating the size and importance of the adult market within the entertainment industry.
Video and DVD Sales & Rental
Bringing adult movies into the privacy of the home through the introduction of videocassettes along with cable and satellite services all but eliminated the adult theatre business. The introduction of the DVD and its rapid acceptance by the public is gradually shifting the balance of home viewing from videos to DVDs. DVDs offer better picture and sound quality than videos, worldwide compatibility and other add-ons. The DVD format also benefits suppliers and retailers. Several languages can be combined onto one DVD, so only the DVD cover needs to be changed for different territories. Also, back catalogue sales should initially increase as consumers look to replace their videocassette library with the new format.
Although DVDs will not replace videocassettes completely in the near term because of the ability of users to record on videocassettes as well as their current high level of market penetration, currently comprising approximately 93 million households in the United States, rentals and sales of DVDs have increased significantly over the past two years as more DVD players are sold.
In the U.S. market, total rental and retail spending on video and DVD titles in 2000 was over $ 19 billion, a 10% increase over 1999, according to the Video Software Dealers Association. In 2000, total sales and rentals of adult videos in the United States were approximately $ 4.0 billion according to Adult Video News estimates, including sales through general interest retailers and dedicated adult stores. In 2001, PR Week reported that the Free Speech Coalition estimated that 20% of all U.S. households with either cable or satellite television or a VCR watch adult movies.
The provision of in-room entertainment services by major hotel chains throughout the world also serves as a distribution channel for adult media content. In addition to a selection of mainstream movies, hotel guests often will have a choice of softcore, and frequently hardcore, adult videos available on a pay-per-view basis. In the United States, these services are provided by companies such as On Command and Lodgenet, which supply approximately 750,000 and 810,000 hotel rooms, respectively. Estimates by analysts cited to by the Los Angeles Times in 2001 suggest that adult movies generate approximately half of total hotel pay-per-view revenue in the United States, approximately $ 250 million annually. Outside of the United States, excluding more restrictive countries such as the United Kingdom, hotel guests also have access to hardcore material on a pay-per-view basis.
Broadcasting
Cable and satellite television has brought adult media content into the privacy of the home. Technological developments, in particular the evolution of digital broadcasting, has not only increased the number of channels that can be delivered directly to the home via satellite (DTH or DBS) and cable, but has also led to the development of on-demand technologies such as Video On Demand (VOD) and Near Vide On Demand (NVOD). The development of these services is benefiting the adult entertainment industry by providing a greater number of special interest channels allowing platform providers to target niche audience and also provide premium tier, Pay-Per-View (PPV) and subscription services.
General growth in the PPV market in the US and Western Europe is expected to result in part from cable system digitization upgrades utilizing fiber-optic, digital compression technologies or other bandwidth expansion methods that provide cable operators additional channel capacity. Cable operators have begun the shift from analog to digital technology in order to upgrade their cable systems and to respond to competition from DBS ((Digital Broadcast Satellite) providers who offer programming in a 100% digital environment. When implemented, digital compression technology increases channel capacity, improves audio and video quality, provides fully secure scrambled signals, allows advanced set-top boxes for increased interactivity, and provides for integrated electronic programming guides (EPG). Adult services will serve as an important driver to cable systems in their efforts to convert analogue subscribers to digital. Private Media Group expects that all of its future cable launches will be on a digital platform.
United States
According to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), Cable MSOs deliver service to approximately 73 million basic households in the United States as of November 2003. As of September 2003, approximately 21.5 million received digital cable service. In addition, Kagan World Media (Kagan) indicates that total analog and digital addressable cable service (i.e., basic cable households that have the capability of receiving PPV or subscription services) was provided to 31.2 million households. The NCTA estimates that by 2006 there will be 48.6 million digital cable subscribers.
Kagan reported in its January 17, 2003 newsletter that there were a total of 19.7 million DBS households as of December 31, 2002 (DirecTV provides services to 11.4 million households and EchoStar Communications Corporations DISH Network (DISH) provides services to 8.3 million households). During 2002, DirecTV and DISH gained 2.5 million net new subscribers. Kagan estimates that DBS will grow to 26 million subscribers by the year 2006.
Based on the above sources, the total estimated number of digital cable and satellite subscribers for 2006 is approximately 75 million households, a growth of 87%.
Turning to the adult entertainment segment, content distribution has evolved over the past twenty-five years from home video platforms (video cassette) to cable television systems and DBS providers via PPV, and more recently to VOD. In the early 1980s, cable television operators began offering subscription and PPV adult programming from network providers such as Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (Playboy). Competition consists primarily of other premium pay services, such as general-interest premium channels like HBO and Showtime, and other adult movie pay services.
Kagan estimates that adult PPV revenue generated by cable systems and DBS providers in 2002 was $609 million, representing an increase of 15% from revenues of $529 million generated by the category in 2001. Kagan projects revenues from the adult category to grow to $917 million by the year 2006.
According to Showtime Event Television, adult pay-per-view took in $367 million in 1999 a more than six fold increase from the $54 million of 1993, easily outpacing the grow of competing pay-per-view events like boxing or wrestling. According to TENs President, Ken Boenish, we have cable partners who make more money on two of my networks than six feeds of HBO and 30 channels of pay-per-view combined. Buy rates run as high as 15% in markets like Memphis and Kansas City while Playboy was stuck at 3% in NY, half of what one of our products (Pleasure) has already achieved.
Cable operators are also using their upgraded plants to provide their digital customers with VOD (Video-On-Demand) services. VOD provides the opportunity for a consumer to view a movie at any time, rather than only during the purchase window provided by the cable operator. According to Smart Money (May 2002 issue), there were 2.4 million VOD-enabled subscribers in North America as of December 2001. Smart Money estimates that this number will increase to 6.0 million by the end of 2002, and to 23.0 million by 2005. It is part of the Companys broadcasting strategy to engage in VOD services in the future.
A new Morgan Stanley study estimated that the VOD market by cable operators will reach $2.5-3 billion in 2007. Further, the study found the massive drop in technology costs suggests that $5 to $6 of incremental revenue is enough to offset the incremental PVR (personal video recorder) or VOD capital and maintain the internal rate of return on a typical cable subscriber at 25%.
| (1) | Demanding DVDs, Morgan Stanleys VOD Outlook, Matt Stump. |
Internet
The adult entertainment industry was among the first to commercially exploit the Internet as a distribution channel, and among the few industries believed to generate a profit on the Internet. The Internet offers relative privacy for users, a seemingly endless selection of adult media content and can provide immediate delivery. Datamonitor research estimated that adult content accounted for 69% of paid content on the Internet in 1998.
Pay sites contain most of the adult media content on the Internet, but free sites are also common and are primarily supported by advertising from pay sites. Free sites get a few cents for each viewer who clicks on an advertising banner. The banner then transports these viewers to a site that tries to entice the user into paying for content using their credit cards. In 1999, Datamonitor estimated that there were well over 100,000 sexually-oriented sites, of which only about 14,000 generate revenues. Of the revenue-generating sites, only a handful of these account for the majority of overall revenues on the Internet for adult media content.
According to searchterms.com, sex is the third largest category searched for on the Internet after autos and travel, but above shopping, games and MP3. Of the 1.6 billion web pages indicated as available by the Google search engine,
searching for sex results in 15.9 million pages and porn results in 3.3 million. In June 2001, Internet monitoring company NetValue estimated the following numbers of Internet users were visiting adult sites at least once per month: 5.3 million in Germany; 3.8 million in the United Kingdom; 2.7 million in France; 2.4 million in Italy and 1.5 million in Spain. In the United States, PR Week reported that Nielsen/Net and Media Metrix estimated that approximately 21 million Americans visit an adult content site at least once per month.
A number of well-established Internet businesses have recognized the revenue potential of adult media content and now provide those services.Freenet.com, Germanys second largest internet service provider has launched Fundorado.de offering hardcore movies, photographs and sex chat groups on a monthly subscription basis. In the United Kingdom, online retailer Lastminute.com has recently introduced a range of adult games and toys to its site. However, this development has also been subject to criticism, leading to withdrawals such as Yahoo!s reversal of its decision to sell adult videos on its sites after receiving numerous complaints from consumers.
The use of the Internet for viewing adult media content is expected to increase significantly as home Internet access increases and broadband services become more widely available. IDC estimates that in 2005 the number of home Internet users will reach 194.1 million in the United States as compared to 100.8 million in 2000 and 196.4 million in Western Europe as compared to 80.3 million in 2000. Forrester Research estimates broadband services will reach 46.7 million households in the United States by 2005 as compared to 5.0 million in 2000 and 28.7 million in Western Europe as compared to 400,000 in 2000.
The increased availability of adult media content on the Internet has attracted considerable attention. Concerns have arisen with respect to child protection and the distribution of illegal material. In response to the issue of child protection, a number of software packages have become available that control the content that can be accessed from a personal computer. Products such as Surfcontrol, NetNanny, Websense and others can be employed to filter sites for inappropriate material, blocking access for unauthorized users.
MAGAZINE PUBLICATIONS
Our publishing operations include the publication of the adult magazines identified in the table below, special editions consisting of previously published material and occasional newsstand specials, calendars and paperback books. All of these magazines, together with local editions, are printed under various trade names and are distributed in over 40 countries. We publish several customized editions of our four principal magazines. Each edition contains the same editorial material but provides locally targeted content reflecting local governmental regulation regarding explicit adult publications. Most of our magazines feature pictures of men and women engaged in erotic and sexually explicit situations. We distribute approximately 300,000 copies of our print publications per month at an average retail price of approximately (Euro) 11.50. In 2002 we introduced a new magazine, directed at the gay market, Private Man. Our most popular publications are Private, Pirate, Private Sex and Triple X.
MAGAZINE LIBRARY
| As of December 31, | ||||
| 2003 |
2002 | |||
| Title |
Nº of Issues |
Nº of Issues | ||
| Private |
180 | 174 | ||
| Pirate |
82 | 76 | ||
| Triple-X |
56 | 50 | ||
| Private Sex |
47 | 41 | ||
| Private Man |
4 | 2 | ||
| Mansize |
4 | | ||
| Special Editions |
14 | 9 | ||
| Best of Private (Book) |
14 | 14 | ||
| Special Editions (Book) |
1 | | ||
| Total |
402 | 366 | ||
| Quantities of Magazines (Printed, not sold) | ||||
| Title |
2003 |
2002 | ||
| Private |
530,660 | 590,300 | ||
| Pirate |
380,905 | 435,250 | ||
| Triple-X |
365,465 | 419,560 | ||
| Private Sex |
318,825 | 351,275 | ||
| Private Man |
80,100 | 80,250 | ||
| Mansize |
154,125 | | ||
| Special Editions |
309,190 | 153,825 | ||
| Best of Private (Book) |
| 42,925 | ||
| Special Editions (Book) |
| 60,985 | ||
| Total |
2,139,270 | 2,134,370 | ||
Our publications offer a variety of features and have gained a loyal customer base. We believe we have earned a reputation for excellence by providing a high standard of quality to the adult entertainment industry, while we maintain circulation leadership as the leading hardcore magazine publisher. All of our publications have long been known for their graphic excellence and features, and publish the work of top artists and photographers in the field. They are also renowned for their pictorials of beautiful people. Our magazines command some of the highest prices in the industry.
All of our publications are printed by independent third parties. We have a longstanding relationship with several printers in Spain We believe that generally there is an adequate supply of printing services available to us at competitive prices, should the need for an alternative printer arise. All of our production and printing activities are coordinated through our operating facility maintained by our wholly owned subsidiary, Milcap Media Group.
Circulation
Our magazines have historically generated most of their revenues from firm sales distribution. However, now distributors with rights to return represent approximately 50% of our production. Single copy retail sales normally occur in adult book stores and similar establishments. Newsstand retail sales are permitted in most European countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland the Benelux countries and Portugal.
Our magazines are distributed to newsstands and other public retail outlets through a network of national distributors, who maintain a local network of several wholesale distributors and licensors. We have entered into national distribution agreements covering over 35 countries and generally deal with a magazine distributor for local distribution of our publications. We ship copies of each issue in bulk to our wholesalers, who distribute on to local retailers.
Independent distributors who distribute our magazines do so under individual distribution agreements. These agreements are normally subject to automatic yearly extensions unless either party terminates the arrangement.
For the past few years, we have sought to expand the use of our magazines content and other assets across different media formats. Our primary focus in recent years has been the re-editing and digitizing of every Private magazine for use on our websites. This content was initially available on our websites in May 1998, and we completed the digitization of our still photo archive in 2000.
Production, Distribution and Fulfillment
Four independent printers in Spain currently print most of our magazines, books, brochures and video and DVD covers. Printing costs vary based upon the price of component raw materials. The principal raw materials necessary for publication of our magazines are coated and uncoated paper. Paper prices are affected by a variety of factors, including
demand, capacity, pulp supply and by general economic conditions. Our printers have a number of paper supply arrangements and we believe that those arrangements provide an adequate supply of paper for our needs. In any event, we believe that alternative sources are available at competitive prices. With respect to color separation, pre-press and related services, we currently use our own scanning facilities and have the support of two independent suppliers for color separations. We are also using the latest technologies in this field, such as digital imposition and computer-to-plate process technology, or CTP. CTP eliminates the need for the production of film/color separations during the pre-printing process, saving time and money while improving quality. In simple terms, CTP allows printers to receive computer disks containing electronic files (both text and graphics) and output those files directly to a plate. The result is a top quality image which takes minutes instead of hours to produce.
We print and ship all of our proprietary magazines from Barcelona, Spain. We determine the amount of printed publications bi-monthly with input from each of our national distributors.
Most of our products are packaged and delivered directly by the printer or supplier, while Milcap Media Group provides warehousing, customer service and payment processing.
Our full-time editorial and post-production staff consists of an editor-in-chief, six executive editors and approximately seven editors, associate editors and assistant editors who oversee the quality and consistency of the artwork and editorial copy and manage the production schedule of each issue. The production of each issue requires the editors to coordinate the activities of a writer, a pencil artist, an inker, a colorist and a printer over a two-month period. The majority of this work is performed on our premises in Barcelona, Spain. We have entered into agreements with some photographers and writers under which such people have agreed to provide their services to us on an exclusive basis, generally for a period of one to three years.
MOVIE PRODUCTIONS
In 1992, we began releasing movies under the Private label.
Our adult movies are in genres similar to our magazines and books under the titles listed in the table below. Normally, we spend on average between $ 50,000 and $ 125,000 per movie. This amount excludes the computation of the post-production, master production, duplication and distribution costs. Generally, Milcap Media Group creates and designs all artwork for promotional items and packaging and contracts for printing services. Since 1997, independent laboratories have duplicated all of our videocassettes for us. Similarly, since 1999 all DVDs have been duplicated by independent laboratories as well. A number of our titles, including Private Film, Private Video Magazine, Triple X, Private Stories, Private Gold and The Matador Series are released on a monthly basis while others are released on a bimonthly or less frequent basis. As of December 31, 2003, our movie library contained more than 700 movie titles. By the end of 2004, we expect the total to increase to more than 800 titles. Almost all titles are available on both videocassette and DVD. We sell approximately 100,000 videos and 200,000 DVDs per month. We continue to expand our video operations in international markets and presently market our video products in over 40 countries.
We finance all of our adult movies, and we contract with video and movie producers on a flat fee basis. We have entered into agreements with some movie directors under which they have agreed to provide their services to us on an exclusive basis, generally for a period of one to three years. All producers generally assume production costs and obligations, including among other things, the delivery of rights and model releases.
| MOVIE LIBRARY | As of December 31, | |||
| 2003 |
2002 | |||
| Title |
Nº of Titles |
Nº of Titles | ||
| Amandas Private Diary |
5 | 5 | ||
| Best of - End of Year |
9 | 8 | ||
| Gaia |
6 | 6 | ||
| H**** Housewives |
9 | 9 | ||
| Mansize |
2 | | ||
| Peepshow Special |
12 | 12 | ||
| Pirate Fetish Machine |
13 | 8 | ||
| Pirate Video |
12 | 12 | ||
| Pirate Video de Luxe |
16 | 16 | ||
| Private Black Label |
33 | 28 | ||
| Private Castings |
50 | 42 | ||
| Private Films |
28 | 28 | ||
| Private Gold |
62 | 57 | ||
| Private Man |
6 | 3 | ||
| Private Movies |
10 | 5 | ||
| Private Reality Video |
22 | 12 | ||
| Private Sports |
5 | | ||
| Private Stories |
27 | 27 | ||
| Private Superf***ers |
12 | 12 | ||
| Private Tropical |
9 | 3 | ||
| Private Video Magazine |
26 | 26 | ||
| Private X-Treme |
10 | 5 | ||
| Private XXX |
15 | 15 | ||
| Private-Ninn |
4 | 3 | ||
| Private-Penthouse Movies |
12 | 12 | ||
| The Best by Private Compilations |
52 | 40 | ||
| The Matador Series |
15 | 15 | ||
| The Private Life of |
17 | 11 | ||
| Triple X Files |
12 | 12 | ||
| Triple X Video |
32 | 32 | ||
| Virtualia |
6 | 6 | ||
| When Pornstars Play |
1 | | ||
| Private Fantasies (DVD only) |
5 | 5 | ||
| Private Interactive (DVD only) |
1 | 1 | ||
| Private Lost Treasures (DVD only) |
9 | 8 | ||
| Erotica (soft titles) |
137 | 102 | ||
| Total |
702 | 586 | ||
We have licensed many of our original programs to cable television networks and adult pay-per-view television channels. These licenses generally grant the television channel owner a specific right of transmission and we retain the intellectual property rights of every production. We edit many of our new feature video and movie releases into several versions depending on the media through which they are to be distributed. In general, versions edited for cable, satellite and hotel television programming are less sexually explicit than the versions edited for home video distribution.
Distribution
We distribute our productions worldwide via masters, videocassettes and DVDs that are sold or rented in video stores, sex shops, newsstands and other retail outlets, and where permitted, through direct mail. Our website has contributed to increasing video and DVD sales, and we expect this new medium to become a significant distribution channel in the future.
We have entered into distribution agreements in over 40 countries. Under these distribution agreements, and according to the territory, one of our subsidiaries, Peach Entertainment Distribution or Milcap Media Group, agrees to provide a specific minimum number of new titles each month during the term of the agreement, and a licensee normally serves as the exclusive distributor throughout its own country or language territory. Under the various distribution agreements, licensees are normally required to purchase a minimum number of units for each monthly period during the term of the agreement.
In countries such as Germany, we have expanded our relationships with our national distributor by entering into exclusive multi-year, multi-product output agreements. In countries such as the United States, the Benelux countries, France and Spain, we have established local subsidiaries for the purpose of owning or controlling local distribution. In general, however, we believe that national distribution agreements enable us to have an ongoing branded presence in international markets and to generate higher and more consistent revenues, than we could achieve selling directly to retailers.
In October 2001 we entered into an agreement with Quadriga Worldwide, a leading European hotel entertaiment and service provider, to make a wide selection of our movies available to guests in hotels serviced by Quadriga. Quadriga presently provides 6,350 hotels in 30 countries with interactive entertainment and information services, covering 321,000 hotel rooms worldwide, with an estimated potential annual audience of 100 million hotel guests. Key customers of Quadriga include leading hotel chains such as Best Western International, Scandic Hotels, Choice Hotels, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Six Continents Hotels, Accor Hotels, Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, Marriott Hotels, Thistle Hotels and Societe du Louvre.
Video Duplication/Production Techniques
Masters are customized and duplicated by our subsidiary Peach Entertainment Distribution and from there they are sent to different distributors and VHS duplication centers. Some distributors receive a master directly and do their own duplication.
All artwork to print the video covers is created at Milcap Media Group. Most countries receive their own pre-printed covers from Spain and some countries print their own covers from CD-Roms when delivered.
The DVD Market
Distribution of DVDs represents one of our fastest growing markets. We believe we set a high standard for DVDs in the adult entertainmen