BILLY AWARDED

Paris, Wednesday 24th of June.
Frederic Richard a/k/a “Billy” has been elevated by Nonce Paolini, TF1’s CEO to the honorary rank of: “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite” (Knight of the National Order of Merit) at the French Senate.
Many guests, friends, producers, TV hosts, actors and sports celebrities… attended the ceremony.  

This prestigious distinction has been awarded to Billy by President Jacques Chirac to reward “A generous man who, for many years, has been helping disadvantaged children”.

For many years, Billy has been a children TV shows host for The Walt Disney Company, TF1, Lagardère Group.
He is today a producer at CYBER GROUP STUDIOS which he cofounded in 2005. He also manages his own production company BILLY PRODUCTIONS, created in 2008 and specialized in TV shows and live stage performances.

CYBER GROUP STUDIOS RAISES 1.5 MILLION EUROS TO BOOST ITS ORGANIC GROWTH AND INITIATE AN EXTERNAL GROWTH STRATEGY

Annecy, June 11. Cyber Group Studios, a French producer of animation, fiction and documentaries, raised 1.5 Million Euros from La Financière Viveris, the private equity fund of Caisses d’Epargne, which has been shareholder of the company since 2005.

These funds will allow boosting the development of the company which has been recently honored by several awards, among which the TV France International 2008 Export Award for « Ozie Boo! » (Most exported French animated TV series in 2008).

Cyber Group Studios has been created by former executives from The Walt Disney Company, bringing more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment and media industry, – Pierre Sissmann, Dominique Bourse, Cecilia Dubois-Bossel, the producer and host Billy and Olivier Lelardoux. The company creates and distributes innovative international productions. In three years, Cyber Group Studios has produced, coproduced and distributed a catalog of 170 half-hours of programs and has become a recognized international player, particularly for preschool TV series with productions such as Ozie Boo! (78x7’), a preschool 3D animation TV series, sold to 150 countries, Manon (52x7’), released in December 2008 and already sold to 54 countries or Tatonka (40x11’), planned release in 2011 and already presold to 26 countries.

Pierre Sissmann, President of Cyber Group Studios, says: « This fund raising will give us the opportunity to consolidate our internal growth at the time we launch an ambitious production plan which will significantly augment our catalog. Thank you to the Viveris team for their support. We are pleased to share our first successes with them.»
Eric Schettini, President of Viveris Management, adds: « We are quite impressed by Cyber Group Studios’ achievements and are definitely motivated to continue our financial support to help them accelerate their internal growth and start an acquisition strategy.»

Current productions in various stages of development will strenghten the company’s position in preschool segment and provide an opportunity to duplicate the strategy in the 6-10 children segment. In the preschool segment, projects in development include OzieBoo ! series new seasons, OzieBoo! Feature animation movie and « Zou » adaptation as a TV series of Michel Gay’s international book publishing success (2004 Parents’ Choice Award in the US, « Mention Spéciale de la Foire du Livre Jeunesse de Turin » in 2009,…). In the 6-10 segment, projects involve Fish n’ Chips and Bambalayé ! TV series, developed in coproduction with Timoon Animation (Lagardère Entertainment’s subsidiary).

In parallel to its strong internal development, the company recently initiated an external growth strategy and is now looking for acquisitions.

Dominique Bourse, Cyber Group Studios’ Chief Operating Officer comments: « I wish to deeply thank Viveris, who, from the very beginning, believed in our strategy and in our team’s ability to implement it successfully.
As we accelerate the development of our catalog, enter the 6-10 segment and initiate an acquisition strategy, their financial support will continue to be instrumental.
Cyprien Roy, Investment Director at Viveris Management adds: «Cyber Group Studios successes prove the team quality both in the artistic, production technology and process and international marketing and distribution. We will continue to back their current and future strategic initiatives.»

CYBER GROUP STUDIOS AND TIMOON ANIMATION HAVE SIGNED A COPRODUCTION AND PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

Annecy, June 10, 2009. At MIFA, Cyber Group Studios and Timoon Animation, subsidiary of Lagardère Entertainment, have inked two agreements: one relates to the coproduction of two TV animated series targeted to children aged 6 to 10, the second one refers to the international distribution and licensing
of these series.

Timoon Animation and Cyber Group Studios will coproduce FISH’ N CHIPS, an action / comedy series telling the adventures of Coney Island aquarium’s residents and BAMBALA-YÉ !, a wild musical / comedy series in Africa.

FISH’ N CHIPS is an original battle between a cat who is a champion deep-sea diver and a fish that is convinced he is evolving into… a mammal! Racing and chasing each other through the mythical setting of New York City, a unique, unorthodox combat right under the noses of the millions of inhabitants and tourists who visit the New York aquarium and Coney Island boardwalk every day…

BAMBALA-YÉ ! takes place in Africa and features a group of wacky and out-of-control musician animals. Throughout fast-pace and funny adventures, they will sing the all-time standards of black music. Access to these worldwide blockbuster songs has been made possible thanks to an agreement with EMI Publishing Worldwide. BAMBALA-YÉ! story and characters have been created with the intention to be adapted to the four screens
(TV, PC/Internet, mobile phones and movie theater).

Cyber Group Studios and Timoon Animation will handle together the art and editorial direction as well as the coordination with broadcasters.
Cyber Group Studios will manage the series’ international distribution and licensing, whose strategy will be defined together with Timoon Animation.

Arnaud Molinié, CEO of Lagardère Entertainment said: « Animation is one of Lagardère Entertainment’s key areas of development. Beyond our new ambitions for Timoon, this partnership makes a lot of sense, both from an artistic and a business standpoint. Furthermore, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to join forces with Pierre Sissmann who is one of the animation industry key players in France and internationally ».

« I am delighted to partner with Timoon Animation. This agreement will allow us to gather our respective strengths to create two 3D series with strong international potential and broad audience. I believe that their fast-pace action, humor and great soundtrack will please both kids and parents. Moreover, these series fit perfectly our company’s strategy to produce top quality, innovative, international and multimedia content » commented Pierre Sissmann, President of Cyber Group Studios.

Boris Hertzog and Sandrine Nguyen, Managing Directors of Timoon Animation, added « these ambitious series are a unique opportunity to fuel our development and leverage our deep 3D animation expertise into new artistic and storytelling concepts tailor-made for international markets for a larger audience. We are convinced that the strong complementarity of our teams will foster creativity in a powerful way ».

Billy, Producer at Cyber Group Studios commented: « Cyber Group Studios’ team demonstrated its capability in creating international intellectual properties for preschool kids, for example with OzieBoo! TV series. This partnership with Timoon Animation will give us the opportunity to apply our creative and technology expertise to an older age group ». Broadcasting agreement with industry key players are being finalized and should be announced soon.

JEAN-MARIE COLOMBANI JOINS THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF CYBER GROUP STUDIOS

Paris , March 30th 2009. Cyber Group Animation becomes Cyber Group Studios in order to present a better reflection of the diversity of it productions, which comprise animation films and series, drama and documentaries.

The company is also pleased to announce that Jean-Marie Colombani is joining the Board as Vice-President of the Strategy Committee.
“I am particularly happy and honoured to welcome to our company Jean-Marie Colombani, whose experience in matters of content and company management will be a precious asset in helping us guide the organic and external growth of Cyber Group Studios, in France and abroad” stated Pierre Sissmann, Chairman of the Board of Director.

Jean-Marie Colombani declared that he was “particularly happy to be sharing Cyber Group's adventure at a key moment in its development, which will include the opening of a division devoted to news and documentaries.

Jean-Marie Colombani was Chairman of the Board of Le Monde SA and director of the Le Monde newspaper from 1994 to 2007 and in early 2009 was co-founder, along with Jacques Attali, Johan Hufnagel, Éric le Boucher and Éric Leser, of an on-line news website slate.fr , the French version of the American site of the same name, slate.com.

Left to the right : Dominique BOURSE, Jean-Marie COLOMBANI, Pierre SISSMANN.
From MIPTV festival.

CYBER GROUP STUDIOS AND FRENCH PUBLISHER "L'ECOLE DES LOISIRS" SIGN A PARTNERSHIP FOR THE AUDIOVISUAL DEVELOPMENT OF AWARD-WINNER “ZOU” BOOK SERIES

Paris , March 31 st 2009. Cyber Group Studios is proud to announce the acquisition of the rights for the audiovisual adaptation of ZOU (ZEE) , the cartoon album series published in France by l'École des Loisirs . Its creator, Michel Gay , will be responsible for its artistic direction.

This series will present everyday family situations centred on the character of Zou, a little 5 year-old zebra, in a gently ironic tone. The series is aimed at 3-6 year-olds and their parents, who will find it a source of ideas for games and solutions to those little family conflicts.

Zou (Zee) is already known, through its album sales, in many countries in all five continents, such as the USA , Germany , South Korea , Spain , Israel , Denmark , Hong Kong , Japan , New Zealand , among others…

In the USA , Zou (Zee) won the prestigious “ Parent's Choice Award ” in the book category, a prize that rewards the most educational of material for children.

BILLY, CYBER GROUP ANIMATION'S CREATIVE AND PRODUCTION VP SELECTED AS JURY MEMBER OF THE 3rd EDITION OF THE JUNIOR COMMUNICATION AWARD

Actukids organised last Monday January 12th 2009 the 3rd Edition of the Junior Communication Award.
This prize rewards advertisers and their agencies for their campaigns' efficiency and creativity, but also for the respect of ethics in the messages conception such as consideration of the judgmental abilities of children, refusal to overconsumption incitement…
This is also about rewarding communication media for their editorial quality, and the new licences that keep arriving in the youth media-related universe.

A prestigious jury made of youth and media world's specialists will award 4 Prizes for best advertisement aiming at children, best youth media, best out-of-media communication aiming at children, and the new
kid-universe licence with highest development potential.

Left to the right : Nathalie CHOURAQUI, BILLY, Stéphane AZOULAI, Sophie DESMAZIERES,
Cécile COLAS, Charlotte LE GRIX DE LA SALLE, Thierry AMAR.

TIJI LAUNCHES MANON IN FRANCE

TIJI, the popular French Preschool Channel has launched MANON on January 05 th 2009.

OZIEBOO AWARDED INTERNATIONAL EXPORT PRIZE 2008

CYBER GROUP ANIMATION has been awarded the 2008 France TV International Export prize
(animation category) as a recognition for Ozie Boo ! outstanding international sales achievement:
150 countries (26 languages) on the 5 continents in three years.

From the 1st of January 2009, new countries open up to Ozie Boo! in Latin America with The Disney Channel, in China, in Malaysia, in Ireland etc . In 2010, «Ozie Boo! The movie», a full-length feature in High Definition, will be released in theater worldwide.

Foreign Body rewarded as Best Foreign Production by HD Film Festival 2008.

The HD Film Festival is an event that has been created by the Club HD, a professional group aiming at promoting and communicating on High Definition , along with SATIS, a trade show focused on sound and image technologies.

The main goal of this Festival is to encourage production and distribution of works produced in high definition.

 "It (.) seemed obvious (.) that an event celebrating HD with such openness and such a broad spectrum should also abolish its own boundaries!" explains Stephan Faudeux, president of the HD Club.

It is done now: the Festival's third edition will host a new international selection, dedicated to foreign contents!

It is for this category that Foreign Body , coproduced by Michael Eisner 's company Tornante and Cyber Group Digital Media , was rewarded as Best Foreign Production by HD Film Festival 2008.
Available as a series (50x2') or as a TV Movie (1x90'), Foreign Body is a prequel to best selling author Robin Cook's latest book, a thriller that delves into the world of medical tourism with twists and turns of seduction, murder and international intrigue.

Cyber Group Digital Media and Michael Eisner's Vuguru
launch International sales of their coproduction Foreign Body

Based On International Best Seller Robin Cook's Latest Work,Foreign Body
Will Be Released As Both a TV Movie and Web Series.

Cannes - October 14 th 2008 - At MIPCOM 2008, Cyber Group Digital Media and The Tornante Company's new media studio for Internet production, Vuguru ( www.vuguru.com ) today launched international sales of their
co-production Foreign Body , from international bestselling author Robin Cook.

Both companies co-produced this brand new series, to be distributed around the world by Cyber Group Digital Media.

Robin Cook is the international master of the medical thriller genre, and his books have already sold over 100 million copies worldwide in 40 languages.

Co-produced by Michael Eisner's web company Vuguru, and shot in California and New Delhi , Foreign Body , this American thriller is about medical tourism in India . A series of unexplained deaths in foreign hospitals will lead to unveil a sinister conspiracy of global proportions.

Medical tourism is a growing concern. According to The Economist, "historically, medical tourism has been available only to the rich, but today we face the prospect of a boom in mass medical tourism, as American health care costs rise while quality falls. Americans traveling abroad to receive medical treatment are expected to number 10 million by 2012, up from 750,000 last year, and to contribute more than $20 billion annually to developing-country economies".

Besides the terrible reality of its theme, Foreign Body is also a groundbreaking cross-media concept and the best example of convergence between new and traditional media. It is the first time ever that a prequel of a book has been produced as a series for web and mobile applications (50x2' format).
Foreign Body has also been adapted for television as a 90'  High Definition  TV Movie.

The 50 episodes are broadcast over the Internet and via a mobile phone operator, 1 episode every two days.
The last episode airs one day before the book's release. The book story starts where the web series ends.

Cyber Group Digital Media is already in discussion with major channels for a multimedia broadcast across internet, mobile and television platforms.

Cannes - October 13 th 2008 - Cyber Group Animation and Disney Latin America have just signed an agreement including two high-potential properties: Ozie Boo and Manon, Ozie Boo to be aired on Playhouse Disney across the continent.

Ozie Boo is a world hit that has already been translated into 22 languages and has been sold over the last three years to about 150 countries. Its success stems from the cute aspect of the three D characters, which kids love and from the stories, which are not just about storytelling but do transmit values dear to families all around the world, as the theme of the series is "learn to live together".

Manon is a brand new series planned for delivery in December 2008. Manon, a co-production with French studio Planet Nemo and Canadian based Sardine Productions is a cute adaptation of a hit book series, showcasing a small girl living on a farm with many animal friends. The nature of the stories, the quality of the image, which, while in 3D to improve fluidity and grace in that movements has a special 2D look, makes it unique.
"We are very excited of this new collaboration with The Walt Disney Company Latin America. We spend a lot a time developing characters  which children can identify to and we do place a lot of importance on delivering high quality series and transmitting real values to kids around the world." says Pierre Sissmann, President of Cyber Group Animation.

Carole Brin, Head of International Sales adds "The ratings of Ozie Boo are very good worldwide and we have no doubt that the kids in Latin America will also love sharing the adventures of our beloved penguins".