NEWS: $174-mm Surplus Sparks Interest In New-Media
Post# of 7290
$174-mm Arkansas Surplus Sparks Interest in New Media Incentives
Press Release | 06/07/2019
The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration has announced that the state has generated a surplus of over $174-million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, which has sparked renewed enthusiasm for the New Media Incentives Program developed by N.W. Arkansas entertainment executive, Eric Parkinson, C.E.O. of Hannover House, Inc. (OTC: HHSE).
"This is tremendous news," said Parkinson, "and we can attribute much of this surplus to programs and policies enacted by the Legislature and Governor Asa Hutchinson. As state government officials work together, hand-in-hand with businesses such as Hannover House, we can now begin to implement the economic and employment programs detailed in the New Media Incentives Program for Arkansas. The timing is especially fortuitous as many of the media companies comprising the $9-bilion dollar film industry currently operating in the State of Georgia are looking to relocate their operations," he concluded.
The New Media Incentives Program drafted by Parkinson is designed to allocate a majority of state incentives to companies residing in Arkansas, as opposed to rewarding out-of-state media companies to "hit-and-run." The program provides significant rebates for qualifying film and television productions, and includes the broader spectrum of "new media" and digital industry jobs, including data management, website and APP creation and data-streaming services, such as the multi-studio, Netflix-like consumer streaming venture of Hannover House known as MyFlix.
"There was unanimous support across both aisles of the Legislature for the New Media Incentives Program during this past session," said Parkinson. "The obstacle to finalizing this program into law was the designation of a funding component that would be reliable and repeatable. Several funding programs were proposed, but none would have resulted in an immediate funding source for the first year of incentives. The availability of this significant revenue surplus for Arkansas enables us to kick-start this important jobs and economic program for FYE 2020."
Last year was a record year for film and television production within Arkansas, due primarily to the expenditure of a reported $90-million by HBO on the production of season three of "True Detective." While the existing Arkansas film incentive program did generate a substantial rebate payment to HBO (rumored at $21-million), these funds were functionally sent out of state and were not reinvested into creating long-term jobs and a sustainable media industry. The Parkinson plan calls for most of the Arkansas incentives to be paid to companies located iwthin Arkansas and those making a long-term, strategic investment in the media industries within Arkansas.
"A state program would not incentivize an auto-maker like General Motors to set-up an operation to build cars for only six months and then leave," said Parkinson. "So why should the Arkansas film and media incentives not follow this same sort of philosophy of being used to create permanent jobs instead of temporary activities?"
During the recent spring legislative session for Arkansas, Parkinson met with over forty Arkansas House or Arkansas Senate representatives, as well as with Governor Hutchinson, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, the AFL-CIO and a variety of major businesses and owners including power-utility giant Entergy (owner of the Russellville Nuclear One Plant, among many others). He reports receiving unanimous support from these businesses and elected officials for the implementation of the New Media Incentives Program, with the only obstacle being the designation of a first-year revenue funding source (while the program begins to self-fund in subsequent years). The news of a major and unexpected surplus for Arkansas is expected to facilitate this launch opportunity.
Hannover House, Inc. is a full-service media company, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and operating continuously for the past 26-years. The company has released over 450 feature film and television titles to the DVD market, with Walmart Stores among its top ten clients. Recently, with the consumer transistion away from the purchasing of DVD products - and now favoring digital streaming - the company has refocused onto both bigger-budgeted original feature film productions as well as a new streaming venture known as MyFlix, which combines over 12,000 titles from more than 40 separate suppliers into a one-stop digital superstore for consumers to access. Many analysts feel that the MyFlix venture has the upside potential that has made other streaming suppliers, such as Amazon and Netflix, into media powerhouses. Accordingly, many elected officials from the State of Arkansas are desirous of having Hannover House establish and maintain the MyFlix venture within Arkansas.
Hannover House has announced that the company will be filing a Form 10 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will enable the company to elevate the stock from its current listing on the OTC Pinksheets to the more accessible, investor-friendly and prestigious OTC-QB board. Parkinson feels that the timing of the launch of MyFlix, combined with the company's uplisting and other activities - including the New Media Incentives Program - should create enhanced interest in the company.
For More Information, contact: ERIC PARKINSON / 818-481-5277 / Eric@HannoverHouse.com
https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/HHSE/news/CO...?id=230954
HHSE